Syllabus

The rhetoric of

{Underground and unpopular}

media

Or

Are you a hipster?

Reading

Watchmen

Dick Hebdige

They Say, I Say

Watching

Select Firefly episodes

Watchmen

Encountering

Zines

Internet memes, mashups, trends, blogs and videos

A word of warning

This course will be an extremely fast-paced, demanding exploration of many fields of inquiry, including (but not necessarily limited to): pop culture via television and film, music, Rrriot girl and grunge movements of the 90s, Internet culture, the more recent DIY movement, Marxism, feminism, genre theory, media studies, visual rhetorics and the politics of representation.

Our overarching questions will be: How do we define what is considered mainstream and what is considered underground/indie/cult? What power structures are at play in such forms of media? And what are we to make of such distinctions and structures, as both consumers and producers?

This section requires a lot of reading, writing, independent nosing around, discussing and making. If you are able to keep up, however, you will encounter and analyze a huge variety of texts that will forever enhance (or ruin) your ability to read, watch or make anything in the future.

Major Assignments

Attendance 20

Weekly blog posts 30

Zine (created in class) 30

Final blog post 10

Rough drafts 10

Blog Posts

You will be required to create your own blog via Blogger, Wordpress, Tumblr or a similar platform. It will need to be able to be publicly viewed and commented on (or, alternatively, everyone in the class needs to be given permission to view and comment on your blog.) You will be required to complete a substantive blog post every week, defined as:

-Being about 300-600 words (or at least one page, single spaced)

-Demonstrate in-depth, critical thinking about the prompt, class reading or discussions

-Work to define, further, complicate or create a conversation

-Will engage the class to respond to your post

-Will incorporate elements common to an intertextual or blogging genre: photos, links, videos and “outside sources”

You will also be required to participate online via commenting on blog posts and respond to your classmates’ questions. Alternative to blog posts, we may have online discussions in which you will need to reply on one thread. Taken together, the blog will be worth 30% of your grade, with the following breakdown:

-Writing required number of posts: 10%

-Responding to required prompts: 10%

-Responding to posts by classmates/participating in online discussions: 10%

Attendance and weekly work
CLARIFICATION: BLOG POSTS ARE DUE FRIDAY AT NOON, BLOG DISCUSSIONS ARE DUE SUNDAY AT EIGHT PM.

Each week, you will be required to write your own blog post and respond to at least two classmates’ writings by Sunday night at 8 pm. This will be one-third of your attendance grade in lieu of meeting for class on Friday. If this is not completed by the Sunday deadline, you will be counted absent and you will lose points for number of blog posts completed. If blog posts and discussions are not completed, we will reinstate class on Fridays.

REMINDER: You will have the opportunity to make up three blog posts with missed deadlines, however, your absences will remain absences. Keep in mind: Your attendance grade has the ability to lower your overall grade by at least one letter.

Zine

As a class, we will examine the genre of zines and their goals. We will then determine a name and theme for our class zine. After this, the class will split into committees. Each committee will be responsible for:

-Developing a sub-theme and sub-title for their issue

-Producing a zine including one written piece by each member as well as visuals

-Writing a 1-3-pg justification paper, explaining your naming, visual, and written choices as well as the group’s division of labor

All together, the zine will be worth 30% of your final grade. But it will follow a breakdown of discreet parts:

-Your own writing piece: 10%

-Participation in justification paper: 10%

-Completion of zine issue: 10%

Launch Party

When all the issues are in, we will have a class launch party, in which copies of everyone’s zine will be distributed. The class will also develop committees for planning this party, such as publicity (posters) and refreshments. I will help each committee individually create multiple copies of their zine prior to the launch party.

Final Blog Post

You will choose one of three prompts to write an in-depth final blog post. Because there will be so many writing assignments throughout the semester, this post is intended less as a final test of your writing skills and more as an opportunity for you to produce a polished piece of writing, engage in independent inquiry and apply the concepts we’ve discussed in class to an artifact of your choosing. Prompts, grading breakdown and other assignment requirements will be given to the class well in advance of the due date.

Important school-wide dates

Mon Sept. 2	No School
Tues Sept. 3	Last Day for drop/add
Tues Oct. 15	Last day to drop with a “W”
Mon Nov 25- Fri Nov 29	Thanksgiving break
Mon Dec 9 – Fri Dec 13	Finals Week

Rough production schedule

First week in November	Final paper prompts handed out
Post-Thanksgiving Break	Class discussions for zines begin
Thanksgiving break – End of semester	In class: Zine production Out-of-class: Final blog post writing
Fri Dec 6 (last day of class)	Final blog post due
Mon Dec 9 – Wed Dec 11	Launch party/Final (zine production must be FULLY completed)

Other Stuff

·      Plagiarism

The NMSU library defines plagiarism as "using another person's work without acknowledgement, making it appear to be one's own." Plagiarism and other acts of academic dishonesty will result in serious consequences, such as failing the assignment, failing this class, and/or being removed from NMSU. In addition, it is academically dishonest to submit your own previously written work for a current assignment or to submit an assignment in more than one class without the prior permission of the instructors. The NMSU library plagiarism pages provide some basic information and a tutorial at: http://lib.nmsu.edu/instruction/plagiarism/index.shtml.

·      Students with Disabilities

Qualified students with disabilities are to be provided with reasonable accommodation in accessing buildings, programs, and services. Students who have or think they have a disability are encouraged to contact Services for Students with Disabilities at (575) 646-6840 or TDD/Text at (575) 646-1918. More information about NMSU's services for students with disabilities can be found at http://www.nmsu.edu/~ssd/index.html.

·      Nondiscrimination

According to the NMSU Office Institutional Equity website:

"New Mexico State University (NMSU) is dedicated to non-discrimination and equal opportunity in education and employment in compliance with state and federal laws which prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, spousal affiliation, physical or mental disability, serious medical condition, or veteran status. NMSU's dedication to non-discrimination extends to recruitment, admissions, education, scholarships and other tuition assistance, social and recreational programs, hiring, promotion, training and other employee actions such as work assignments, compensation, benefits, transfers, layoffs, and terminations. Additionally, NMSU's mandated affirmative action plan is evidence of our dedication to excellence in everything we attempt to accomplish."

·      Withdrawing

Withdrawing from Class: Please note that if you choose to withdraw from the course with a "W" (not a letter grade), you are responsible for initiating the appropriate paperwork by the date the university specifies. The instructor is not responsible for ensuring that students who simply stop attending class are withdrawn, and the English Department is not responsible for initiating withdrawals for students with attendance problems. If you stop attending the class and do not withdraw, you will fail the course. Refer to the NMSU Academic Calendar online for more information about deadlines to withdraw from a course.