Assignment overview
Letter grades are awarded based on the number of points accumulated: A [90-100), B [80-90), C [70-80), D [60-70). If you earn 100 points or more, you’ll get an A+. Because of regulations associated with the course’s CI-H designation, you must complete all of the assignments to pass the class.
Here is my complete AI writing assistance policy. In short: you’re allowed to use it, provided that you submit the prompts and dialogues from your sessions (Chat-GPT has a function that allows you to provide a link to the entire chat history), as well as a 200-word reflection on your experience. Submit both as an appendix to your assignments.
| Assignment | Points | Due date |
|---|---|---|
| Syllabus quiz (assigned first day of class) | 1 point | Sep 9 in class |
| Collaborative notes (once a semester): In each class, we will have one assigned note-taker (you can sign up in our schedule of readings) who will take raw notes and then do some clean-up / synthesis after class is over. The notes will be in this doc, which you can access as a way to review our discussion and readings, particularly if you have missed class. | 1 point | Sign up for class session of choice, submit link to notes (bookmark) to Canvas. |
| Reading responses (once per class, 20 responses total): For each set of readings, please write a short reading response in the form of a bulleted list (3-5 bullet points, 2-3 sentences per bullet = ~9 sentences). These responses can connect the reading to current affairs, talk about the methods, or otherwise be in conversation with the reading. They cannot, however, simply summarize the reading. Late work will not be accepted for this assignment; just be sure to submit the next one. Creating / posting memes that are related to the reading is highly recommended. | All responses are graded on a ✔️+ (1.5 points), ✔️ (1 pt), ✔️- (0.5 pt) basis. | 8 am the morning before class; submit to Canvas. |
| Attendance and participation: you must speak at least once in class per session in order to receive attendance and participation points (one per class). | 26 class sessions = 26 points | N/A |
| A1: Media diary (250 words): For the next week, maintain a diary of all the media you encounter — news, entertainment, etc. After collecting data for >1 week, write a 250 word reflection and produce a visualization of your media consumption. | 10 points | Before class on September 23; submit to Canvas, add visualization to this deck. |
| A2: Policy memo (1000 words): Using one of the case studies from our class, write a policy memo that suggests a descriptive, evaluative, and prescriptive approach to responsibly leveraging the potential (and remediating the harms) of media technology. | 15 points | Before class on October 16; submit to Canvas. |
| A3: Evaluating arguments (1250 words): Taking readings from one class session as a starting point, develop an argument that extends, challenges, or rethinks one or two major concepts from that class session. Evaluate the argument that the author(s) put forth and place that argument in broader historical context. | 20 points | Before class on November 13; submit to Canvas. |
| A4: Media analysis project (2500 words) | ||
| (4a): final project proposal (1 slide): Add a slide into the shared deck with 3 short ideas (1–3 sentences per idea). Be prepared to speak for ~3 min. | 1 point | Before class on November 13; submit to deck. |
| (4b): final paper rough draft: In this paper, you will choose a media topic to systematically gather data about, code (categorize) that data in some way, visualize the data, and analyze your findings. | 3 points | Before class on December 2; submit to Canvas. |
| (4c): final paper and presentation | presentation = 4 points, paper = 20 points | Before class on Dec 9 (to provide time for feedback before the course ends); submit paper to Canvas. Submit slides to shared deck. |
| Bonus assignment: writing center appointment, office hour appointment | 1 point each | By EOD December 13 (submit to form here) |
| 123 points |