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The
usual product of media analysis is a carefully-conceived, well-researched, and
thoughtfully-written essay. In this
assignment, you will carry out the first two of these tasks.
You
will prepare a proposal for a research project, but not write the actual
paper. Each proposal must be in the
form of a three-to-five page essay, in which you include all of the following:
·
Select a subject (i.e., a media text or issue)
Choose a particular media text, or related issue, that you
are interested in. Describe this
subject briefly, and indicate why you believe it would be important and/or
interesting to study more closely.
After introducing the subject in a
paragraph or so, state your thesis. The
thesis should ideally be stated in one sentence, and then briefly
elaborated in a few following sentences.
It should be a significant claim,
not a question.
Right after the thesis paragraph,
state, in a few sentences, which particular critical approach (e.g., ideological, institutional, cultural studies,
etc.) you will be using in this project, and why it is best-suited to your
subject and thesis. You will assume the form to be scholarly criticism, NOT journalistic or
amateur.
After the above paragraphs, list three fundamental questions that will propel your research and
thesis. They should be appropriate to
the subject, and potentially lead into significant evidence for your thesis.
Starting with a new page, list at least five print or online sources you have found for your research. They must be listed in alphabetical order
and in appropriate citation format under the heading BIBLIOGRAPHY. You should also list any media texts that
you will refer to (e.g. films, TV series/episodes, recordings, etc.), but those
do not
count toward your five sources. You
will then attach a copy of the first
page of each of your print and web sources to the proposal.
Discuss
your project with me individually during the week of April 22-30, and turn it
in by Thursday, May 2.
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