University of the District of Columbia

Interdisciplinary General Education

Frontier Capstone Critical Theory & Media Literacy

IGED-391 & 392 (03)
Class Meetings:
Thursdays & Fridays: 2:30pm5:20pm
Location: Building 38, Room 104

Instructor:
William A. Hanff, Jr. Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
(202) 274-7370 (office)
WHanff@udc.edu

Summer 2015 31222 & 31224

version 1.4 06/30/15

Class Websites:
http://udc.blackboard.com/
http://my.udc.edu/

Posted Office Hours:

Thursdays & Fridays 12:30pm1:30pm
Building 42, Room B-14-E & via Blackboard/Wimba

(email responses within 36 hours )

In the name of progress our official culture is striving to force the new media do the work of the old. The medium is the message.
The content of any medium is always another medium. The content of writing is speech, just as the written word is the content of
print, and print is the content of the telegraph. H. Marshall McLuhan Understanding Media (1964)

Course Description:
Frontier Capstone seminars are 3-credit Interdisciplinary General Education courses that offer students the
opportunity to pursue an in-depth project on a subject of deep interest. The goal of these courses is to teach
students how to cope effectively with new situations, information, and experiences, using skills in critical thinking,
problem solving, and creativity. Following exposure to a wide variety of scholarly subjects, students demonstrate
through academic work the ability to obtain and appropriately use information retrieved through many formal and
informal methods.

Course Goals:
Students completing a Frontier Capstone Seminar will be able to:
1.
2.

3.

Articulate benefits of the arts, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, business, natural sciences, computer
science, engineering and applied sciences and other fields.
Demonstrate an ability to analyze unfamiliar material in familiar and unfamiliar fields. This will include the ability to:
a. plan an orientation and research process,
b. learn new vocabulary,
c. obtain relevant information,
d. reference new exposures against known information and draw parallels,
e. identify patterns and draw conclusions,
f. generate new questions based on learning, and recommend further study.
Utilize scientific methods to collect, analyze, and discuss information across a wide variety of subjects.

Additionally, students completing this particular capstone experience should be able to:

engage, deliberate regarding, and choose between competing visions of what it means to be human
engage, deliberate regarding, and choose between competing social theories and understandings of the human
civilizational project and the current situation.
think with strategic, operational, and tactical sophistication.

To thrive in your chosen discipline you will need to understand how broadcast media, social media, legacy media and
strategic communications will effect your profession and your career. Being critical of media messages and how they are
constructed and distributed will allow you to continue your exploration of new ideas across your lifespan. This Frontier
Capstone will bring together the ideas and skills from your specific discipline, your Technology and Ethics courses, and
integrate knowledge of Critical Philosophy and Media Production. Projects may include written papers, web video
productions, scriptwriting/press releases, event planning/coordination, nonprofit entrepreneurship, academic research and
service learning projects.

Prerequisites:
Please see UDC General Education website for specifics

Required Materials:
All students may be required to access this course via UDCs Blackboard twice per week.
The required texts for reading and in-class and online discussion:
Lessig, Lawrence. Free Culture: The Nature and Future of Creativity. Penguin, 2005.
McLuhan, Marshall. The Medium is the Massage: An Inventory of Effects. Ginko Press, 2005.
Simm, Stuart. Introducing Critical Theory. Totem Books, 2001.

ISBN: 0-143-03465-0
ISBN: 1-584-23070-3
ISBN: 1-840-46264-7

Project Objectives:
For your topic/presentation create recombinant modules that include:
Weblog posting & reseach - Find the Saint/Inventor, the Everyman/Vox Populi and the Mentor/Guide
Take and Review a MOOC & find a TED talk (or a discipline-specific alternative)
Create a game, app or lesson-plan to teach your idea
Write a script & research graphics/gifs/videos for a podcast
Create an ignite-style presentation & elevator pitch
Edit Wikipedia (or other wiki) article in collaboration w/ editors

clear meaning and value commitments and the ability to defend them in the context of humanitys ongoing
conversation,
clear analysis of the current situation and the ability to defend it in the context of current debates, and
strategic, operational, and tactical reasoning appropriate to the project.
Projects may be individual or collective. I may also offer some options for those having difficulty finding an appropriate
project. In any case, the responsibilities and contributions of each participant in a group project must be well defined.

Individual/Small Group Project Proposal: After your interview and after reviewing the feedback you get on in, you should
prepare a brief concept paper for their project in which you explain the problem they hope to solve, how their project will
contribute to the solution, and how you will go about developing their solution or contribution to a solution.

Writing Objectives: (or other forms of scholarly, creative, or organizing activity)

The principal assignment for this simulation will be a final project in which participants bring to bear both their
liberal education and their specialized training or professional preparation on some problem which bears on the
next steps in the human civilizational project. It may be either supportive of the aims of the commission or critical
of or adversarial to those aims. The project may theoretical, scholarly, scientific, artistic, or practical (political,
business, professional).
The paper must situate the problem and the proposed solution in the context ongoing debates regarding the questions
identified above.
Final Project/Paper:
Students prepare and present a paper or other work (performance, public art project, business plan (profit or
nonprofit) etc.) documenting the results of their project. In the case of projects which are primarily scholarly or
research focused, the paper will constitute the project and should be of the scope and complexity of a Bachelors
thesis. In the case of projects which are primarily practical in character the paper should describe the project in
detail, evaluate the results, and situate it in the context of the big-picture questions posed by the course. While
projects may be collaborative, every student must complete an individual, well defined work on which they will be
evaluated.

Assessment

Your participation in this media project will be evaluated in terms of where you stand with respect to the expected
outcomes at the end of the semester. That means that your grade will be determined primarily by the quality of your final
project and presentation and by the quality of your participation in deliberations towards the end of the semester.
However, in order to protect you against subjective grading and to provide documentation in the event of a dispute, your
grade will be no lower than the average of your grades in the following activities, weighted as indicated.

All assignments will be graded on a 100 point scale:

Letter of Introduction and Interview

10%
Dialogue, Debate, and Deliberation/Participation 20%
Project Proposal
10%
Project
60%

100% indicates outstanding work involving highly original insights sustained by rigorous argument presented in
grammatically correct, rhetorically sophisticated, prose. Only rarely awarded.
Above 90% indicates authentic mastery of the skills required by the particular assignment (textual analysis or
interpretation, sociohistorical analysis, scientific, philosophical, or theological argument) presented in prose which
shows few grammatical errors and is rhetorically effective.
Above 80% indicates an incipient ability to carry out the tasks required by the particular assignment (textual
analysis or interpretation, sociohistorical analysis, scientific, philosophical, or theological argument) presented in
prose which is free from grammatical or rhetorical errors which compromise its basic clarity.
Above 70% indicates significant familiarity with the subject matter, terms, definitions, etc., and an ability to
communicate that familiarity in writing, but no real evidence that the skills required by the assignment are being
mastered, OR serious grammatical or rhetorical errors which mean that such mastery is not being communicated.
Above 60% indicates only very limited familiarity with the subject matter OR very serious grammatical or
rhetorical errors which mean that basic familiarity with the subject matter is not being communicated.
Less than 60% indicate no real familiarity with the subject matter or such serious grammatical or rhetorical errors
that there is global failure to communicate.

In the context of this course, the highest grade at each level will be awarded only for work which meets the criterion
across all of the expected outcomes.

Grade Scale:
A
B
C
D

90 100
80 89
70 79
60 69 (lower grades will result in failure or incomplete)

Please review the student handbook for Americans With Disabilities, Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action
and Academic Honesty guidelines and requirements:

http://www.udc.edu/docs/handbook_complete.pdf
o

o
o

The University will not tolerate cheating or attempts to cheat in oral or written assignments on the part of University students. Cheating is defined
as the unauthorized use of assistance and material by a student, giving unauthorized assistance and material by one student to another, copying from
a paper of another, obtaining unauthorized advance knowledge of examination questions, or bringing or using prepared answers to examination or
testing sessions, or representing the work of others as one's own product. Faculty advisors and instructors should remind students in the first class
meeting of the standards of behavior and conduct to which the students are expected to adhere.
Students have an obligation to pursue conscientiously the academic objectives they have set for themselves within the policies and procedures of the
University, the college and the department. Further, it is expected that a student will complete all examinations, test, and written assignments
punctually, to the best of their abilities and without unauthorized assistance. Violations of the Standards of Academic Conduct: In cases of cheating or
other academic offenses, the instructor is expected to report the offense in writing to the department chair immediately who will notify the dean.
The written report should contain the supporting documentation regarding the offense.
The dean or department chair will investigate the facts in each case. Interviews may be conducted with any person or persons who can be of
assistance in determining the facts or the innocence or guilt of the student. Students so charged must be provided an opportunity to respond in
writing to the charge. The dean or department chair may convene a faculty committee to (1) conduct the investigation and to provide information
regarding the validity of the charge, and (2) to recommended a course of action.
Regardless of the procedure used, the dean or department chair must assume exclusive responsibility for the decision and the penalty, if any, to be
invoked except that the penalty of expulsion must have the approval of the Vice-President for Academic Affairs.
Any student with a documented disability (physical or cognitive) who requires academic accommodations should contact the Disability Resource
Center at (202) 274-6000 (voice) or (202) 274-6152 (TTY for users who are deaf or hearing-impaired) as soon as possible to request an official
letter outlining authorized accommodations.

Copyright & Fair Use Policy:

Students are expected to understand the use of copyrighted material and intellectual property. Although students may utilize copyrighted material in
limited amounts in Academic Fair Use each use of copyrighted must be accompanied by a usage clearance form. The use of the copyrighted material is
allowed at the Instructors discretion. There is no appeal of this decision. Public Domain footage may be used freely. GNU/GLP, Copyleft and Creative
Commons materials may be used in accordance with their user license specifications. All non-original materials must be attributed and/or cited and appear
either in ending credits or in in-program citation or link. Please see Best Practices for further information:
http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/files/pdf/fair_use_final.pdf
http://wiki.creativecommons.org/FFAQ

Course Outline/Schedule:
Module 1
July 2
ReadingHow Luther Went Viral The Economist, Dec. 2011 http://www.economist.com/node/21541719
Exercises: Finding & Analyzing Memes & Readymades
Videos: Memes & Internet Culture https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNBOkp346G8 Jenkins & Lessig TED Talks
Syllabus & Course Overview
Letter of Introduction Assigned
Module 2
Reading Introducing Critical Theory (p. 5867 & 76-77, 88-91, 96-103 & 106117)
Exercises: Confucius & Madison Ave.
Videos: R.i.P: A Remix Manifesto! http://vimeo.com/8040182
Written Proposal Assigned
Letter of Introduction Due
Student Deliberations & Group-Formations

July 9 & 10

Reading Introducing Critical Theory (p. 128-131,136-137, 140-143 & 156173)

Exercises: Remix Culture & Bricolage
Videos: PBS Frontline: Generation Like http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/generation-like/
Written Proposal Due & Student Topic Pitches
Annotated Bibliography Assigned
Module 3
Reading Free Culture Introduction (p. 1-13), Chapts. 1&2 (p. 21-47)
Exercises: Group-Mind Story & Equisite Corpse
Videos: Using Zotero & Thoughts on MOOCs
Annotated Bibliography Due
Rubric Building Exercise

July 16 & 17

Reading Free Culture Chapts 11&13 (p. 177-182 & 213-228)

Take free Online Module from a relevant MOOC or discipline-specific alternative
Written Paper Assigned
Videos: Gamification
MOOC Review Essay Assigned
Module 4
ReadingMedium is the Massage (p. 150)

Video: PBS Idea Channel & Celebrity Culture https://www.youtube.com/user/pbsideachannel

MOOC Review Essay Due

July 23 & 24

ReadingMedium is the Massage (p. 50-100)

Video: McLuhans Wake

App/Lesson Plan Essay (or Wiki Essay) Assigned

Module 5
ReadingCan the Subaltern Speak?
Exercises: Getting Outside your Filter Bubble

Video: McLuhans Wake

Ignite!-style Presentation Assigned

App/Lesson Plan Essay (or Wiki Essay) Due
ReadingHenry Jenkins on Participatory Learning
Exercises: Addressing the Participation Gap

July 30 & 31

Module 6
ReadingTBD
Exercise: student-determined
Videos: student-selected
Presentations/Elevator Pitches Due
Final Paper or Deliverable Due

August 6 & 7

Course Policies:
1) Attendance will be taken TWICE during each class meeting. First attendance will be taken 15 minutes into the class
meeting after a media screening and/or reading. Second attendance will be taken 5 minutes before the end of the class
where each student must explain their contribution and participation to the class for that session.
2) Any missed exams, late assignments or projects will result in an automatic zero except in the case of an extreme
medical emergency, supported by written documentation. (medical or military orders, police/court documents)
Please discuss any problems with the instructor in advance, to work out the problem before it becomes a crisis.
3) Changes to the syllabus or schedule will be announced in class. Each student is responsible for such information
whether he or she is in attendance or not. The instructor is not responsible for repeating any information that was
discussed in the class in the student's absence.
4) Eating, drinking, sleeping, tobacco use and prolonged public displays of affection are not allowed in the classroom area.
Dress code and behavior standards will be enforced. No hats or non-corrective eyewear are permitted.
5) All assignments are due at the beginning of the class meeting of the due date or online according to the posted
instructions. All written materials must be typed and follow Standard American English syntax and grammar.
6) Graphics illustrations must be formatted in accordance with the AP style manual. All copyrighted images must be
correctly attributed. (See Copyright & Fair Use Policy)
7) Students may be required to log onto the UDC Blackboard site twice per week to obtain assignments, readings and to
perform peer-evaluations of written work. Instructions and/or Evaluation Rubrics will be provided for each assignment.
8) More than six (6) unexcused absences will earn a failing (F) grade. This class requires student-feedback for many of the
activities and presentations your participation helps grade other students!
9) Non-Regularly scheduled meeting times and places will be announced two weeks before the event.
10) Participation in Class Discussions is Mandatory. Assigned Reading is Due Before class discussion begins.
11) All mobile devices are to be Silent Mode or in Airplane Mode for the duration of each class. Any

audible phone alert (e.g. ringing or loud buzzing) will be marked as tardiness. Any vocal use of mobile
phones will be marked as an unexcused absence. Text messaging and other silent uses of phones, laptops,
tablets or other devices is allowed and encouraged provided it does not distract students.
12) Audio and
a.
b.
c.

video recording of lectures and presentations is allowed under the following conditions:
You must inform the speaker if you are making a recording.
You must receive permission of the speaker to make a public posting of the recording
Copyright remains with the speaker, even if you have permission to post.

Individual Assignment Rubrics:

[will be provided with individual assignment worksheets]

Above 70%

Above 80%

Above 90%

Above 70%

Above 80%

Above 90%

Above 70%

Above 80%

Above 90%

Above 70%

Above 80%

Above 90%

Play
Performance
Simulation
Visualization

Transmedia Navigation
Networking
Negotiation

Collective Intelligence
Distributed Cognition

Judgment
Appropriation
Multitasking

How does the Project address the:

Participation Gap: inequalities in access and opportunities for participation

Transparency Gap: assumes active reflection & ability to articulate learning

Ethical Gap: assumes the self-development of ethical norms & coping with diversity

Project Description:
clear meaning and value commitments and an ability to defend them in the context of humanitys ongoing conversation
clear analysis of the current situation and the ability to defend it in the context of current debates and critical theory
strategic, operational, and tactical reasoning appropriate to the project
Projects may be individual or collective. The responsibilities of each participant in a group project must be well defined.
The topic must be defined in one single, grammatically correct and concise sentence which articulates precisely what is at
stake, and what steps the audience can take with the information. Topics must:

1. Solve a problem. It should not be a paper just summarizing the results of other scholars
research or a community service project operating wholly with the framework of an existing
operating program. It must add something new, whether theoretical insight, empirical
knowledge, or a new strategic, operational, or tactical approach.
2. Be interdisciplinary. While it is fine to choose a project closely related to your major field
of study, you must approach the problem in a way which draws on other disciplines, including
at least some which you have engaged in the course of your liberal education.
Components: (60% of grade)
For your topic project you should create recombinant modules that include:
1. Written Research & Annotated Bibliography
250-400 words
Due Week 3

Describe audience, Find reviewed Sources

2. Take and Review a free online course module (or MOOC) or find a TED talk (or alternative) on Topic(s)

250-400 words
Due Week 4

3. Create and/or Describe a Game, App or Lesson-plan to teach your idea

OR
Edit a Wikipedia (or discipline-specific wiki) article or create a Concept Map (in collaboration w/ editors)

300-500 words
Due Week 5

4. Create an Ignite (or PechaKucha) presentation (5mins, 20 graphics*) or Elevator Pitch (1 min, graphics)

Ignite: 600-700 words

Pitch: 150-200 words
Due Week 6

* presentation graphics will auto-advance every 15-20 seconds

5. Written Paper or Final Deliverable

o TBD based on proposal (2,000 words; 15 citations)
o Due Week 6

Individual/Small Group Project Proposal: After your interview and after reviewing the feedback you get on in, you should
prepare a brief concept paper for their project in which you explain the problem they hope to solve, how their project will
contribute to the solution, and how you will go about developing their solution or contribution to a solution.

Proposal: (10 % of grade)

Once you have submitted your letter, and spoken with the instructor and your potential group
members, your next step is to develop a project proposal. This proposal should do the following:
1. Explain clearly the problem you are trying to solve or the question you want to answer.
2. Demonstrate both that the problem or question is important and that it has not already been
definitively resolved or answered.
3. Explain what you propose to do and how you propose to do it. Generally this should include:
a. A literature review and/or for practical projects, meetings with key players in the arena in
which you are planning to work in order to define precisely the current state of the
question or problem.
b. If you are doing a creative project you should present a review of existing work in the
medium or form which engages similar themes and show how you will build on this work
and differentiate your project from it.
c. A statement of what methods you plan to use and why they are appropriate.
d. A statement of how much you propose to accomplish as part of this course.

(Some excellent questions may require major research projects involving hundreds of interviews. In such
cases you may propose simply to prepare a detailed research design, including an interview protocol or
other appropriate instrument, and perhaps test it. Similarly, some operating projects require
organizational and financial resources you dont have. In such cases a strategic, operating, tactical, or
business plan might well be sufficient for this course. Similarly, you might want to write and product a
play or paint a major outdoor mural but lack the resources. A script and production notes or a smaller
set of studies and a plan to eventually paint the mural might suffice.)

e.

A statement of how you will meet Institutional Review Board requirements, if applicable
(We are still working on a clarification of what these will be and what our options are in meeting them).

4. Describe your proposed final product. For scholarly or research projects this should be a paper.
For practical projects it may be an extended plan of comparable length, or if the project is actually
implemented, a briefer reflection on what was done that addresses the aims of the course. For
creative projects it will include an artifact or performance and a brief artists statement explaining
how the work addresses the themes of the course.
5. Be in the form of a single typewritten essay for both individual and collective projects
a. 250-400 words
b. Due Week 4
c. Used for Dialogue, Debate, and Deliberation/Participation
Deliberation: (20 % of grade)
In week 2 each individual must participate in the Dialogue, Debate, and Deliberation for their project. Using the
written proposal and written research and defend their proposal topic to the other student participants of the
class. Students will evaluate each others proposals and give significant feedback for the advancement of the
project and connection to an audience. Deliberation will help situate the problems or questions that proposed
projects address philosophically, scientifically, artistically, strategically, etc. Since this may be the most difficult part
of the proposal, individuals or groups will have an opportunity to revise once you have feedback.

All written assignments are due via the Assignments section of UDCs Blackboard LMS. All
assignments are due before the class meeting. Please contact the Instructor if you have any questions.
Please contact tech support if you need technical assistance:
RAILhelpdesk@udc.edu | 202.274.6628 or contact toll free at (877) 736-2585. Support is available 24x7x365.