Final Project

Part 1: The final project for this course invites you to design a creative intervention-artistic, activist, policy, educational, media, popular culture, business, or other-to transform any aspect of current practices, discourses, or institutions surrounding gender and the media and/or gender and popular culture. You have considerable freedom in designing this project.

First identify a problem related to gender and the media and/or gender and popular culture, and research it so that you can summarize and describe it.
Provide at least 4 highly relevant citations for sources that provide critical context and motivation for your project. Under each citation, provide a 1-2 sentence description of the source. You can include non-academic materials, but you should also include academic material that you plan to draw on for theoretical framing. You may cite readings from class.
Next try to form a creative action plan that could (at least theoretically) make a difference as a step to help solve the problem you identified.
Next analyze the feasibility of your plan.

You will turn in a part 1 that contains text (written or spoken), which may be combined with images, sound, video, hypertext, or other media. Be sure to give proper reference where it is due. You may work with one other person and turn in one project per group, or you may work alone.
Here is a sample Part 1 by Hannah Koch

Preliminary Components: In the few classes before the due date, you will participate in incubation sessions with your peers and have a chance to incorporate that peer feedback into your project plans.

Part 2: On the day of the final exam, you will have up to 5 minutes to:

pitch your problem and creative action plan
name the strongest drawback or objection to your approach and try to provide an answer to it
conclude with a strong statement arguing for the importance of your intervention

You will conduct peer review of other pitches (which will be shared anonymously with the presenters) and a self-evaluation. Here you will answer questions to reflect on your peers and your own arguments, including how the projects relate to you and what you learned as you list strengths and suggestions for improvement. You will turn this in along with part 1 of your project.

Slides summarizing part 1 and part 2

The final project connects to learning goals 5 and 6. Since there is no opportunity for in-course revision for this project after the pitch, a Padawan level for this project is sufficient for a Jedi Knight course grade, and a Jedi Knight level on the project is sufficient for a Jedi Master course grade, assuming that Project 1 revisions were sufficient.

Padawan Final Project Jedi Knight Final Project Jedi Master Final Project

Required Elements The project and pitch are missing required elements. The project and pitch generally demonstrate the required elements. The project and pitch thoroughly demonstrate the required elements.

Citations Citations are missing, irrelevant, or there are no academic sources, or they are in a format that is not professional. Content is original or cited in mostly relevant and quality sources, in a format that is mostly consistent. Content is original or cited in highly relevant and quality sources in a format that is professional.

Writing or Speaking Writing or speaking is unclear and/or disorganized. Writing or speaking is mostly clear and reasonably organized. Writing or speaking is clear & well organized.

Learning Goal 6 The problem or its relevance is unclear. The problem and its relevance is described. The problem and its relevance is clearly described.

Learning Goal 6 The action plan may be possible but the analysis of feasibility issues is incomplete or missing. The action plan is plausible and contains a reasonable analysis of feasibility issues. The action plan is convincing and contains an in-depth analysis of feasibility issues.

Learning Goal 5 Peer review and self-evaluation is minimal. Peer review and self-evaluation contains some reflections on how the projects relate to you, what you learned, strengths and suggestions for improvement. Contains in-depth peer review and self-evaluation on how the projects relate to you, what you learned, strengths and suggestions for improvement.

	Padawan Final Project	Jedi Knight Final Project	Jedi Master Final Project
Required Elements	The project and pitch are missing required elements.	The project and pitch generally demonstrate the required elements.	The project and pitch thoroughly demonstrate the required elements.
Citations	Citations are missing, irrelevant, or there are no academic sources, or they are in a format that is not professional.	Content is original or cited in mostly relevant and quality sources, in a format that is mostly consistent.	Content is original or cited in highly relevant and quality sources in a format that is professional.
Writing or Speaking	Writing or speaking is unclear and/or disorganized.	Writing or speaking is mostly clear and reasonably organized.	Writing or speaking is clear & well organized.
Learning Goal 6	The problem or its relevance is unclear.	The problem and its relevance is described.	The problem and its relevance is clearly described.
Learning Goal 6	The action plan may be possible but the analysis of feasibility issues is incomplete or missing.	The action plan is plausible and contains a reasonable analysis of feasibility issues.	The action plan is convincing and contains an in-depth analysis of feasibility issues.
Learning Goal 5	Peer review and self-evaluation is minimal.	Peer review and self-evaluation contains some reflections on how the projects relate to you, what you learned, strengths and suggestions for improvement.	Contains in-depth peer review and self-evaluation on how the projects relate to you, what you learned, strengths and suggestions for improvement.