About the Reading Response Assignment (Updated 1/29/19)

The Reading Response Assignment has three primary goals:

1. to help students read course texts actively rather passively
2. to help prepare students to an engaged in-class discussion
3. to reflect on the texts and ask clarifying and illuminating questions

The assignment is informed by three Course Learning Objectives:

Objective 2. Critical Awareness of the Social Role of Media
Students will understand the history and context of the role that communication media (recording devices, music, text, samples, videos, etc.) has played in social movements. Students will be able to articulate and critique the role media has historically played and currently plays in society.

Objective 3: Effective Communication
Students will understand the principles, practices, and ethics of effective media communication, in particular in terms of how it applies to social movements, society, and protest music.

Objective 4: Reflection
Students will develop their understanding of the important role of reflection during the reading and communication process.

Objective 5: Risk-taking
Students will know what it feels like to step out of their comfort zones and take risks with their approaches to and understanding of the course activities and other course objectives.

Reading Response Assignment Specifics

Reading responses will be completed in a GoogleDoc; Bill will share an individual GoogleDoc with each student. Reading responses will have two sections, the Response and the Reflection:

1. The Response: The response should be 200 to 275 words long and address the text in ways that help illuminate important points. Do not merely write what you think about the texts. Rather, work through the ideas within the text.
2. The Reflection: In 75 – 100 words, discuss how the text(s) challenged you as a reader (or viewer) and list 2 or 3 questions informed by the readings. The questions can be for clarification purposes, such as, “What did the author mean by so and so on page 12?” Or, they can be application, such as, “How might we apply the author’s theory to what we are seeing in social media?” Or, for open-ended, such as, “What are the ethical implications of what the author discusses?” These questions could inform parts of class discussion.

Initially, Bill will provide prompts for The Response section of the assignment. See the Course Calendar for those prompts. Use care when composing your responses; make sure to check your spelling and grammar. Use paragraphs. Use author’s names and make sure to refer to the author with the correct pronoun. Cite page numbers when quoting and/or paraphrasing. Your responses will only be seen by Bill.

Due Dates

Each student is required to complete EIGHT total reading responses. The first two are required so I can ensure everyone is doing them well. Select 6 from the remaining due dates. Reading Responses are due prior to the start of class on the following days:

Required Responses:

• 1/23: Reading Response 1 Due
• 1/28: Reading Response 2 Due

Choose 6 of the Remaining Responses:

• 2/4: Reading Response 3 Due
• 2/11: Reading Response 4 Due
• 2/18: Reading Response 5 Due
• 2/25: Reading Response 6 Due
• 3/4: Reading Response 7 Due
• 3/20: Reading Response 8 Due
• 3/25: Reading Response 9 Due
• 4/1: Reading Response 10 Due
• 4/8: Reading Response 11 Due

Please see the Course Calendar for any changes to these due dates.

Grading

Each response will be graded on the basis of 50 points — 30 for the response, 20 for the reflection. Bill will add grades to each student’s GoogleDoc.