Media Artifact Presentation and Auto-ethnography
For your first assignment, I want you to think about the role media plays in your life. Select an artifact that reflects your own tastes and experience of the media, and bring it to class for "show and tell." The artifact can reflect your relationship with any of the dominant media in our society (i.e. film, television, radio, popular music, theatre, comic books, cyberspace, etc.)
Each of you will deliver a 3-5 minute presentation on the artifact's cultural significance in your life. Your goal should be to share something with us about your investment and participation within a mediated society.
Then, using your media artifact presentation as a jumping off point, you will compose a 2-3 page auto-ethnography, where you explore your personal relationship, not just to this artifact (and what it represents) but to the media as a whole. This essay should not just rehash your in-class presentation, but rather you should use it as an opportunity to explore your personal thoughts, feelings, and attitudes toward the media. These essays should be double-spaced, with 12-point font and 1.25-inch margins. Multiple pages should be stapled together.