Course Assignments
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MWF 10:00-11:00am (BMC 3.206) + Screening M 5-7:30pm (CMA 3.120) Instructor: Dr. Suzanne Scott [email protected] • @iheartfatapollo Office hours: W 11:30am-2:30pm in CMA 5.144 Teaching Assistant: Ceci Moffett • [email protected] Meetings by appointment Course tumblr: RTFfanculture.tumblr.com Course twitter hashtag: #RTFfanculture COURSE DESCRIPTION: Over the past decade, fans have been transformed from a stigmatized subculture into a mainstream power demographic, catered to and courted by media industries. This course will survey fan studies from the 1990s to the present, with an emphasis on fandom within convergence culture and digital fan cultures and practices, from fanfiction to fantasy football. Using gender as a critical axis, this course will consider the lingering impact of fan studies’ roots in feminist and queer media studies, and contemplate how gender shapes our discussions of fan labor, fan representations, fannish taste, modes of fan performance and production, and industry-audience power dynamics. Finally, this course will consider what forms of identity work have been elided or marginalized as a result of the field’s focus on gender as its central critical axis, in an effort to move towards a more intersectional conception of fan identity and fan studies. In addition to critically analyzing fans' transformative works, students will mobilize course concepts to produce and theorize fan texts of their own. COURSE GOALS: • To become conversant in the core theoretical concerns of fan studies • To critically engage the gendered politics of participation within fan culture • To consider the how media industries, media representations, emergent technologies, and fans themselves shape these politics of participation • To create and contemplate fannish transformative works as a form of media criticism COURSE ASSIGNMENTS: Details on all your course assignments, including instruction handouts, submission guidelines, and due dates, can be found under the “Assignments” tab of our course’s Canvas site. I would encourage (nay, insist) that you plug all these due dates into your personal calendars now, to help manage your workflow. Your final grade for the course will consist of five elements/assignments, enumerated below: First, your attendance and active participation (10%) is central to the class’ success and to your success in the class. If you have a legitimate reason for missing class (e.g. religious holiday, illness, family emergency), please email the TA with as much advance warning as possible. Time will be allotted to discuss your response to the readings and screenings, but you’re encouraged to post or reblog any additional material you come across that you think might be relevant to the class (blog posts, videos, articles, etc.) to our collective Tumblr. This will also earn you participation credit, so it’s a good option if you’re not comfortable speaking up in class (just make sure to # your fan pseudonym so we can identify your post and give you credit). You can also send me comments and relevant links via Twitter @iheartfatapollo, using our course hashtag (#RTFfanculture). You will be tested on the course materials (including readings, lectures, and screenings) once during the semester. This Exam (25%) will cover content from weeks 1-10, and will be comprised of short identifications and essay questions. In addition to the exam, you have three major assignments: a series of Tumblr posts (you will select 3 of 4 options, worth 5% each for 15% total, and because this is a writing flag course, you will have the option to rewrite ONE of these posts), a transformative fan work (20%) of your own creation and author’s statement theorizing this project through course concepts, and a final research project (30%) which will consist of both a 10 minute presentation (10%) and a 10-15 page research paper (20%) on a topic of your choosing. More detailed instructions for all of these assignments are available through Canvas. All assignments must be handed in on time, and turning in assignments late will be detrimental to your grade. For each week an assignment is late, you will be docked one full letter grade. All assignments must be completed to pass the course. Exceptions will be made and extensions will be given only for medical or family emergencies (provided you can offer documentation). Grading breakdown: Attendance/Participation = 10% Tumblr Posts = 15% Transformative Fan Work = 20% Exam = 25% Final Presentation + Project = 30% Grading Scale: A = 100-94 A- = 90-93 B+ = 87-89 B = 84-86 B- = 80-83 C+ = 77-79 C = 74-76 C- = 70-73 D = 60-69 F = 0-59 REQUIRED READINGS: Readings are listed below on the course schedule; assigned chapters and articles are to be read before class, and you should be prepared to discuss them and pose relevant questions. The weekly readings are available in our course text (see below), on the course’s Canvas site, under “Files” OR will be linked directly through the syllabus. You can download and print out each article at your convenience, along with other course documents. PLEASE NOTE: Online/linked readings will NOT appear on Canvas, so double check the syllabus each week to ensure you’re completing all of the readings. We have one require book for this course, which is available at the bookstore: Ø Henry Jenkins, Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture (20th Anniversary Edition) (New York: Routledge, 2012) Ø Francesca Coppa, The Fanfiction Reader: Folk Tales for the Digital Age (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2017) WRITING FLAG: This course carries the Writing Flag. Writing Flag courses are designed to give students experience with writing in an academic discipline. In this class, you can expect to write regularly during the semester, complete substantial writing projects, and receive feedback from your instructor to help you improve your writing. You will also have the opportunity to revise one or more assignments, and you may be asked to read and discuss your peers’ work. You should therefore expect a substantial portion of your grade to come from your written work. Writing Flag classes meet the Core Communications objectives of Critical Thinking, Communication, Teamwork, and Personal Responsibility, established by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. 2 CULTURAL DIVERSITY FLAG: This course carries the flag for Cultural Diversity in the United States. Cultural Diversity courses are designed to increase your familiarity with the variety and richness of the American cultural experience. You should therefore expect a substantial portion of your grade to come from assignments covering the practices, beliefs, and histories of at least one U.S. cultural group that has experienced persistent marginalization. SERVICES FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request appropriate academic accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact the Office of the Dean of Students at 471-6259, 471-4641 TTY. THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HONOR CODE: The core values of The University of Texas at Austin are learning, discovery, freedom, leadership, individual opportunity, and responsibility. Each member of the University is expected to uphold these values through integrity, honesty, trust, fairness, and respect toward peers and community. MOODY COLLEGE WRITING SUPPORT PROGRAM: The Moody College Writing Support Program, located in BMC 3.322, offers one-on-one assistance without charge to undergraduates seeking to improve their professional writing in all fields of communication. We have student specialists in Journalism, RTF, CSD, CMS, Communication & Leadership and PR & Advertising. In addition, we offer workshops to strengthen core writing skills in each field and to inspire students to strive for excellence. Students may guarantee their time by booking half-hour appointments on our website for assistance during all stages of the writing process. Writing coaches also will take drop-ins if they are not working with appointments. SCHOLASTIC DISHONESTY: The University defines academic dishonesty as cheating, plagiarism, unauthorized collaboration, falsifying academic records, and any act designed to avoid participating honestly in the learning process. Scholastic dishonesty also includes, but is not limited to, providing false or misleading information to receive a postponement or an extension on a test, quiz, or other assignment, and submission of essentially the same written assignment for two courses without the prior permission of the instructor. By accepting this syllabus, you have agreed to these guidelines and must adhere to them. Scholastic dishonest damages both the student’s learning experience and readiness for the future demands of a work-career. Students who violate University rules on scholastic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary penalties, including the possibility of failure in the course and/or dismissal from the University. For more information on scholastic dishonesty, please visit the Student Judicial services Web site at http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES: Taking care of your general well-being is an important step in being a successful student. If stress, test anxiety, racing thoughts, feeling unmotivated or anything else is getting in your way, there are options available for support. For immediate support: - Visit/Call the Counseling and Mental Health Center (CMHC): M-F 8-5p | SSB, 5th floor | 512- 471-3515 | cmhc.utexas.edu - CMHC Crisis Line: 24/7 | 512.471.2255 | cmhc.utexas.edu/24hourcounseling.html CARE Counselor in the Moody College of Communication is: Abby Simpson, LCSW - CMA 4.134 | 512-471-7642 (Please leave a message if she is unavailable) 3 FREE Services at CMHC: - Brief assessments and referral services - Mental health & wellness articles - cmhc.utexas.edu/commonconcerns.html - MindBody Lab - cmhc.utexas.edu/mindbodylab.html - Classes, workshops, & groups - cmhc.utexas.edu/groups.html COURSE SCHEDULE Week 1 • Introduction to the Course Wednesday, 8/29 Course Overview + Cohort Introductions Friday, 8/31 Grokking Fan Studies Read: - Jonathan Gray, Cornel Sandvoss, and C.