Guidelines · No more than 2100 words. Word count listed at the top of your paper. · 12 pt. font, double-spacing, standard margins. · Follow MLA guidelines for citation and formatting. · You should cite at least 3 scholarly sources for each prompt (they do not have to be from outside of class, but should be directly cited).* · Pick one prompt below and answer the questions it poses. Each essay prompt corresponds to a different final exam (same # and types of questions, but different content). Exam A is about media and scholarship. Exam B is about people and pop culture. Be sure to take the final exam that matches the prompt you choose. For example, if you choose Essay Prompt A, you would then need to take Exam A.

COMN 1600—Prof. Cody Walizer

Final Paper Prompts

DUE December 2nd AT 11:59 PM ON CANVAS

Guidelines

· No more than 2100 words. Word count listed at the top of your paper.

· 12 pt. font, double-spacing, standard margins.

· Follow MLA guidelines for citation and formatting.

· You should cite at least 3 scholarly sources for each prompt (they do not have to be from outside of class, but should be directly cited).*

· Pick one prompt below and answer the questions it poses.

Each essay prompt corresponds to a different final exam (same # and types of questions, but different content). Exam A is about media and scholarship. Exam B is about people and pop culture. Be sure to take the final exam that matches the prompt you choose. For example, if you choose Essay Prompt A, you would then need to take Exam A.

Essay Prompt A:

PERSONAL ESSAY: Popular Culture in Society-What is popular culture? How do people interact with, express, and interpret popular culture? How can we change the way we see popular culture through the application of theory? What are the bodily aspects of popular culture? How can we become better consumers of popular culture?

Your task for this essay prompt is to apply the theoretical material we have learned in class to the practical processes and behaviors that compose contemporary popular culture consumption. In order to complete this essay, follow the following steps:

FIRST: What is popular culture? Summarize your thoughts and the ideas/theme(s) from the course you found most interesting. Draw and cite from the relevant course readings, videos, discussions, or other assignments to support your informed summaries. Assume in this essay that your audience, at least for the first part of this essay, is a college audience with little formal study of popular culture. Informed by a course theme(s), explain some aspects of the nature of popular culture in the United States today or on the contemporary dynamics of popular culture production and consumption.

SECOND: Discuss how understanding the theme(s) of the course has shaped your understanding of popular culture and your personal engagement with popular culture “texts” or “artifacts.” Discuss your own thinking and experience over the course of the quarter in terms of understanding popular culture, what you found most applicable to your experience.

THIRD: Discuss how your cultivated understanding and perspectives will assist you in the future as a human citizen. Can this class help you be a better person in the future?

Essay Prompt B:

MEDIA STUDIES ESSAY: Reading Critical Media Studies- Find a scholarly article that performs what you might call a “critical media study” and answer the following questions (The Journal of Popular Culture or communication databases are good places to find these).

Your task for this essay prompt is to criticize or expound upon an existing work of Critical Media Study. In order to complete this essay, follow the following steps:

FIRST: Introduce the study (title, author, etc.). What form of analysis/conceptual framework does this article use? Does this article capture this analytical form/conceptual framework adequately? Rather than simply copying the paper, analyze the work yourself: does it stand up to scrutiny? Does it misplace theoretical emphasis? Does it expand or contract the theory used?

SECOND: What artifact or text is being analyzed? Does this artifact “match” with the form of analysis used? Explain in detail the relationship between the object and the theory. Does this relationship change the way you think about the rhetorical text? Does it change the way you think about the theoretical framework employed here?

THIRD: Analyze the quality of this study overall. Do you think that this study is well-done? Do you think that it says something about the text or artifact that hasn’t been said before? Is there a “call to action” in the article about what to do given the findings of the study? Do you agree with this “call to action” if there is one? If there isn’t one, how can you articulate the broader implications of the study?