Welcome

Students in Prof. Wright's MEDIA 180 in Summer 2009 will need to sign up as authors for this blog and post your assignments here. I will invite you via email.

The assignments are on Blackboard, and will also be handed out the first day of class.

I will also post them below. I look forward to reading your thoughts and beginning a critical dialog about the media around us.

Four Short Writing Assignments for MEDIA 180

Every Monday (with the exception of our first day), you have a short writing assignment due, each worth 5% of your final grade. You must post it to the class blog by 10am on Monday.

Late assignments will be marked down 1% per day late (i.e. assignments posted Tuesday may earn 4 of the 5% at most, Wednesday 3%, etc.). Posts should be at least 300 words and well written with proper grammar and spelling. By Tuesday at 10am, you should respond with a respectful comment to at least one of your classmates’ posts. Your comments should not to critique your classmates’ work, but should respond thoughtfully to points raised. The goal is dialog.

Assignment #1
YOUR MOST MEMORABLE MEDIATED EXPERIENCE
Choose an event you experienced through television, radio, newspapers or Internet. Do NOT choose an event at which you were actually present. Describe how you experienced the event: where you were, who you were with, where the information came from, etc. How did the medium or media shape your experience? Has your understanding of the event changed in retrospect? Why or why not?

Assignment #2
READ ALL OVER
Choose a major news story from this past week. Read an article about it from each of The New York Times, USA Today, BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/) and a news source of your choice. (If possible, find an article from an ethnic press or another country’s press. If you speak another language, this does not need to be in English. If not possible, choose a source with known politics.) How does the coverage compare? Contrast the articles in terms of slant, sources, density and focus.

Assignment #3
MINORITIES & AMERICAN TV TODAY
Watch an episode of an American scripted television comedy or drama (NOT reality tv or game shows). Choose ONE character that belongs to a group that is underrepresented or often stereotyped in American media. Describe this character’s role. Is race, ethnicity, sexuality, religion and/or gender defining this characters actions, personality or possibilities? Do you think the character creates, reinforces, defies or ignores common stereotypes in American media? How?

Assignment #4
VIRTUAL ACTIVISM
Choose ONE of the activist projects from A BETTER WORLD IN SECOND LIFE.
Briefly describe the project. What about this project interests you? Do you think this project can affect change in the non-virtual world? If yes, how? If not, why not? Give one other example of activism, either on or offline, that you consider effective. Why?
(To watch the piece again, visit http://www.levjoy.com/blog/betterworld/)