English 106 Summer 2011

Your portfolio assignment is a way for you to reflect on what you have learned this semester.  It will be due on Friday, August 5 at midnight.  I will return work electronically.  Everyone will receive their graded assignments within a week but not at the same time.  I will return them as I grade them, and I will grade them in the order that they reach my inbox at: hidalgoatpurdue@gmail.com.

Your portfolio must contain the following:

• At least two of your three projects.

• Your portfolio reflective letter.  In your reflective letter you will do the following:

1.  Thoroughly define two of the concepts we have discussed in class this semester:

• Ethos

• Pathos

• A well-supported, clear thesis

• Audience awareness

• Visual rhetoric

• Language and tone

• Use of valid sources

• Integration of quotations

• MLA citation

For your definitions you can draw from your notes and from class discussions.  You can also use our class textbook and the Purdue OWL. For Compose Design Advocate and the OWL citations, you should use MLA.  After defining the concept, you will apply it to at least two of the texts we discussed this semester (the Hunger Games trilogy, We Live in Public, Children of Men, V for Vendetta and the shorter texts we read in Compose Design Advocate).  If you cite specific page numbers, make sure to use MLA.

2. For each of the two concepts selected, you will explain how you have applied them in your projects, which if needed, will be revised to make those concepts work better.  You will need three examples per concept. When you are referring to the concepts you will cite them as you would any other source, by providing the title of the source as well as the page number.  Please provide the second number for your video.  For websites, use the name of the tab of that particular page, as well as the paragraph number if applicable.  You must address two projects per concept, so for example, you can’t take all three of your visual rhetoric examples from your website.

3. You will select a color for each of the two concepts and change the font color of the title of that portion of your reflective essay to match it (please do not use yellow).  You will then highlight or change the font color of the portions of the projects you are referring to to that same color (do not do this when dealing with your website).

Your final product should be between 1200 – 1500 words (4 – 5 pages).

For this project you will produce a website.  We will have a class workshop teaching you an accessible software you may use to make websites, though you can make your website with whatever program you feel most comfortable with. You will need to use images and/or graphics and hyperlinks in order to make your website work effectively.

You may choose to do this project in pairs or individually.

Below are some suggestions for your website.  If none of these fit what you would like to do, we can discuss other possibilities:

1.  A website for a work dealing with utopias/dystopias: a book, a film, a play, an album, a painting, a sculpture, etc.

2.  A website to inform visitors about a utopian/dystopian society.

3. A website to inform visitors about utopian/dystopian event that took place or is taking place in a society.

4. A website about a person who has contributed to our understanding of utopias/dystopias, either through their creative work (ie. Aldous Huxley) or through their actions (ie. Adolph Hitler).  Make sure you focus on their relationships to utopias/dystopias.

5. A website that examines the concept of utopias/dystopias and their relevance or lack thereof to our society.

Your site should be educational about whatever work, society, person, event or concept you select.  You will need to target it to a particular audience, such as college students, young children, the elderly or people from a certain profession or ethnicity.  Once you select your audience group, you will target your information to their particular needs.  Whatever your choice, you should make sure to address the concept of utopias/dystopias throughout the site.

You will use a minimum of three sources.  At least one of these should come from print (meaning a book or something you found in our library’s catalogue) and one from the web.  You are also welcome to interview experts in the field or people whose opinions are relevant to your topic.  No matter how many interviews you do, they will count as one source.  Since this is a website, you should take advantage of hyperlinking whenever possible when citing your sources.

The text on your website should be equivalent to 4-6 pages (1,200-1,800 words).  You will also write a 1-2 page (300-600 words) reflection in which you explain the rhetorical choices you made in terms of educating your target audience about your selected topic.

The students who did not present with their Project 2 groups will present their websites to the class.  The presentations will be less about content and more about your choices in crafting the site.  You will have about five minutes to present your websites and three minutes to answer questions.

Keep in mind the concepts of ethos, pathos, logos and having a clear thesis that we have discussed in class, as well as audience awareness, tone and language.  Remember to take into account what your audience knows about this topic and what their already established opinions are.  As with project 2, visual rhetoric is a vital component of this assignment and you should display your knowledge of our class readings and discussions on the subject in your work.

Your first draft is due on Friday, July 29. We will be at a computer lab so you can view the websites electronically.  You will present your sites on Monday, August 1.  Your final draft is due on Tuesday, August 2.  I will return work electronically.  Everyone will receive their graded assignments within a week of turning them in, but not all at the same time.  I will return them as I grade them, and I will grade them in the order that they reach my inbox at: hidalgoatpurdue@gmail.com.

A “C” project should:

• Meet all requirements of the assignment.

• Provide appropriate description so that your particular audience can understand the situations and issues involved.

• Have a thesis that follows logically from the body of the project.

• Control surface errors.

• Use MLA citation to document all sources.

A “B” project should do everything a “C” project does but should also:

• Show evidence that possible audience objections have been anticipated and responded to.

• Incorporate sources smoothly.

• Include an analysis that interrogates the experiences, observations and sources critically.

• Produce a logical, easy to navigate website structure.

An “A” project should do everything a “B” project does but should also:

• Arrive at a thesis that is original, insightful and sensible.

• Show a flair with language and visual rhetoric.

• Have a clear organizational strategy based on audience needs.

• Demonstrate an extensive understanding of the website genre’s particular characteristics.

This is a group project and it has four components: a short video (either a documentary or a movie preview), a written analysis, your presentation of that analysis by two members of your group, and a question and answer session.

Group Work:  You will select your own groups of three or four students to work on this project together.  You’ll be allowed to work together during conferences, but you’ll also have to meet outside of class.  Each group member will present progress reports whenever we meet during conferences to ensure that everyone is doing their part.  If a member does not do the work s/he has agreed to do, s/he will be removed from the group and will have to complete the project on her/his own. 

Short Video:  The video should be between 3-5 minutes long and you have two options:

Option 1. You can make a short documentary about a person, a group of people, organization or company that have had utopian or dystopian experiences.  Unlike with Project 1, you are welcome to view utopias and dystopias more broadly, exploring the utopian/dystopian elements in experiences such as high school, adolescence, coming out in a homophobic society, political and economic systems, etc.  You will interview at least two people and also have footage of their professional and/or daily life or photographs of their past to use as B-roll and intersperse throughout.  You will talk to your subjects in advance and get permission from them, as well as work around their schedule.  Shooting will take place on the weekend of July 22-24.  If your subjects need to shoot during the week, you can do it on Friday, July 22.  You will not be ready to shoot prior to that time, so make sure that those dates works for your subjects.  You must have a film plan when you show up to shoot.  The plan will encompass the questions you want to ask, the topics you want your subjects to discuss, as well as the B-roll you want to shoot.  For this assignment you need to interview at least two people about your topic and use B-roll effectively.

Option 2. You can make a preview for a film about a utopia or dystopia of your creation.  You can choose a problem that you find particularly disturbing in our society and create a utopia/dystopia around it to warn your audience.  Be creative.  Remember that whatever you come up with you’ll need to be able to render in film with limited technology and skills.  You are welcome to mix you own footage with footage from other works that fit your vision.  You will need to have a detailed storyboard and a screenplay for this option.  Feel free to use humor if that’s the tone you think best fits your work. Shooting will take place on the weekend of July 22-24.  If your actors need to shoot during the week, you can do it on Friday, July 22.  You will not be ready to shoot prior to that time, so make sure that that date works for your actors.

Editing the Footage:

During this section, we will learn basic storyboarding and screenwriting to help you work on your videos.  You will also be taught how edit digital video using IMovie.   You can use your own video cameras and tripods or borrow them from the reference desk at Hicks Library.  If you borrow one from Hicks, they are on loan for three days only, so you’ll have to shoot and capture the footage to a hard drive during that time.

To check out a video camera and/or a tripod from the DLC, you can go to this link: https://www.dlc.purdue.edu/equipment.cfm or call 765-494-3751.

Cameras and tripod numbers are limited at Hicks, so you need to order them right away.  

You will also need to purchase a mini DV tape for your camera.  You can buy these at Purdue’s College Bookstores or at places like Target, where they are slightly cheaper.  If you change cameras for whatever reason, do not use the same tape but a new one.  Groups that have used the same tape on different cameras in the past have lost half their footage, usually the one they filmed with the first camera.

I understand that not all students own Mac computers—which is needed to run IMovie.  The DLC has a number of Macs that students can reserve in order to edit their footage.  Students with regular Macs will be able to download the footage directly into their computer using the firewire cable that comes with the cameras.  Students with MacBook Pros, however, will need to reserve a Mac at the DLC in order to download the footage since MacBook Pros do not have a firewire port.

In order to reserve Mac computers at the DLC, please go here: https://www.dlc.purdue.edu/computer/index.cfm. You will be asked to log in using your Purdue ID, then you will go to “Select Operating System” and choose Mac.  You will also go to “Search by Computer Name” and choose Macs 1 through 5.  Only these five computers have the firewire port required to download footage.  Footage is downloaded in real time, so that if you film for an hour, it will take you an hour to download it.  Make sure you allow yourself plenty of time to download the footage, since sometimes it takes a while to get a handle of the process.

NOTE:  You must reserve a computer and do so in advance or there may be no computers available when you go to download your footage.

Once you have downloaded the footage, you want to save it into an external hard drive (whether or not you are using your own computer, since video footage takes up a lot of space).  If someone in your group owns an external hard drive, please use that one.  If not, we have a limited number of hard drives you can borrow from Cathy Archer in Heavilon 302. Mention that you are Alexandra Hidalgo’s student when you ask her for one of the drives that have been reserved to be used by my students.  You will save your project on the external hard drive and keep it there till after you have received the graded final result from me.  If you borrow a hard drive, make sure to ask to keep it till August 1.

If you have your own Mac computer, you can use it to edit the footage once you have it in the hard drive.  If you don’t have your own Mac computer, you can reserve a Mac at the DLC and work on editing your film there.  The staff at the DLC is knowledgeable about IMovie and will be able to answer your questions as you work.  Whether or not you decide to work on your own computer, you could do your editing at the DLC so you can take advantage of the staff’s guidance.

I will provide you with templates of releases, which you will ask every one of your subjects to sign before you film them.  You will turn in scans of the releases along with the rest of the assignment and keep the originals for yourselves.

Once you have finished your video, you will create a free account on vimeo.com by going to either  http://vimeo.com/join or http://upload.youtube.com/my_videos_upload and you will post your video on vimeo or YouTube.

Written Analysis:  Your analysis essay should be double-spaced and 5-8 pages long (around 1,500 – 2,400 words).   You will need at least three sources.  One from the web, one from print or the library catalogue, and a third that can be whatever you wish as long as it’s credible.  You can have more than three sources but don’t get carried away.  No more than eight would be advisable.  The essay serves two purposes:  it reports your research findings and then it analyzes your video.

Option 1:  Your research for this project will comprise the utopian/dystopian subject you are featuring as well as different people, organizations or companies that are undergoing similar utopian/dystopian experiences.  For the second part of your paper, you will analyze your choices as documentary filmmakers.  How did your questions, camera angles, editing and mise-en-scène help you make the points you wanted to make about your subject?

Option 2:  Your research will focus on the problem your utopia/dystopia serves to warn us about.  For the second part of your paper, you will analyze your choices in terms of screenplay, camera angles, mise-en-scène and editing.  How are your filmic choices helping your preview make people want to see the whole film?  How do they present the problem you see in society? 

Presentations:  Two group members will present the video during our screening days.  The first member will speak before we watch the video and will share the research information that was found on the issue, as well as why as a group you found it to be an issue worth addressing.  The second member will speak after we have watched the video and will analyze it for the class.  The information you are presenting will come from your written analysis.  You are welcome to use Powerpoint but you can also do an oral presentation.  It’s up to you.

Question and Answer Session:  The whole group will answer questions from classmates about both the video and the analysis.  You will be evaluated on your ability to reply in a coherent and knowledgeable manner.

Keep in mind the concepts of ethos, pathos, logos and having a clear thesis that we have discussed in class, as well as audience awareness, tone and language.  Remember to take into account what your audience knows about this topic and what their already established opinions are. Visual rhetoric is vital to this assignment.  Make sure to integrate what we have discussed and read about visual rhetoric as you work on your videos and the analysis.

Your names must be on the assignment and you need to give the video and the written analysis a title. The film plan, screenplay and storyboard workshop will take place on Friday, July 22.  Bring one hard copy of each to share with other groups.  Video screenings and presentations will take place on Wednesday, July 27.  You will email me the vimeo or youtube link, the written analysis and the scanned releases on the day of your presentation.  I will return work electronically.  Everyone will receive their graded assignments within a week of turning them in, but not all at the same time.  I will return them as I grade them, and I will grade them in the order that they reach my inbox at: hidalgoatpurdue@gmail.com.

A “C” project should:

• Meet all requirements of the assignment.

• Provide appropriate description so that an audience can understand the situations and issues

involved.

• Have a thesis that follows logically from the body of the written analysis.

• Control surface errors.

• Use MLA citation to document all sources.

• Demonstrate an understanding of film elements such as editing, framing, mise-en-scène and lighting.

A “B” project should do everything a “C” paper does but should also:

• Show evidence that possible audience objections have been anticipated and responded to.

• Incorporate sources smoothly.

• Include an analysis that interrogates the experiences, observations and sources critically.

• Create filmic images that correspond with the topic being explored.

• Craft an entertaining and informative video.

An “A” project should do everything a “B” paper does but should also:

• Arrive at a thesis that is original, insightful and sensible.

• Show a flair with language and/or visual rhetoric.

• Have a clear organizational strategy based on audience needs.

• Use B-roll in an original and pertinent manner.

• Create a video that produces a strong (intended) reaction in the audience such as laughter, compassion, admiration, etc.

Students will work in groups of three or four but each student will be researching the topic they selected for Project 1.

Each group member needs to find:

1. Two credible internet sources

2. Two articles from a peer-reviewed journal (those you can find under the library catalogue)

3. One multimedia source (a video, a film, an image, a podcast)

4. Two books currently in the Purdue Library Holdings

Each group member will create an MLA Works Cited page with all their sources.  Although each group members’ Works Cited page should be made separately, you will compile them all into one document, which you will email to me at ahidalgo@purdue.edu by midnight today. For information on MLA format, visit the Purdue OWL.

If your group completes the assignment on time, all members will receive one point of extra credit.   For a group to be complete, you must present research results for all members. 

For this project you will write an analytical paper related to The Hunger Games.  As long as you engage critically with the material, there aren’t too many restrictions but you should make sure to discuss your ideas with me over conferences, during office hours and/or over email.  Here are some possible topics:

1.  You can analyze the way the text portrays a concept such as heroism, romantic, parental or filial love, family, villains/monsters, goodness, loyalty, cruelty, happiness, tragedy, etc. Your research might include scholarship on your selected issue and/or scholarship on how utopias/dystopias have portrayed this issue in the past.

2.  You can do a critique of the text from a certain perspective, such as gender, class, race, sexuality, age, etc. Your research might include theoretical works from the perspective you’ve selected (feminist theory, working-class studies, etc.) and/or scholarship on how utopias/dystopias have dealt with your particular issue in the past.

3.  The Hunger Games presents a critique of reality television and celebrity culture.  In which ways is Collins’s representation relevant to our culture today?  Do you agree with her claims or do you think she goes too far?  Has reading this text altered the way in which you interact with reality TV and celebrity culture? Your research might include theoretical work and critiques of celebrity culture and/or reality television, either certain shows which you think are particularly relevant or reality TV in general.

4.  The Hunger Games strongly critiques imperialism and war.  Choose a particular conflict going on in the world today or that took place in the past and compare and contrast it with the one portrayed by Collins.  Does The Hunger Games help you better understand that particular conflict?  Can fiction help us elucidate present and historical events?  Your research might include learning about the conflict you select and scholarship on the general concepts of war and imperialism.

If none of these options seem appealing to you, we can discuss other possibilities.

Keep in mind the concepts of ethos, pathos, logos and having a clear thesis that we have discussed in class, as well as audience awareness, tone and language.  Remember to take into account what your audience knows about this topic and what their already established opinions are.  If you think illustrations, graphics or pictures would add to the power of your project, you are welcome to use them, but you must address them as you make your points.

Your paper should be double-spaced and 5-8 pages long (around 1,500 – 2,400 words). You will need at least three sources.  One from the web, one from print or the library catalogue and a third that can be whatever you wish as long as it’s credible.  You can have more than three sources but don’t get carried away.  No more than eight would be advisable.

Your name must be on the assignment and you need to give it a title.  Your first draft is due on Friday, July 8.  You should have an electronic copy of the paper that you can email to your fellow workshop members.  Your final draft is due on Monday, July 11.  I will return work electronically.  Everyone will receive their graded assignments within a week of turning them in, but not all at the same time.  I will return them as I grade them, and I will grade them in the order that they reach my inbox at: hidalgoatpurdue@gmail.com.

A “C” project should:

• Meet all requirements of the assignment.

• Have a thesis that follows logically from the body of the paper.

• Provide appropriate description so that an audience can understand the situations and issues involved.

• Control surface errors.

• Use MLA citation to document all sources.

A “B” project should do everything a “C” paper does but should also:

• Show evidence that possible audience objections have been anticipated and responded to.

• Incorporate sources smoothly.

• Include an analysis that interrogates the experiences, observations and sources critically.

An “A” project should do everything a “B” paper does but should also:

• Arrive at a thesis that is original, insightful and sensible.

• Show a flair with language.

• Have a clear organizational strategy based on audience needs.