10% Course participation
25 % Group-led class intervention (20%) and individual reflection paper (5%)
15 % Reading Reports
20% Critical visual reflection
30% Final original paper/project

*** Please note that all Grades are not considered final until approved by the Department chair. ***

Participation

10%

Students full participation is essential. This includes completion of assigned readings, attendance, and contribution to class discussions and activities. You should arrive having read and thought the assigned readings, bringing questions, examples, and comments to share with the class. We will begin each class with close readings of different passages, both suggested by you and picked by me, and discuss what we find compelling and/or problematic about these passages. Please note, if you are uncomfortable speaking in front of your peers due to your own personal reasons, please speak with me at the beginning of the term and we will make alternative arrangements. Students participation mark will also be affected by how supportive they are to fellow classmates: collegiality is very important inside and outside the classroom.

***Attention: Participation mark will be zero if the student misses three or more classes without contacting me or having the appropriate reasoning and/or documentation.

Group-led Intervention

20% class intervention and 5% individual reflection

Students will be asked to place themselves in groups of 4 (no more or less). The groups will sign up for one week to organize a class-led intervention motivated by the course reading of that week. The intention behind this process is to energize critical thought on the course reading and offer a meaningful approach to a certain visual communication issue. Interventions may include an artistic activity, a debate, a storytelling, social media interaction, etc. Please note that your classmates are not required to participate if they do not feel comfortable. The group intervention must run between 25-30 minutes. After the intervention, we will have a quick class dialogue about the outcomes from the activities. It is required that one week prior to the presentation the group member stay 15 minutes after class to speak to me about what they are planning and to receive preliminary feedback.

In addition to the intervention, each group member is required to submit a 1-page reflection on the activity, its application of the course reading, the general response of the classmates, and situate what you would have changed.

Your reflections must be emailed by 10 am one week after your group intervention.

Reading Reports

(500-700 words)

15%

This assignment is designed to be low-stakes (not worth very much individually), but aim to help you gain a deeper understanding of the readings. You are responsible for submitting two reports, each worth 7.5%. This assignment is very straightforward: your job, in two pages, will be to write a short summary of the readings of the week you choose, including questions the reading raised, connections the reading have to prior readings, class discussions, or contemporary media, or critiques of the readings. You should explain the concepts to the best of your ability, making links where you can to other ideas/theories covered in the course. The goal of this assignment is to help you to develop close reading skills that are essential to both critical reading and thinking skills. Thus, it might my useful to focus on one or two passages, concepts or ideas discussed on the readings.

Minimally, you are required to submit two reports, so you must select at least two weeks for writing your assignment. Reading reports starts from week 3 and you should pick at least 1 before the reading week. Note that you are free to write 3 reports. If you do, your lowest mark will be dropped (if your 3rd assignment happens to result in a lower grade than your previously lowest grade, you will not be penalized in any way).

The reading reports must be emailed by 10 am the day of the class they are assigned.

Critical Visual Reflection

4-5 pages + 3-5 pictures

20%
Due week 6

Choosing a Montreal-specific site (park, statue, building, mural, etc.) and applying two courses reading (other than ones used from the student’s group intervention) from different weeks. You should reflect on what issues of visual communication are being energized by the chosen site. Some of the questions to consider: What are the ethical complexities of this site? What kind of seeing practices emerge? How is it being framed in the backdrop of Montreal? What are the cultural/social implications of its visual qualities? The student discussion must consistently apply and articulate the selected course readings. The reflection should also include 4-5 pictures that must be referred in the text of your paper. Take the opportunity to explore a part of Montreal that you encounter every day and issues that are relevant to your personality. The reflection must be approximately 4-5 pages long, in addition to the pictures and a bibliography.

The assignment must be emailed by 10 am on the day of the deadline.

Deadline Extended: February 19 @ 11:59 pm

Final original paper

10 pages

30%
Due week 14

Your final assignment essay will be an original paper on the topic of your choice. Consider writing on issues we have covered over the duration of this curse: gender and racial representation; visuality, perception, and sensation; ethics; technology; ideology; political economy; videogames, visualization, social media, etc. In a 10 pages paper, you should respond to your selected issues, and use a minimum of 3 course readings to articulate what is at stake. I encourage the use of non-academic articles to contextualize and familiarize with the topic. However, please remember the emphasis needs to be on the course reading and in their application on the selected topic.

The final paper should be emailed by 10 am on the last day of classes.

*** Attention: Written feedback will not be given on late assignments.