Northeastern
State University
College
of Liberal Arts
Fall
2008 syllabus for
COMM
4623/5623 Seminar on Primetime Animation
(last
updated 09.08.08)
Professor: Amy Aldridge Sanford,
PhD
Office:
351 SH (Tahlequah
Campus)
Ext.: 3608
E-mail: aldridga@nsuok.edu
(This is the best way to contact
me)
Office
Hours: See Contact
Info on webpage.
Facebook:
Amy Aldridge Sanford
Class
Meetings: Mondays
5:30-8:10 p.m.; SH 121
Your
professorÕs philosophy of education: I am a facilitator of learning. The participants in
any given classroom enter with different paradigms and truths. I aid in
the exploration of those truths. I do NOT believe that the instructor is
THE holder of Truth; therefore we must all participate to co-construct
knowledge and create synergy. When a student starts to feel uncomfortable
in his/her existing paradigm that means s/he is growing as a
scholar. My desire is that all of my students feel the joy of
discomfort from time to time.
Grading
Philosophy: I
prefer intrinsic motivations, and therefore, am not a fan of letter
grades. I believe this extrinsic reward is too often the only motivation
for students to complete assignments. A college education should be
viewed as a privilege and an opportunity to become learned and scholarly.
However, until there is a better system, grades will be assigned in this
class. Work that meets the minimum requirements of an assignment, is
completed on time and displays average involvement with the course content is
deserving of a ÒC.Ó Higher grades are awarded to work that goes above and
beyond the minimum standards to produce papers and presentations that reflect
superior intellectual effort, excellence in critical analysis and overall
creativity in the approach towards any given assignment. In other words,
grades are earned in this class. An ÒAÓ is attainable but will require
more than minimal effort.
Required
Text:
Stabile, C.A.
and M. Harrison. (2003). Prime Time Animation: Television
Animation and American Culture. New York: Taylor & Francis.
Recommended
Texts:
Foss, Sonja
K. (2004). Rhetorical criticism: Exploration and
practice. (3rd ed.) Waveland Press. ISBN:
1577663187.
Publication
Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA). (5th ed.)(2001). American Psychological
Association. ISBN: 1557987912.
Description
of Course: This is
a special topics course on communication and how it relates to primetime
animation. It will be taught like a graduate seminar course.
Emphasis will not be
placed on lecture, but on class discussion and analytical thought by the
students.
Pre-requisites: none
Learning
Outcomes: By the
end of the course, you will haveÉ
Watched many clips from
primetime animation programs;
Read scholarly work about
primetime animation;
Written reading responses
about the clips and readings;
Participated in class
discussion;
Written a scholarly paper on
a subject pertaining to primetime animation and communication; and
Presented your final paper to
your classmates.
Attendance:
An attendance
sheet will be passed out at the beginning of every class period.
NOTE: You are absolutely, positively 100% responsible for signing the
attendance sheet each class period. If you are late, you must get the
sheet and sign it after classÉ ÒI forget to sign itÓ or ÒIÕm sure I was thereÓ
will not be sufficient to document your attendance at the end of the semester.
The emphasis
on performance and participation in this class requires close attention by
students and the instructor to attendance. You are allowed three hours of
unexcused absences (i.e., three unexcused absences for a MWF class, two
unexcused absences for a T Th class, or one three hour session in the summer or
with an evening class). For every unexcused absence over the limit, 2% will be deducted from your final
grade. Absences will be excused only under the following circumstances:
Absence while under a
doctorÕs care (written documentation required).
Absence due to participation
in an authorized college activity (advance notification and written
documentation required).
Absence due to attendance at
legal proceedings requiring your presence (advance notification and written
documentation required).
Absence due to the death or
serious illness of an immediate family member (written documentation required).
I consider
an excused absence one in which the absence is beyond your control. (For
example, the time of a check up or a dental appointment can be
controlled). I will not excuse an absence in which you have to take
somebody else to the doctor, hospital, dentist, court, etc. That is why I
give you the three unexcused absences. Use them wisely. I think
good attendance is very important. Documentation is due by the last day
of classes before finals week. An excused notes will only excuse
one day of absence unless a memo is attached explaining why multiple dates
should be excused.
Missed/Late
Assignments:
Getting
the Homework: If
you miss class, please consult with one of your fellow students for the notes
and/or homework. Write down to of your classmatesÕ names and phone
numbers
here:______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
If you
cannot reach either one of them after a few attempts, you should contact
me.
Written
Work: Assignments
are due at the beginning of the hour. It is late after that. For each
class session that an assignment is turned in late, you will be assessed a
penalty of 10 points for that particular assignment.
E-mailing
assignments/computer problems: You
will need to submit most of your assignments in hard copy. On occasion,
it will be possible to submit assignments via e-mail. Please note:
your computer breaking, printer not working, etc. will never be accepted as an
excuse for late work. It is your responsibility to begin work early
enough to accommodate unforeseen circumstances. In addition, e-mailed
work is recorded as Òturned inÓ according the time stamp in the introduction to
your message. ÒI got your address wrongÓ or Òmy e-mail wasnÕt workingÓ
will not be accepted as reasons for late assignments.
Presentations: If you miss an assigned speech, we
may not have time to allow you to present it later. If you know you are
going to miss an assigned speech, trade speaking dates with someone in the
class, and let the instructor know about the change. Failure to make a
presentation will result in a zero for that assignment.
Class
Participation: You are
expected to attend class regularly and be prepared so that you may
intelligently discuss assigned material. Proper preparation means reading
the assigned chapters and completing daily assignments. Warning:
This professor is well known for counting students absent when they are not
prepared for class.
Food and
Drink: Feel free
to bring food and drink to class. Just be sure to dispose of it properly
when you are finished.
Classroom
Climate: The
success of this course is directly related to the sense of community that we
will develop in this classroom. Participation is essential to this
process. I encourage you to share your views and listen to those of
others. Debate and discussion are an important part of the learning
process. While there will no doubt be disagreements, I expect the members
of this community (including myself) to challenge ideas in a manner that
reflects respect and recognition of opposing viewpoints without attacking
individuals. There is no doubt in my mind that controversial topics
will come up during the course of this class. They always do. If you are
a person who is easily offended by the topics of sex, alcohol, abortion, the
death penalty, racial stereotypes, and other potentially controversial topics,
then it is advised that you enroll in another communication course not taught
by this instructor.
Electronic
Readings: The
hyperlinked readings below are available electronically. If the reading
is marked as ÒCourse Reserve,Ó it is available through the libraryÕs website
and the password is comm4623. All the pdf files are password
protected: aldridga . The readings provided here are for
educational purposes only. We will use them for teaching, scholarship,
research, criticism, and comment. You cannot financially profit from
these works.
Outline of
Course: All of the
following assignments and point totals are considered tentative and may change
over the course of the semester due to your progress and interests.
|
Week/Topic |
Reading |
AV Clip |
Assignment due (assignments are explained in detail below) |
|
8/25 Introduction to the Course Syllabus |
|
|
|
|
9/1 LABOR DAY NO CLASS |
|
|
|
|
HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF PA |
|
|
|
|
9/8 |
Intro &
Ch 1; |
Fantasia
(1940) |
RR 1 |
|
9/15 |
Ch 2 &
8; |
Gerald
McBoing Boing; Ren &
Stimpy |
RR 2 |
|
YOUR FINAL PAPER: WHAT IS RHETORICAL CRITICISM? |
|
|
|
|
9/22 |
Family Guy |
|
|
|
ECONOMICS OF PA |
|
|
|
|
9/29 |
Ch 3 &
4; |
Flintstones; The Jetsons |
RR 3 Due: Final
Paper proposal |
|
10/6 |
Ch 5 &
11; |
God, the
Devil, and Bob; Samurai
Jack; The
Powerpuff Girls |
RR 4 |
|
10/13 |
|
(cont) |
|
|
CULTURAL IMPLICATIONS |
|
|
|
|
10/20 RACE |
King of the
Hill; Boondocks |
RR 5 Due:
Final paper outline |
|
|
10/27 GENDER |
South Park
movie |
RR 6 |
|
|
11/3 POLITICS |
LilÕ Bush |
RR 7 |
|
|
SCREENING PA |
|
|
|
|
11/10 THE SIMPSONS |
Ch 7 &
9; |
The Simpsons |
RR 8 |
|
11/17 |
The Simpsons |
RR 9 |
|
|
11/24 |
|
|
Due:
Final paper presentations |
|
12/1 DARIA |
Ch 10; |
Daria |
RR 10 |
|
12/8 SOUTHPARK |
Ch 12; |
South Park |
RR 11 Due:
Final paper |
|
12/15 SCREENING OF OTHER PA |
|
StudentsÕ
choice |
|
Grading:
Participation
in class discussion (20%): Students will receive a zero (no credit),
5 (half credit), or 10 (full credit) during each class to represent his/her
participation during that class session. Simply talking does not guarantee full credit for class
participation. Students are expected to make intelligent verbal
contributions to the class. A studentÕs discourse should reflect his/her
knowledge of the text and his/her ability to synthesize that knowledge with
further theoretical implications and application.
Reading
Responses (30%): Reading responses are reflections you have on the
reading. They should be one to two pages and thoroughly thought
out. You are to include information from all of the dayÕs assigned
readings in ONE reading response. Mark up your book/articles while you are
reading and discuss the most interesting things to you in your reading response
for that chapter. Reading responses should include brief summaries of the text (be sure to use
page numbers when directly quoting from the readings), your analysis of the material,
and examples when appropriate. This will add depth to your
responses. At the end of your response, write some possible discussion
questions. Students may be chosen at random to share their responses and
lead the class in discussion. This will also affect your participation
grade.
Final Paper
(40%): Focus on communication and primetime animation for this
paper. You can take one of two approaches: 1) A lengthy literature
review with a proposal for original research or 2) a rhetorical criticism of a
primetime animation artifact.
If you choose
the literature review, remember that the LR is used to build an argument for
original research with human subjects. For instance, maybe you want to
find out what people really thought about ÒGod, the Devil, and Bob.Ó You
would spend the LR exploring whatÕs been said in the literature about the
program in order to build an argument for why the research you want to do needs
to be done. Be sure to thoroughly explain how you will conduct the research.
What is your main research question? Who will be your subjects? How
will you recruit them? How many people will be involved? Will it be
qualitative or quantitative or both? What questions will you ask of your
subjects to answer the main RQ? DO NOT ACTUALLY DO ANY ORIGINAL
RESEARCH BECAUSE WE DO NOT HAVE IRB APPROVAL. Chapter 12 in the required
text is a good example of original research centered on primetime animation.
If you choose
the rhetorical criticism option, you will for sure need the Foss book listed
above under ÒRecommended Texts.Ó Many of the readings for this class have
been written in a rhetorical criticism fashion. For example, Rudick wrote
a rhetorical criticism about ÒKing of the Hill.Ó He critiqued it using a
feminist lens. He was concerned about how women were portrayed in the
series. Maybe your concern is race or politics or poverty or other power
issues. Find a primetime animation program and critic it for one of these
issues.
Remember,
EBSCO Host is your friend. Papers should be at least 14 pages in length
(not including cover pages and reference pages) for graduate students and at
least 8 pages (not including cover pages and reference pages) in length for
undergraduates. They should be formatted in APA style (i.e., double
spaced, 12 point TNR font, 1Ó margins). Please pay attention to deadlines
throughout the semester pertaining to this paper. Papers should be
written with the idea of submitting to a conference in mind. Students
from our communication studies courses have presented at state, regional and
national conferences in the last couple of years, and you should strive to have
the same scholarly experience.
Final Paper
Presentation (10%)
In a 6-8
minute speech, educate your audience with the material you gathered in your
final paper. This gives your cohorts an opportunity to learn from your
research efforts and rhetorical criticism. Remember, you are the expert
in this room on your particular topic. You will be required to submit
both an outline and bibliography before your presentation. You may only use the
outline during your presentation. Please see the rubric for the
grading criteria.
"A grade
(is) an inadequate report of an inaccurate judgment by a biased and variable
judge of the extent to which a student has attained an undefined level of
mastery of an unknown proportion of an indefinite amount of material."
(Author Unknown)
Class
Grievances:
I am willing to
meet with you to discuss our class and/or particular assignments. I ask
that you please wait 24 hours after you have received a graded assignment to
come see me. Before we discuss your work, you are required to type out a
document detailing what particular elements of your work you feel merit
discussion.
Students
with Disabilities: If
any member of the class feels that he or she has a disability and requires
special accommodations, of any nature whatsoever, I will work with you to
ensure that you have a fair opportunity to perform in this class. Please
advise me of such disability and the desired accommodations at the close of the
first class period. Students with disabilities who need accommodations to
achieve course objectives should visit the Office of Student Affairs, Ext.
2120.
Plagiarism:
According to WebsterÕs
New Universal Unabridged Dictionary (1983, 2nd Ed.), to
plagiarize is Òto steal or pass of ideas or words of another as oneÕs ownÉto
use created productions without crediting the sourceÉto commit literary
theftÉto present as new and original an idea or product derived from an
existing sourceÓ (p.1371). Students in this course will be responsible
for authenticating any assignment submitted to the instructor. If asked,
you must be able to produce proof that the assignment you submitted is in fact
your own work. Therefore, it is recommended that you engage in a
verifiable working process on assignments. Keep copies of all drafts of
your work, make photocopies of research materials, write summaries of research
materials, keep logs or journals of your work on assignments and papers, learn
to save drafts or versions of assignments under individual file names on
computer diskettes, etc. In addition to requiring a student to authenticate
his/her work, the instructor may employ various other means of ascertaining
authenticity—such as engaging in internet searches, creating quizzes
based on student work, requiring students to explain their work and/or process
orally, etc.
NSUÕs
policy on Academic Misconduct (from http://www.nsuok.edu/policies/academic/misconduct.html):
Academic misconduct
includes cheating (using unauthorized materials, information, or study aids in
any academic exercise), plagiarism, falsification of records, unauthorized
possession of examinations, intimidation, and any and all other actions that
may improperly affect the evaluation of a studentÕs academic performance or
achievement, or assisting others in any such act or attempts to engage in such
acts. Academic misconduct in any form is inimical to the purposes and functions
of the University and therefore is unacceptable and prohibited. Any
faculty member, administrator or staff member may identify an act of academic
misconduct and should report that act to the department head/college dean, Vice
President for Academic Affairs or administrative supervisor. Students
violating the standards of academic honesty are subject to disciplinary action
including reduction of a grade(s) in a specific course, assignment, paper, or
project; a formal or informal reprimand at the professorial, dean, or academic
vice president level; expulsion from the class in which the violation occurred;
expulsion from a program; or expulsion from the University.
Inclement
Weather/Disaster Policy:
The following are basic premises for the
inclement weather policy at Northeastern State University:
1.
Classes are expected to be held if at all possible.
2. It
is the student's responsibility to receive the information when weather is
questionable.
3. Neither students nor
faculty are expected to risk life or limb.
4. Faculty members are obligated to hold classes if the
University is not closed, unless the faculty member is unable to get to campus.
Policy: During times of inclement
weather, decisions concerning day classes will be made by 6:00 a.m. in order
for the media to be notified and for students to receive the announcement
before they leave home. Decisions concerning night classes will be made by 3:00
p.m.
The
following media will be notified regarding closing of the campus:
|
Radio
Stations |
Television
Stations |
|
KRMG
740 AM Tulsa |
KJRH
Channel 2 Tulsa |
|
KAYI
107 FM Tulsa |
KOTV
Channel 6 Tulsa |
|
KTLQ
1350 AM Tahlequah |
KTUL
Channel 8 Tulsa |
|
KEOK
102 FM Tahlequah |
KFSM
Channel 5 Fort Smith |
|
KBIX
1490 AM Muskogee |
|
Common
courtesies:
Please turn all cell
phones/pagers on silent while you are in class. Check your messages AFTER
class and return the calls then.
Do not pack up before I
dismiss you. You never know when I may say something important or give a
last minute assignment. YouÕre going to want to have that pen and paper
handy.