For your final project in this class, you will take one of the four mini-projects you have created and further develop it. This might mean making a video, a game, a website, a research paper, or some combination of more than one of these. On our workshop day, you’ll have a chance to discuss your work in progress with me and with classmates, but you should also make sure to meet with me individually at least once to discuss your project plans.
No matter what format you choose for your project, you must create a visual element to present on December 9. You’ll have a couple of days to finish your write up: December 11 is the due date for your final project, which may be posted on this site or shared with me privately.
Project-Specific Suggestions for Expansion
Mini-project one (the technocultural analysis) would lend itself to expansion as a research paper in which you explore the scholarship that has been done around a particular kind of techno-cultural practice (like online dating or selfies) or a particular website (like Tumblr or Pinterest), placing your own experiences in conversation with in-depth research. You could also engage in some informal ethnography, asking your friends about their technocultural practices and analyzing their answers (with permission of course). You don’t need to present this research in a conventional format – you can write it as a blog entry, make a website, even create a Twine game. But I expect you to write at least 2000 words.
Mini-project two (the social media archive) can be extended into a more fully researched analysis, in which you look not just at an individual hashtag or conversation but at the larger context in which it took place, the events that led up to it, etc. If you choose to develop this project, the ethical issues we discussed around social media publics and the politics of citation will be very important, and I will expect to see you explain the position you are taking in this area. Write at least 2000 of your own words (this can include quotations you are discussing, but not the tweets and posts you are curating).
Mini-project three (the remix video) will require you not just to finish your video (which can be the one you began in class or a new one), but to work through more than one draft to hone your point. If you can, invite friends or classmates to watch the drafts and see whether they can follow the argument you’re making without knowing in advance. It’s okay if you don’t reach a point you’re completely satisfied with – but I’ll want to see your discussion of the video’s development in the reflection you’ll write to accompany the video. This project requires a video of at least 2 minutes in length and no more than 5 minutes, accompanied by a written reflection of at least 800 words.
Mini-project four (the Twine game/interactive story) should be significantly longer and more complex than the one you created for the mini-project, not just in the number of passages but also in the thinking and creative work that they embody. If you can, invite friends or classmates to play-test your game/story, watch their reactions, and find out where they felt uncertain or confused. It’s okay if you don’t reach a point you’re completely satisfied with – but I’ll want to see your discussion of the game/story’s development in the reflection you’ll write to accompany it. This project requires a Twine game/story of at least 25 passages, accompanied by a written reflection of at least 800 words.
Final Project Requirements
No matter which creative exploration you choose to develop, you will have to include the following components:
- RESEARCH.
Your project should take one or more of the issues we began to explore during the course and engage with it more deeply. Within either your project itself or the reflection you write about it, incorporate at least one of our course readings and at least four additional sources relating to your project. Your additional sources should include at least one scholarly article or book; non-scholarly online writings and multimedia sources must be substantial and research-based. You will bring an annotated list of research sources to our workshop day on December 2 and draw from them in designing your project and writing your reflection (where you should also cite all your sources).
- PROPOSAL
Before our class on December 2, you must submit a short description of your project, which you should email to me as a Word document. In 200-300 words, describe what you are planning to create: include a title, a description of the format, the questions you are exploring, and any answers (or perhaps deeper questions) your work is proposing. We will use these proposals as our submissions to present at the Women’s Studies Undergraduate Research Day, so you should also describe the way that you would prefer to present your project to your fellow students. (If you prefer not to present at a public event, you may make your presentation to your classmates only or privately to me.)
- WORKSHOP
In class on December 2, we will workshop project ideas. In addition to your proposal, bring:
– your list of research sources, with annotations explaining why you chose each one
– the project you are planning to develop
– an outline of the ways you are planning to extend your project
– a question about the project’s central ideas that you would like to discuss.
- PRESENTATION
On December 9, you will present your completed project as part of the Women’s Studies Undergraduate Research Day. If you prefer not to present at a public event, you may make your presentation to your classmates only or privately to me. You may present your project in any format you like, including an interactive one, but there must be a visual component (it’s fine if this is just a screen showing your completed project). Plan for your presentation to take at least five and no more than seven minutes.
- SUBMISSION
Your presentation should demonstrate a complete project, with the final written version either posted on this website or emailed to me by midnight on Friday December 11.
If your project does not primarily take a written form, you must also include a written reflection that responds to the following question:
How does your project deepen and extend your engagement with gender, race, and digital media?
In your reflection, you should make reference to the research you have undertaken. Make sure to discuss your process of creation as well as the finished product. Include any questions you still have, as well as ways you might want to extend the project if you had more time. I encourage you to include images, screen shots, and any other relevant media. Write at least 800 words.
Grading
I use the following guidelines to grade student projects:
1. Thoughtful engagement with course concepts and assignment. Are you meeting the expectations that have been set up for the assignment? How vividly can I see the influence of readings and discussions in your work?
2. Nuance and complexity of ideas explored. How deeply are you reckoning with the challenges and contradictions that surround the theories and practices on which you are focusing?
3. Evidence of effort exerted. Have you put substantial time and energy into this work, researching beyond class material and seeking help with conceptual and technical difficulties as they arose?
4. Originality and imagination. How fresh and exciting are the concept and execution? Is there scope for further development beyond this class?
5. Technical proficiency. How effectively are you making use of the methods you have chosen? This doesn’t necessarily mean that your project will be technically elaborate, but that you understand the affordances of the method you are using, whether it’s a research paper or a music video, and are taking advantage of them.