GOODBYE COM450...!

• Together, we explored the shallow and the deep connections between media representations of race and the individual and communal experiences media documents suppose to represent.
• Together, we investigated how notions of Blackness are shaped by and through biased and ignorant media.
• Together, we recognized the power of knowledge, critical analysis, comity and passion.
• And, together, we vowed to take our skills to the street.

|rays|

Although our 18 weeks are up, we continue, together and apart, to examine media bias, replacing it with myriad representations of truth, our truth. |rays| is our first endeavor. |rays| is a 55 minute video investigating the many aspects of race, from culture, identity, interracial marraige and hip-hop to police profiling, media bias and immigration. Clips and more information on the video will be available soon, so keep checking back!

Post your feedback

Please take a moment to respond to this course, my teaching or the video |rays|. We can't change the world if we remain silent!

SESSION SIXTEEN: Sweet Sweetback's Badass Song

Power and Protest in Black Cinema II: Examine Black images of power and protest in the Blaxploitation films of the 1970’s.
Screening: Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song. Dir. Melvin van Peebles, 1971. (97 min.)

Project homework: Work on LAP.
Reading: Morris, Gary. “Blaxploitation: A Sketch.” Bright Lights Film Journal. Mar 1997.

SESSION FIFTEEN: Black Orpheus

Power and Protest in Black Cinema III: Examine Black images of power and protest in International Black Cinema.
Screening: Orfeu Negro (Black Orpheus). Dir. Marcel Camus. Brazil, 1959. (107 min.)

Project homework: Work on LAP transcription and reflection.
Reading: Ehrenstein, David. “Black Orpheus.” The Criterion Collection.

SESSION FOURTEEN: The LAP

Tonight, we met briefly to discuss the final Life Arts Project. All parts of the LAP are due NO LATER THAN in class on Wednesday, May 9th. LATE LAP'S WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED!

Here is a breakdown of how the project will be assessed:

1. Proposal (10 points) - 1 pg
2. Annotated Bibliography (10 points) - 3 sources min
3. Background Research (20 points) - 3 pgs
4. Audio/Video Project (30 points) - 3 minutes
5. Transcription (10 points) - 2 pgs
6. Reaction Paper (20 points) - 3 pgs

SESSION THIRTEEN: Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

Power and Protest in Black Cinema I: Examine Black images of power and protest in Hollywood.
Screening: Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. Dir. Stanley Kramer, 1967. (108 min.)

• Project homework: Submit LAP video.
  
• Reading: Murphy, A.D. “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?” Variety. Dec 1967.

SESSION TEN: Documenting Race Today

Tonight, we will examine contemporary methods of documenting race. As a class, we will attend Colors of New York City, a performance/event exploring race, color and representation in the five boroughs of New York City. The event will include photographs, audio recordings, films and poetry performances. A diverse group of multimedia artists and audience performers will be present. I encourage you to take advantage of this great opportunity to conduct interviews for your Life Arts Project. Experienced documentary artists and audio/video equipment will be available. You just need to come prepared with your questions!

To learn more about the event visit the Colors of NYC website.
Or check out our online gallery at Viovio.
View a map to the event location here.
Or view the eVite.

FOR NEXT WEEK...
READING: Chapter 10, "Advertising Whiteness"
PROJECT: LAP background research is due. (2-3pgs)

- JOURNAL 10 - For your final journal, evaluate the Colors of New York City performance. Describe one aspect of the event that was inspiring, intriguing or promising. Then, discuss a problematic detail, an aspect that needs improvement.

SESSION NINE: Black, White or Colored - Race in Hollywood

Hollywood is one of the most influential stereotype factories in the world. For over a century, it has mass-produced many prototypes: the ideal woman; the ideal man; the ugly duckling; the villian; the prodigal son; and on and on and on. Yet Hollywood's power lies in its ability to employ powerful visual arguments both indirectly and repetitively. These arguments are often hard to dissect; we are just too darn busy enjoying ourselves to see the ugly messages underneath many of our favorite films.

Tonight, we take a look at one of my personal favorites, a gorgeous film that catapulted Josephine Baker to stardom. And while Siren of the Tropics could be adored for its fiesty, sexy starlet and witty dialogue, we must also keep our eyes peeled for the prototypes it reveals. The "sex-crazed, dark-skinned native" is a key type personified in the film and, even more so, by Baker herself. This type is a key way of identifying and justifying a powerful Black female in the 1920's and beyond.

FOR NEXT WEEK...
FIELD TRIP: COLORS OF NEW YORK CITY
READING: None
PROJECT: Work on LAP background research.

- JOURNAL 9 - Analyze the impact of Josephine Baker's performance in Siren of the Tropics by comparing and contrasting her role to that of a contemporary African or African-American female. Your contemporary example can be an actress, singer or performer currently working in Hollywood, on television or Broadway, or in the music industry.

SESSION EIGHT: Difference and Distraction in Network Television

Network television is a key method for shaping culture and its many stereotypes. An important way this occurs is through the construction of ideal types (or prototypes). Any look at Primetime television programming quickly reveals prototypes at work on the American psyche. This is most evident in its presentation of the ideal American family. For decades, American television families did not reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of real American people. This is slowly changing. In tonight's class, we examine the history of this change presented in Marlon Riggs 1991 documentary Color Adjustment.

FOR NEXT WEEK...
READING: Chapter 11 "Race at the Movies"
PROJECT: Submit final research paper (7-10pgs)
MEDIA: Your choice.

- JOURNAL SEVEN - Select any television show (preferably one you watch regularly or are somewhat familiar with). Analyze two of the show's regular characters - ideally, you will want to choose two characters of different race, gender or economic backgrounds. Compare and contrast how these two characters are depicted in the show. What racial or ethnic stereotypes are present? Does race or ethnicity inhibit any character from evolving or changing during the show? What does this comparison indicate about racial or ethnic representation?

SESSION SEVEN: Representing History

This week we will explore how visual rhetoric shapes contemporary media experiences. THERE IS NO CLASS SESSION TODAY!! Students will instead attend and analyze a public media event - either Dreamgirls or New York Divided. Come to class prepared to discuss your experience!

FOR NEXT WEEK...
READING: Chapter 9 "Prime-Time Television: White or Whiter"
PROJECT: Work on research paper and LAP interview.
MEDIA: Dreamgirls or New York Divided

- JOURNAL SEVEN - Analyze the visual argument presented in your selected media event (Dreamgirls or New York Divided). What methods of rhetoric are employed? How are soundbites, iconic visuals and stereo/prototypes used to tell the story? What is "left out" or altered to make the story more appealing to audiences (conflict, romance, etc.)? How does this framing alter the "truth" of the historical events depicted?

SESSION SIX: Representing Power

Visual representation is a key method of using and abusing power. While individual media personnel may not explicitly employ visual rhetoric to maintain or alter positions of societal and/or political power, the implicit use of rhetoric is unavoidable. Audience appeal is the primary goal of any media organization and/or event; appeal will result in continued or increased viewing, thus producing profit. But, audience appeal also necessarily demands visual rhetoric in the forms of: framing, iconic visuals, soundbites and dramatic impact.

The cases of racist or separatist visual rhetoric are too numerous to outline. We will, however, view a single, powerful example: The Murder of Emmett Till.

FOR WEEK EIGHT...
FIELD TRIP: Dreamgirls or New York Divided. Complete JOURNAL 7.
READING: Chapter 9 - "Prime-Time Television: White and Whiter"
PROJECT: Work on research paper and LAP interview.
MEDIA: Please visit The Murder of Emmett Till at PBS.

- JOURNAL SIX - Emmett Till's murder had a tremendous impact on the future Civil Rights Movement in large part because of widespread media coverage. Mamie Till Bradley held an open casket ceremony, and images of Emmett's severely-beaten body appeared nationally in Jet magazine. And, if these images were not shocking enough, Look published the killers' confessions in January 1956. What role did these two publications have in uniting civil rights activists? Specifically, did these publications move AMBIVALENT people into positions of COMITY? Do you agree with the ways Emmett's image and the killers' confessions were used by media publishers?

SESSION FIVE: Blackness Controlled

The power of stereotypes to maintain (or even encourage!) racial AMBIVALENCE lies in their pervasive presence across multiple media outlets. A few instances will not maintain AMBIVALENCE, yet a daily bombardment, despite contrary personal experience, will. This means that a Caucasian person may view her non-violent, non-poor African-American friend as an exception rather than a rule. The rule is, of course, outlined by education and media outlets, such as network news stations broadcasting nightly images of violent African-Americans or poverty-stricken Africans. As with any rule, this definition of "Blackness" is constructed and learned, and while stereotypes often arise from fact, they do not tell the "whole" truth. What is left out of the picture is just as important as what lies inside its frame.

There are numerous instances of mediabites defining a people or a place for decades to come. Ethiopia in the 1980's is a great example. Images such as those presented by Save the Children (Sally Struthers) leave lasting definitions - as if a pathway burned in the brain, many continue to define the "African" as a "skinny, starving kid with diarrhea and flies swarming around her head" Today, we add high HIV statistics and genocide to the impoverished images we ingested in the 80's, leaving us with even bleeker definitions of Africa. As media creators, we now must ask ourselves, how many positive or contrary images will it take to re-define the "Blackness" constructed by these repetitive and extreme stereotypes of poverty and violence?

FOR NEXT WEEK...
READING: Chapters 7 and 8 -
"Affirming Discord" and "Black Power"
PROJECT: LAP worksheet, proposal and annotated bibliography
MEDIA: Please view the following media examples for next class.
Darfur
The One Campaign
Save Africa's Children
Save Africa from Aids
Save the Children International
The Secret to Really Helping Africa

- JOURNAL FIVE - Compare and contrast two of the images presented in the above media clips. What definition of "Blackness" do they offer? Do the different humanitarian organizations construct a single notion of "Blackness"? Or, do they support racial AMBIVALENCE or even ANIMOSITY? How? Do humanitarian campaigns have the right to raise funds and awareness by any means necessary? Or do they have a responsibility to create coherent, consistent images of those they hope to help?

SESSION FOUR: Defining Blackness

Now, we begin to examine more closely the construction of AMBIVALENCE and its place in American society. Multiple images (sometimes contradictory, sometimes similar) converge to create contemporary notions of BLACK and WHITE. And, while these images are disseminated by media outlets, there is no singular source overseeing their construction. The authors (Entman and Rojecki) consider the media as a "model of racial communication" outlined by five factors: 1) mainstream culture; 2) media personnel and their organzations; 3) market demands; 4) political pressure; and 5) the economy overall. All of these factor into the prototypical thinking involved in defining and categorizing people by skin color.

FOR NEXT WEEK...
READING: Chapters 5 and 6 -
"Violence, Stereotypes and African-Americans in the News"
and "Benign Neglect in the Poverty of the News"
PROJECT: Begin the LAP worksheet. Come to class with your idea!
MEDIA: Please view the following media clips for next class.
Jackson Five
Bill Cosby
Fat Albert
Oprah Winfrey
Eddie Murphy
OJ Simpson Trial
The Watts and Rodney King Riots

- JOURNAL 4 - Select two or three of the media samples above and explain how they define "Blackness." Do the clips present an accurate depiction of African-Americans? Do they present consistent or contradictory images? What do these examples tell us about contemporary racial categories?

SESSION THREE: Race, Racism and Representation

Today, we attempted to clarify contemporary notions of race ("the racial chameleon") by outlining a spectrum of racial sentiment: RACISM < ANIMOSITY < AMBIVALENCE < COMITY. While Entman and Rojecki correctly categorize contemporary racial sentiment as predominantly AMBIVALENT, the circumstances generating ambivalence are numerous. To adequately account for today's racial climate, a more varied and detailed spectrum is needed. IGNORANCE, SEGREGATION, ASSIMILATION and HARMONY are just a few of the necessary (sub)categories.

(Above is an advertisement from Amos 'n' Andy - a show relying heavily on a minstrel stereotype known as "blackface.")

FOR NEXT WEEK... READING: Chapter 4: "The Meaning of Network News" PROJECT: Complete an annotated bibliography (5 sources). MEDIA: Please view the following media clips for next class.
Scrub me Mama with a Boogie Beat
All This and Rabbit Stew
Jungle Jitters
Al Jolson
Hattie McDaniel

- JOURNAL 3 - Select one of the media examples given and write a brief reaction. Consider yourself in the AMBIVALENCE category of racial sentiment. How might the piece you've chosen alter your racial understanding? Should the clips presented be BANNED as offensive or PRESERVED as historical documentation? Why?

SESSION TWO: Equality or Comity? Race Relations in America

Today's lesson focused on an attempt to define "race" and to track its origins while outlining a brief history of race relations. Our primary goal was to examine the changing definitions of "race" and to connect these definitions to their historical and political purposes. Race and its resulting social implications is quite a sticky and elusive topic; nonetheless, we were able to agree to the following significant points: 1) that "race" is a scientific concept commonly connected to its cultural companion "ethnicity;" 2) that "race" and "ethnicity" are NOT synonymous; 3) that "race" developed primarily as an ideology to support global colonialism; 4) that "race" in America evolved through a number of historical events - colonialism, expansionism, post-war reconstruction, anti-colonialism and civil rights, political correctness, and the contemporary phenomenon of the racial chameleon (Entman and Rojecki, chapter 1); and 5) that "race" and the racial relations that ensue from varying definitions of "race" are defined, illustrated and programmed through many media forms. (Above is a poster advertising a "human zoo" in Stuttgart, Germany in 1928, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism.) For more info, take a look at Race and Racism.

FOR NEXT WEEK...
READING: Chapters Two and Three - "White Racial Attitudes in the Heartland" and "Culture, Media, and the White Mind"
PROJECT: Write a half-page research paper proposal. The proposal should include the following: 1) a description of the stereotype you will investigate; 2) a statement about the connection between this stereotype and media; 3) a conclusion and/or thesis about the media-stereotype connection you indicate.
MEDIA: Please view the following media clips for next class.
The Cosby Show (pilot)
The Jeffersons
In Living Color

- JOURNAL 2 - Outline your stereotype example. Include one piece of research (online) defining and/or illustrating your stereotype. Make a statement about the connection between this piece of media and your stereotype. (This will be the basis for your research proposal.)

SESSION ONE: Introduction

Our first class lingered on introductions and a review of the syllabus and course requirements - including online journals, a research paper, a life arts project and a final presentation. To view the course syllabus, schedule and project requirements, select the desired post from the Blog Archive section of the sidebar.

FOR NEXT WEEK...
READING: Preface and Chapter One, "The Racial Chameleon"
PROJECT: Find an example of a racial stereotype. Bring your example to share in class!

Weekly journals must be posted to this site. Simply review the question below; select the "Comments" link; type your response in the text box - MAKE SURE YOU HAVE SELECTED "Anonymous" - and click the "Login and Publish" button. And, voila, you're homework assignment is complete! Let's give it a try.

- JOURNAL ONE - Define race.

Welcome to COM450!

Throughout this course, we will analyze the relationship between media representations of Black communities and the individual and social experiences of Blackness these images suppose to represent. A variety of media will be examined: cartoons, radio, television, films, newspapers, magazines and the Internet. A special focus will be given to Black cinema.

To receive a passing grade in this course,
students will be expected:

1. To purchase (and read!) the required course text The Black Image in the White Mind: Media and Race in America online or at Manhattan Books - 150 Chambers St.
2. To attend regular class sessions, field trips, guest lectures and film screenings.
3. To post weekly online journal entries.
4. To complete a 7-10 page research paper.
5. To complete a creative life arts project.
6. To give a final LAP public presentation.

COM450 CLASS SYLLABUS

COM450A - MEDIA AND THE BLACK EXPERIENCE
Wednesdays 6:00-9:30 p.m., Spring 2007
College of New Rochelle - DC37 Campus

Prof. Jennifer Heuson - jenheuson@yahoo.com
Office hours: by appointment
Website: http://mediablackness.blogspot.com/

This seminar analyzes the relationship of the media (films, TV, radio, and theater) with the members of Black communities: both encoders (writers, performers, creators and entrepreneurs) as well as decoders (audiences and consumers). The seminar focuses on an analysis of the Black cinema as an expression of the evolving consciousness from the perspective of the social historians. The students will view and analyze specific feature films, documentaries, television and radio programs. A Life Arts Project is required.

Course Objectives

1. Investigate how media depict, describe and define Blackness, and examine the impact of these depictions on identity, morality, equality and community.
2. Understand how and why racial images are constructed, and explore the ethical, economic and political aspects of the creation of racial difference through various media.
3. Identify and critique stereotypes pivotal to the construction of Black identity. Examine the impact of these stereotypes on Black and White communities and on concepts of race.
4. Recognize the historical development of Black communities and their connection to the media representations unique to various time periods (e.g. Civil War; Civil Rights).
5. Examine counter-movements of representation used to empower black communities.
6. Investigate a racial issue present in contemporary media.
7. Analyze readings, films and course lectures through weekly online assignments.
8. Create a video documentary examining racial representation and meaning.

Course Requirements

• Students are expected to complete ALL required reading and assignments. Students will complete weekly journal assignments online at: http://mediablackness.blogspot.com/.
• Students are expected to turn in a research paper in proper MLA style with an annotated bibliography. Students will complete AND present a Life Arts Project.
• Students are required to attend and to participate fully in every seminar. Arriving late and leaving early will count against your final participation grade.
• Students are expected to attend class sessions and all field trips, guest lectures and film screenings.

Grading
LAP 25%, Research Paper 25%, Online Journals 20%, Final Presentation 10%, Class Participation/Attendance 20%

• Late assignments will be downgraded. The research paper and LAP will not be accepted late.
• Students MUST attend LAP presentations to pass this class.
• Students who miss a class will be expected to complete the reading and view material screened for that week. Students will be allowed two excused absences. Additional absences will result in a grade reduction of one letter.
• Students who do not attend field trips, guest lectures or film screenings will be counted absent. Missing such events will count toward the allotted two absences.
• Students are expected to be in the classroom when class begins, at the top of the hour, and to stay for the entire period. Students who leave early will be counted absent.
• The use of cellular phones is prohibited in class.

Required Text
Entman, Robert M. and Andrew Rojecki. The Black Image in the White Mind: Media and Race in America. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 2000.

COM450 CLASS SCHEDULE

Media and the Black Experience
Schedule and Assignment Due Dates

January 24th
SESSION ONE: Introduction
Discuss course syllabus – objectives, schedule, assignments, grading and text. Review writing requirements, and introduce online class journal. Ensure students can log on and post entries. Introduce research paper and Life Arts Project. Discuss definitions of “race.”

• Writing Assignment: Journal 1
• Project homework: Define race.
• Reading: Preface, pp. xi – xxvii

January 31st
SESSION TWO: Equality or Comity? Race Relations in America, Past and Present
Define “equality” and “comity.” Briefly review the history of race relations in America. Examine notions of segregation, isolation and the romanticized Other. Scrutinize archival and contemporary media examples depicting racial tension, assimilation and harmony.

• Writing Assignment: Journal 2
• Project homework: Find a contemporary example of a racial stereotype.
• Reading: The Racial Chameleon, pp. 1 – 15

February 7th
SESSION THREE: Race, Racism and Representation
Examine the construction of “Black” and “White” by investigating how media represent race. Evaluate stereotypes critical to race relations, and explore the development of contemporary ambiguity and/or indifference. Critique racist cartoons, photographs and news clips.

• Writing Assignment: Journal 3
• Project homework: Research paper proposal (1/2 page).
• Reading: White Racial Attitudes in the Heartland, pp. 16 – 45; Culture, Media, and the White Mind: The Character of Their Content, pp. 46 – 59

February 14th
SESSION FOUR: Defining Blackness
Look at varying representations of Blackness, and study how these representations, both positive and negative, come to define Blacks and their communities. Examine multifarious interpretations of Black images by Blacks and Whites, by gender, nationality, education and economics.

• Writing Assignment: Journal 4
• Project homework: Research paper annotated bibliography (min. 5 sources).
• Reading: The Meaning of Blackness in Network News, pp. 60 – 77

February 21st
SESSION FIVE: Blackness Controlled – The Case of Violent/Poverty Stereotypes
Explore connections between stereotypes of Black violence/poverty and actual violence/poverty. How do these stereotypes impact notions of Blackness? Critique media examples for circular relations between violent/poor Black images and violent/poor Black human beings. Screening: The Murder of Emmett Till. PBS, 2003. (53 min.)

• Writing Assignment: Journal 5
• Project homework: LAP worksheet and proposal (1/2 page).
• Reading: Violence, Stereotypes, and African-Americans in the News, pp. 78 – 93; Benign Neglect in the Poverty of the News, pp. 94 – 106
  

February 28th
SESSION SIX: Representing Power – Conflict and Public Policy
Analyze media representations of defiant or empowering Black communities and Black leaders – e.g. Martin Luther King, Jr., Louis Farrakhan, Malcom X, Nelson Mandela. Consider the impact of racial representation on the creation of public opinion. Compare national policies regarding racial segregation, assimilation, equality, justice, religious freedom, education and marriage.

• Writing Assignment: Journal 6
• Project homework: LAP contract and annotated bib (min. 3 sources).
• Reading: Affirming Discord, pp. 107 – 124; Black Power, pp. 125 – 143

March 7th NO CLASS
SESSION SEVEN: Representing History
Explore methods of representing and re-creating Black history through film and art. FIELD TRIP SCREENING or EXHIBIT: Dreamgirls or New York Divided.

• Writing Assignment: Journal 7
• Project homework: Work on research paper and LAP interview.

March 14th
SESSION EIGHT: Difference and Distraction in Network Television
Look at the modes of racial representation present in past and current network television. Contrast Black and White images, and consider their impact on identity and community. Screening: Color Adjustment. Dir. Marlon Riggs, 1992. (87 min.)

• Writing Assignment: Journal 8
• Project homework: Work on research paper and LAP interview.
• Reading: Prime-Time Television: White and Whiter, pp. 144 – 161

March 21st
SESSION NINE: Consuming Color – Racial Separateness in Advertising
Scrutinize Black images in advertising, looking at racist undertones, misrepresentation, stereotyping and identity creation. Contrast White images, and discuss the role of advertising in racial assimilation and social control. Examine past and present ads in various media formats.

• Writing Assignment: Journal 9
• Project homework: Submit final research paper (7-10 pages).
• Reading: Advertising Whiteness, pp. 162 – 181

March 28th NO CLASS
SESSION TEN: Documenting Race Today
Support fellow CNR/DC-37 students in a screening of films, photographs and sound recordings documenting color in the five boroughs of New York City. Details to be announced. FIELD TRIP EXHIBIT Colors of New York City

• Writing Assignment: Journal 10
• Project homework: Work on LAP interview.

April 4th
SESSION ELEVEN: Black, White or Colored – Race in Hollywood
Evaluate a brief history of Black images in Hollywood. Study racial representation from early cinema to contemporary times. Contrast Black and White roles in Hollywood films and their impact upon identity and social segregation. Introduce subversive images of Blackness. Screening: Siren of the Tropics. Starring Josephine Baker, 1927. (86 min.)

• Project homework: Submit LAP questions and background information.
• Reading: Race at the Movies, pp. 182 – 204

April 11th
SESSION TWELVE: Colored Media Today
GUEST SPEAKER: Professor Marlene Graham
Learn what it takes to make colored media today! Evaluate the difficulties of creating images of equality, diversity and harmony while appealing to audiences AND making money.

• Project homework: Work on LAP interview.
• Reading: tba

April 18th
SESSION THIRTEEN: Subversive Blackness
Power and Protest in Black Cinema I: Examine Black images of power and protest in Hollywood. Screening: Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. Dir. Stanley Kramer, 1967. (108 min.)

• Project homework: Submit LAP video interview (3-5 minutes).
• Reading: Murphy, A.D. “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?” Variety. Dec 1967.

April 25th
SESSION FOURTEEN: Subversive Blackness
Power and Protest in Black Cinema II: Examine Black images of power and protest in the Blaxploitation films of the 1970’s. Screening: Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song. Dir. Melvin van Peebles, 1971. (97 min.)

• Project homework: Work on LAP transcription and reflection.
• Reading: Morris, Gary. “Blaxploitation: A Sketch.” Bright Lights Film Journal. Mar 1997.

May 2nd
SESSION FIFTEEN: Subversive Blackness
Power and Protest in Black Cinema III: Examine Black images of power and protest in International Black Cinema. Screening: Orfeu Negro (Black Orpheus). Dir. Marcel Camus. Brazil, 1959. (107 min.)

• Project homework: Work on LAP transcription and reflection.
• Reading: Ehrenstein, David. “Black Orpheus.” The Criterion Collection.

May 9th
SESSION SIXTEEN: Subversive Blackness
Power and Protest in Black Cinema IV: Examine Black images of power and protest in the Black Cinema of the 1980’s and 1990’s. Screening: Do the Right Thing. Dir. Spike Lee, 1989. (120 min.)

• Project homework: Final LAP due (7-10 pages).
• Reading: Ebert, Robert. “Do the Right Thing.” The Criterion Collection.
  

May 16th
SESSION SEVENTEEN: The Truth About Color
Evaluate and critique media examples and arguments encountered throughout the course. Synthesize contradictory stories into a coherent narrative of racial representation. Incorporate an examination of the role of media, and discuss the future of Blackness in America.

• Project homework: LAP presentations (5 minutes).
• Reading: Reflecting on the End of Racial Representation, pp. 205 – 226

May 23rd
SESSION EIGHTEEN: Documenting Race Today
Produce and attend a public screening of class life arts projects!!

Screening material listed includes only full-length viewings. We will also examine numerous radio, magazine, news, television and film clips. Many segments will be screened in class, but you will sometimes be required to view media online.

COM450 Research and LAP Requirements

Media and the Black Experience

Research Paper – RACIAL STEREOTYPES (a single, specific example)

Students are required to complete a research paper of not more than 7-10 pages. The research paper MUST be in MLA format. For more info, please go to http://owl.english.purdue.edu/.

Students will do the following to complete the research paper:

• Find a contemporary example of a racist stereotype. 1/31
• Write a proposal to research the stereotype (1/2 page). 2/7
• Find five sources, and write an annotated bibliography. 2/14
• Write a draft of the research paper. 2/14 – 3/21
• Turn in the completed paper NO LATER THAN 3/21.

Creative LAP – WHAT IS RACE? (a documentary video project)
Students are required to complete a documentary Life Arts Project of not more than five minutes. The LAP will be completed on digital video.

Students will do the following to complete the LAP:

1. Write the documentary proposal.

• Select an interview subject. 1/24 – 2/21
• Complete the LAP worksheet. 2/21
• Write a project proposal (1/2 page). 2/21
• Find 3 sources. Write an annotated bibliography. 2/28
• Complete and sign the LAP contract. 2/28

2. Prepare for the documentary. 2/28 – 4/4

• Conduct background research (2-3 pages). 4/4
• Prepare interview questions (1 page). 4/4

3. Complete the documentary. 4/4 – 4/18

• Film the interview (5 minutes max.) 4/18
• Transcribe the interview (3-5 pages). 4/18 – 5/9

4. React to the work you have done (2-3 pages). 4/18 – 5/9
5. Turn in the final LAP paper (7-10 pages). 5/9
6. Share your project. ☺ ☺ ☺

• Give an in-class presentation of your LAP (3-5 minutes). 5/16
• Invite friends and family to attend a public screening and pizza party on the last day of class! 5/23