PROJECTS

I. Blog 10%
During the first week of class, create a blog devoted to multigenre literacy.  Your blog is important!  You’ll have all of your work, including weekly reflections, and links to other Web projects posted on your blog; your classmates will read your blog as will individuals from around the world.  Since this is your personal blog, it will be tempting to write informally, as if you’re chatting to a friend. All of your work, however, must meet high academic standards including a formal tone. But feel free to experiment with new media. When you create your blog, be sure to do the following:

• Title your blog
• Email me your blog address
• Include your preferred email address on your blog
• Write and post an introduction to your blog
• Post weekly reflections (@250 words)
• Include all assignments
• Begin here: http://www.blogger.com or http://www.tumblr.com.

NOTE: Save all electronic work.

II. Collaborative Myth Presentation 18%
With your group members, you will lead a 30-minute discussion on one of Chapters 2-6 in Myth and Knowing. The week before your presentation you will assign one of the myths in your chapter to be read by everyone in the class. Your presentation should focus on the myth that you have assigned and the introductory material presented in your chapter (where appropriate).

The goal of your discussion is to help your classmates better understand the assigned reading and the category of myth this reading represents (e.g., creation, female divine, male divine, trickster, and sacred places). You can design your presentation how you wish, but it must incorporate PowerPoint slides and a classroom activity.

This assignment is designed to enable you to gain experience using PowerPoint, to enhance your understanding and analysis of world mythology as required by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, and to help you to practice pedagogical skills as you engage the members of the class with the material. Your presentation will be evaluated for its a) organization, b) how effectively you use PowerPoint, c) how insightfully you present the material, and d) how successful the strategy is.

III. Collaborative Media Literacy Presentation 18%
With your group members, deliver a 15-30 minute presentation in which you outline a unit or individual lesson on media literacy for a middle or high school classroom. In keeping with Buckingham's assertion that the best way to analyze media is to use media, your unit or lesson should analyze at least one form of modern communications or information media. You should specify the grade level, rationale, and objectives for your unit/lesson, and include a reference to Buckingham's Media Education. You can imagine that your school has unlimited resources/time, and you do not have to adhere to any particular state standards.

IV. Poetry Analysis Essay (3-5 pages, excluding Works Cited) 18%
Write an analytic essay in which you explicate any poem from 100 Best-Loved Poems that has not been discussed in class. Your essay must have a thesis and you should support this thesis with examples from the text. You should consider the formal aspects of the poem as well as the literary elements; for instance, you might want to consider figurative language, sound devices, use of (white) space, line length, punctuation, speaker, voice/tone, audience, or other elements defined in Deutsch's Poetry Handbook.  In addition, you should support your thesis by engaging with at least two secondary scholarly sources. Cite sources following MLA guidelines and conclude your paper with a list of Works Cited following MLA guidelines. 

V. Creative Writing (Poetry) 18%
Submit two poems based on our class discussions and assignments. Indicate the form at the top of each poem.

VI. World Text Analysis Essay (3-5 pages, excluding Works Cited) 18%
Write an analytic essay in which you explicate the film we viewed for class, taking into account the historical/cultural contexts of the story and the graphic features of the text.  Your essay should be argumentative in nature and have a clearly defined thesis (i.e. you should be defending a particular interpretation of the text). You should cite specific passages/scenes from the film you are analyzing to support your various arguments. In addition, you should support your thesis by engaging with at least two secondary scholarly sources.  Cite sources following MLA guidelines and conclude your paper with a list of Works Cited following MLA guidelines. You'll post a draft of your essay on WebCT so that you can get feedback on your work and respond to your colleagues' drafts before you turn in the essay.

Final Blog Portfolio

Your blog portfolio is graded holistically and consists of the following:

• A new revision of your poetry analysis essay
• A new revision of your creative writing (poetry) assignment
• A new revision of your world fiction analysis essay

ATTENDANCE and GRADES
When you enroll in our class you make a commitment to your classmates. This is a participatory, collaborative workshop-style class and attendance is absolutely essential to our success.  Since we meet only once per week, grades are dropped a letter after two absences and an F is given at four.  All work is due on the date specified in our syllabus. You are responsible for completing and submitting any work due for a day that you miss and you must come prepared with any work required for the following class.  Please feel free to contact me or see me during my office hours to learn what you missed and how to prepare for the next session. 
NOTE the following:

• Late work will not be accepted unless you have obtained an extension from me ahead of time. You must submit your essay even if you miss class on its due date.
• Due to the participatory nature of this class, laptops and cellphones are not permitted.

I grade holistically. Your assignments will receive comments, suggestions, and a grade range, e.g., "A-/B+". Your final grade will come at the semester's end, once your work is assessed in its entirety. NOTE: it is most important that you check your email throughout the semester.  You cannot pass this course if you miss six classes, miss an assignment, or plagiarize.

 

ACADEMIC HONESTY
You must be scrupulously honest in documenting the work that you have drawn from others.  Like other institutions, CSUN maintains a strict academic honesty policy.  Plagiarism is illegal and dishonest.  All cases of academic dishonesty must be reported to the Dean, who may suspend or permanently dismiss you from CSUN.  You will receive a course grade of F if you plagiarize in our

Syllabus

Please note that all course requirements and policies are subject to change.
Not all class readings are included below.

Week 1
8/30

Activities:
1. Introduction to the course: genre, literacy, technology, globality
2. Syllabus Review
3. Creating a blog

Homework:
1. Deutsch. "By Way of Preface" and "A Word to the Beginner"; master five major terms from the book, e.g., couplet, logical stress, metre, and metonymy. Be prepared to teach your classmates.
2. Smith. Shakespeare, Blake, Wordsworth, Shelley.
3. Create a blog at blogger.com or tumblr.com
4. Post an introduction to the blog. Introduce yourself to potential readers and discuss what role you feel media technology should play in teaching, at any level. Have you witnessed any particularly effective or ineffective uses of media technology as a student?
5. Respond to at least two of your classmates' blogs (approximately 150-word responses)

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POETRY

Activities:
1. Discuss Deutsch
2. Discuss Smith
3. Blog Review and Workshop
4. Discuss Poetry Analysis Essay

Homework:
1. Smith. Whitman, Arnold, Yeats, Frost
2. Work on Poetry Analysis Essay
3. Blog Reflection
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Week 2
9/6

Activities:
1. Discuss Smith
2. Blog Workshop

Homework:
1. Work on Poetry Analysis Essay, partial draft due 9/13, complete draft due 9/20
2. Blog Reflection

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Week 3
9/13

Activities:
1. Peer Review Workshop: Poetry Analysis Essay. Visit two blogs and post your review.
2. Creating Poetry
4. Work on Creative Writing (Poetry)
 
Homework:
1. Begin work on original poetry. Two original poems due 9/27 on blog
2. Blog Reflection

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Week 4
9/20

Activities:
1. Poetry Analysis Essay Due
2. Creative Writing (Poetry) Workshop: Small Group Review and Class Readings
2. Form Myth Presentation Groups (exchange emails)

Homework:
1. Leonard. Chapter 1 and the Chapter assigned to your group (2-6)
2. Two original poems due 9/27
2. Blog Reflection

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WORLD MYTHOLOGY

Week 5
9/27

Activities:
1. Two poems due on blog
2. Introduction to World Mythology
3. Discuss Leonard, Chapter 1
4. Discuss Collaborative Myth Presentations (with PowerPoint)
5. Collaborative Myth Presentation Workshop (in groups)

Homework:
1. Work on Collaborative Myth Presentation
2. Blog Reflection

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Week 6
10/4

Activities:
1. Collaborative Myth Presentation Workshop (in groups)
2. Assign a myth from your chapter to your classmates for next week's presentation

Homework:
1. Prepare for Collaborative Myth Presentation
2. Read assigned myths
3. Blog Reflection

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Week 7
10/11

Activities:
1. Collaborative Myth Presentations
2. Myth Discussion

Homework:
1. Buckingham. Chapters 1-6
2. Blog Reflection

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DIGITAL LITERACIES

Week 8
10/18

Activities:
1. Discuss Buckingham, Chapters 1-6
2. Mediation and Remediation

Homework:
1. Blog Reflection

_______________________________

Week 9
10/25

Activities:
1. Discuss Collaborative Media Literacy Group Presentations
2. Form Collaborative Media Literacy Groups (exchange emails)
3. New Media Workshop (YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook)

Homework:
1. Buckingham. Chapters 7-12
2. Blog Reflection

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Week 10
11/1

Activities:
1. Collaborative Media Literacy Group Workshop
2. Discuss Buckingham, Chapters 7-12

Homework:
1. Finalize and prepare for Collaborative Literacy Group Presentation
2. Blog Reflection

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WORLD TEXT

Week 11
11/8

Activities:
1. Collaborative Literacy Group Presentations
2. Introduction to Globalization: Cultural, Economic, and Political

Homework:
1. Supplemental readings on globalization, global Englishes, multiculturalism, and social movements
2. Blog Reflection

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Week 12
11/15

Activities:
1. Discuss globalization readings
2. View Babel

Homework:
1. Supplemental readings on globalization, global Englishes, multiculturalism, and social movements: Martin, PowerPoint-PDF
2. Blog Reflection

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Week 13
11/22

THANKSGIVING

_______________________________

Week 14
11/29

Activities:
1. Discussion on globalization: Read "Cultural Space and Urban Place" (Moodle)
2. Randy Martin. "Where Did the Future Go?" (Moodle)
3. Fredric Jameson. "The Politics of Utopia" (Moodle)
2. Discuss and begin research for World Text Analysis Essay (review draft due on 12/6, blog draft 12/13)

Homework:
1. World Text Analysis Essay (review draft due on 12/6, blog draft 12/13)

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Week 15
12/6

Activities:
1. World Text Analysis Essay Peer Review and Class Readings
2. Begin work on  final Blog Reflection (@500 – 750 words) (Due on blog 12/13)
3. Blog Presentations
4. Final thoughts

Homework:
Revise all work for Blog Portfolio

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12/13 BLOG PORTFOLIOS DUE