First things first: liability forms for anyone who hasn't submitted yet
Introductions ← getting to know each other
I'll start: I'm Emily, she/her pronouns, second year MFA student from Atlanta, GA. I currently really like shadows.
Some things you might share:
• Your name and pronouns
• Where you're from
• What brought you to this class
• A texture that made you stop and look recently
Field trip logistics ← carpooling coordination
We'll organize who has access to a car and set up carpooling groups for our upcoming field trips.
people who have a car:
--> mary jo
--> hannah
--> natalia
--> gabby
--> henry
--> thalia
Attendance Policy:
Attendance is mandatory. 3 or more unexcused absences will result in failing the course. I will email you after your 2nd unexcused absence.
Lateness: If you're more than 10 minutes late, I will count you as absent. Please contact me beforehand if something is happening and you need an extension or accommodation.
Discussion Etiquette: This section will mostly be workshopping and Socratic discussion based. openness to exploring ideas and viewpoints that differ from your own is critical. this is the basis of academia. Please take a moment to pause, reflect, give others the benefit of the doubt, and try to understand where others are coming from.
Come to class having read these texts! I will tell you which texts we will be focusing more of our time each week.
Context is key: When reading, identify the context these authors are coming from (their country, time period, ideology) What was happening around the author as they were writing this piece? Understanding the historical and cultural moment can reveal the text's meaning and significance.
Think critically about the argument the author is making:
• Can you think of a counter argument?
• Is the author omitting key information from their texts?
Think about the canon: everything is in conversation with each other.
3-part writing assignment:
1. 1-page summary of Carl Matheson: "The Simpsons, Hyper-Irony and the Meaning of Life"
2. 1-page summary of Kelly L. Richardson's "Simpsons Did It!": South Park and the Intertextuality of Contemporary Animation
3. List a few interesting ideas from Michel Foucault's This is Not a Pipe
What is a summary?
"Objective: to identify the key points, and sub points, of the text(s) to your reader. Generally, does not include personal opinion and is written in the third person."
Submission: PDF format with proper Chicago citations (footnotes + bibliography)
Writing expectations:
We'll spend section time developing your writing skills through weekly assignments that build toward your research paper.
2. Write in complete sentences. Proofread. Do not use an LLM. this is for your benefit towards learning how to write. I will know. I'd rather read a messy paper than a generated one.
all of these texts are available in your course reader (you can go buy at the associated students or access via library reserve). if you have not yet picked one up i've linked a few of them below.