MADT 352: Media Arts & Identity

Course Description

The course examines the creation and propagation of representations of identity, such as sexuality, ethnicity, race, nationality and class within film, video and electronic arts.

For FA21, “Women in Film” is the subject of the course, and the students will be engaging in discussions and creating media texts (podcasts, academic writings, short video projects) designed to showcase and emphasize roles of representation from the beginnings of cinema to the present, how audiences consume these representations, and how industry factors weigh into the dissemination of patterned views of women.

This is a required upper-division criticism course in the Media Arts degree, option in Criticism.

Course Modality

MOI: Flipped (in-person + asynchronous)

This course will consist of both in-person and asynchronous components that are designed to provide students with environments where they can have unlimited access to the course content and have time to digest the weekly material before attending in-person sessions where their questions and insights into the material can be processed/discussed in a group setting. Individual and group activities will be utilized during each in-person class to help solidify concepts and promote a greater understanding of how the scaffolded material builds on these concepts throughout the semester. Attendance and participation will be graded as these areas contribute greatly to their overall success in the class.

Course Design Components

Learning Modules/Organization: For the asynchronous section of the class, there will be weekly modules complete with content overviews for that week, weekly learning outcomes, Kaltura & YouTube links to media content, open access readings from Meriam Library, a PowerPoint version of the weekly lecture, a video lecture of the PowerPoint information with added material, and the weekly online assignment (reading reports, polls/surveys, etc.). The in-person section will consist of material overviews, discussion sessions, and an in-class activity that require both individual and group work to be utilized.

Key Principles of Design: Easy navigability is imperative to how both components (online/in-person) of the class operate. It is my goal to have the students front-loaded with the online content so that when they come to class with questions and concepts/examples from external sources, we can discuss these aspects as a group.

Module-Specific Objectives: All objectives are stated at the beginning of the week, so elements of backwards design is at play as each week will be developed around specific concepts (e.g. introduction to Women’s Studies under the Cultural Studies umbrella, domestic/professional roles of women in film and television, etc.)

STUDENT Engagement

Engagement with the course material: Students will participate in online course work (reading reports, media analysis activities) that help provide a contextual framework for them to work from. In-class activities will be used to reinforce concepts learned and will help to facilitate stronger discussions among their peers.

Interaction student-instructor: Students will be able to attend in-person or online office hours. I will also be scheduling individual check-in appointments for group and individual work to confirm that assigned tasks are being fulfilled and that the material (concepts, objectives) are understood by the students.

Interaction student-student: Students will engage in group-based activities (pro/con debates, content analysis exercises, reading report reflection sessions) where they can not only work toward their SLOs but develop a sense of community within the in-person/online class settings. I intend to move away from online discussion boards, as I want students to have the opportunity to speak in a group setting where ideas can be easily exchanged and discussed.

Welcome/introduction activities: I make a habit of having students create short introduction videos that allow them to share some basic and personal information (optional, of course) and let their fellow peers get to know them a little bit.

Student Learning Outcomes (SLO):

Working from these SLOs, MADT352 is designed to challenge students by mixing production methods (podcast and video essay production) alongside traditional critical analysis of media texts.

These final projects are the result of scaffolded exercises that teach students to analyze media texts, notice concepts of representation and paradigm shifts that follow through the history of film/tv, and research specific topics that both require the students to be accountable for their own research and help build researching and production skills within individual and group settings.

ELEMENTS OF EQUITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

All assignments and discussions within the class pertain to the representation of women in film (and other forms of media). Elements of equity, diversity, and inclusion include:

Academic articles on race and gender, intersectionality, audience reception, industry practices/trends, #MeToo, streaming services and diverse audiences.

In class exercises that demonstrate how to analyze critical media texts (film, TV) and assess stereotypical representations.

The creation of a student podcast series that will discuss the history of women in film from both industrial and narrative points of view.

The creation of video essays that explore specific concepts centered around the roles of women in the media industry.

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

THE PODCAST

Students will either create group or individual podcasts, through platforms such as Anchor, that address timely conversations around female representation in film (race, sexuality, political movement association, etc.). The students will all be responsible for creating a group podcast channel, and weekly entries will be recorded that create a threaded connection of concepts and examples from early Silent Cinema all the way to current Hollywood Blockbusters. The accessibility of Anchor, and other free podcast hosting sites, will make the creation of this content easy to manage as students can even record directly to the hosting server from home.

THE VIDEO ESSAY

Teams with defined roles such as Editor, Group Manager, and Content Collector will research specified topics of interest (again, students need to take an active interest in the subject matter that they choose) create a script that includes clearly developed information from academic sources and media clips (film, TV, news) and utilize free technology like Adobe Spark and Adobe Premiere to edit together professional works that can assess the students’ understanding of the material, and be used in their respective work fields.

ACTIVE LEARNING

Both of these assignments are designed to incorporate elements of active and experiential learning by establishing comprehensive exercises that build on the general knowledge base of the students, expanding their lexicon of key concepts and theoretical frameworks, overviewing technology and production methods associated with Podcasts and Video Essays, and producing content that can be disseminated to a larger audience (both podcasts and video essays can be accessed by the general public, including academic audiences).

TECHNOLOGY & TOOLS

Technology used for the two major assignments in this course:

The Podcast: Anchor, Audacity and Reaper (all free) can be used for more detailed podcast segments.

The Video Essay: Adobe Spark, Adobe Premiere, Davinci Resolve (all free…The Adobe Creative Cloud Suite is available to all CSU, Chico students) can be used to edit together professional works.

ACCESSIBILITY & UDL

Film screenings through YouTube and Kaltura to ensure easy access to content.

Open Access E-Book readings through Meriam Library. These can also be accessed from cell phones.

Lectures in both video and PowerPoint formats. Both contain example clips from films and television to emphasize concepts.

All readings, rubrics and the syllabus are formatted with accessibility in mind.

Students will be creating a variety of projects including: (1) Podcast, (1) Video Essay, and (4) Reading Reports that help provide context for concepts and frameworks discussed in class.

TRAINING IN COURSE DESIGN

Go Virtual: I have implemented RAFT techniques to emphasize student writing for specific audiences, as well as how this strategy can be used to facilitate the design of projects that can be promoted well beyond a student’s academic career. This real-world concept of who they are writing/producing content for is often overlooked, so the RAFT strategy is a way to stress the importance of longevity in association with professionally-crafted content.

Digital Pedagogy FLC: This FLC accentuated the need for creating environments that provide opportunities for students to use technology to their advantage, based on their level of access. It also stressed the importance of finding ways to make the material more relatable to students. Finally, adhering to their levels of preparedness is essential when approaching concepts and theoretical frameworks that students are not formally trained in.

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