Final Projects Info.

Hi all,

For your convenience I am posting the facilitation order and texts that we will be reading for the last two weeks of class below. I will also update this post with specific links to the blog entries created by each group so you can access the necessary videos/texts you should read for each class date.

Also, if you are interested in bumping up your blogging grade, feel free to comment on the blog entries posted by each group! The comments are still due by noon on the day of class.

All the best,

Prof. Tran

Monday, November 30th 

Group: Ashley, Catherine, Kaitlyn, Jillian

• Topic/Text: Incorporation of science and speculative fiction tropes into contemporary pop music lyrics and videos, e.g. Katy Perry, Lady Gaga.
• See their post here.

Group: Adrian, Patrick, Dean, John

• Topic/Text: Bioshock video game
• See their post here.

Wednesday, December 2nd

Group: Marjorie, David, JP

• Topic/Text: Pacific Rim, connections to Big Hero 6
• Check out their post here.

Group: Sara, Caitlyn, Nicole S.

• Topic/Text: gender norms in the superhero genre; analyzing connections between SNL’s Black Widow trailer and Big Hero 6 and Ms. Marvel.  
• See their post here.

Monday, December 7th

Group: Vennela, Brandon, Wen-Chiao, Serina

• Topic/Text: Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
• See their post here.

Group: Matthew, Nicole C. Jennifer, Jimmy

• Topic/Text: The Avengers, thinking through similarities and differences to Big Hero 6

Wednesday, December 9th

Group: Ben, Siri, Jacob, Justin

• Love & Radio’s “The Living Room”
• Access the podcast here.

Reminders about Final Project & Classes after Thanksgiving Break

Hi all,

Here are just some quick reminders about the final project and the last two weeks of class:

• Final Project
  • Please remember to select one person from your group to email me by this Friday, Nov. 20th the following information: (1) name of all group members; (2) date and slot (A/B) of your presentation; (3) the title of the text(s) you have chosen to facilitate
  • One week before your facilitation, you should select one person from your group to create a blog post that provides links/files to the texts you want us to read or look at in advance of your facilitation. Your group may also choose to include in this post specific instructions about what details to pay attention and/or what texts from previous sessions of our class that you might want us to bring on that date. This is of course all up to you!
• Midterm Paper- grades and revisions
  • I will be emailing you pdf copies of your grades on the midterm paper along with my comments by the end of the week. If you plan to revise your essay, you can get a head start over Thanksgiving break.
  • The cover letters for revisions are due by Monday, Nov. 30th. Revised essays are due in hard copy on the last day of class, Wednesday, Dec. 9th.
  • Things to keep in mind: (1) If you turn in your revision on the last date of class, please do not expect detailed comments from me. At most, I can email you your grade on the revision. You are free to turn in your revised essays earlier. (2) If you are revising your essay, make sure all of the MLA citations and works cited entries are correct. If they are incorrect, I will return the essay without grading it. I have mentioned this several times in class and have even given you MLA formatting guidelines, so there should be no excuses for incorrect/absent citations!
  • *Please note that by now you all should have received grades on both of your blog responses and your facilitation. If you have not received them, just send me a quick email! (proftran100@gmail.com)
• Extra points for “blogging” component
  • If you  have not been commenting regularly on the blog and would like to have a chance to “bump up” your grade, you can choose to comment on the blog entries posted by each group with your general reflections on the texts they have selected to facilitate on. To count, these comments are due by 12:00pm the day of class.

Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving Break!

Prof. Tran

Reminders for Wed. (11/18)

Hi all,

Some quick reminders for Wednesday’s class, Nov. 18th:

• We will be discussing the movie Snowpiercer, which is on reserve at the Media Center in the Douglass Library. You will have Wednesday morning to watch it before I take the film off reserve.
  • Bloggers: Wen-Chiao O’Boyle, Adrian Casper, Matthew Berns
  • Facilitators: Adrian Casper and Marjorie Eyong
• By now, all of you should know your group for the final project. As I mentioned in class today, please select one person from your group to email me (proftran100@gmail.com) the following information by noon this Friday, Nov. 20th:
  • Names of all of your group members
  • The title of the text(s)/object(s)  you are planning to facilitate
  • The date and slot (A/B) of your facilitation
• *Important note: For those of you who were absent, we have collectively decided to cancel class next Monday, Nov. 23rd, so everyone will have more time to work on the final project and to get an early start to Thanksgiving break!

Best,

Prof. Tran

Reminders for Monday’s Class (11/16)

Hi all,

Some quick reminders for Monday’s class, Nov. 16th:

• We will be finishing our discussion of Sherri Smith’s Orleans (pgs. 235-324)
  • Bloggers: David Huynh, Marjorie Eyong, Bobby O’Connor, Nicole Schmalz
  • Facilitator: Caitlyn Moss
• For those of you who were absent, we went over the final project today, which you can download from the “Handouts” page.
  • Most of the groups have already been formed, but if you weren’t in class today I will just add you to one of the groups with only 3 students.
  • We will determine the presentation order for the groups on Monday.
  • All groups should have some sense of the text they want to facilitate on by next Wednesday. You should select one person in your group to send me an email with all of the group members’ names and the title of your chosen text(s).
  • I will be giving you time in class on Monday to continue your discussions with your group.
• Also, the movie Snowpiercer, which we will begin discussing next Wednesday, is now on reserve at the media center in Douglass Library. You will have until next Wednesday morning to watch the film. I believe that Snowpiercer is also available on Netflix if you have an account.

Happy reading!

All the best,

Prof. Tran

Reminders for Wednesday’s Class (11/11)

Hi all,

Some quick reminders for Wednesday’s class:

• We will be continuing our discussion of Sherri Smith’s Orleans (pgs. 160- 234)
  • Bloggers: Vennela Gadde, Jiapeng Zhao, Dean Keinan, Ben Manahan
  • Facilitators: Siri Nesheim, Jimmy Nolan
  • Note: As I mentioned in class today, I can no longer honor requests to switch blogging/ facilitation dates. We are nearing the end of the semester so you should keep track of your own dates and plan accordingly. No late blog responses or comments will be accepted unless you speak to me in advance (or, unless I have already set up an alternative schedule for you). Blogs are due by 5:00pm the day before class and comments are due 12:00pm the day of class.
• Please try to be present for Wednesday’s class because we will be discussing the final project and forming groups!
• Also, the movie Snowpiercer, which we will begin discussing next Wednesday, is now on reserve at the media center in Douglass Library. You will have until next Wednesday morning to watch the film. I believe that Snowpiercer is also available to watch on Netflix if you have an account.

Happy reading!

All the best,

Prof. Tran

Reminders for Wed. (11/04)

Hi all,

Just some quick reminders for Wednesday’s class, Nov. 4th:

• We are beginning our discussion of Sherri Smith’s Orleans (“Before” & pgs. 13-69)
  • Bloggers: Nicole Crippen, Justin Wright, Siri Nesheim, Jacob Paul
  • Facilitator: Nicole Crippen
• Your midterm essays are due in class in hard copy on Wednesday. Please bring in your peer review sheets as well!
  • I would also like an electronic copy of your essay for my records, which should be emailed to me at proftran100@gmail.com by the end of the day on Wednesday.
  • I will answer any questions and am willing to look at drafts of your thesis paragraph up until 6:00pm today, Nov. 2nd! The earlier you email me the sooner you will receive feedback.
• A brief note about citing quotes/passages from graphic novels and movies:
  • You should be as selective and descriptive as possible when you are quoting from either of these mediums. For example, be specific in identifying the characters who are engaged in dialogue and whether the text you are quoting is a form of narration or internal thought. Carefully contextualize each scene or example, i.e. highlight what is happening, to whom, and where it falls in relation to the text as a whole.
  • Passages can be of any length- a single line, e.g. Baymax’s refrain “Are you satisfied with your care?” counts as a passage! For movies (and to an extent graphic novels) these passages do not even have to be direct quotations from the text. However, you should have at least 3 distinct examples in your essay, i.e. 3 separate scenes that you analyze at length.
  • If you absolutely have to include a block quote in your analysis of a graphic novel, please identify who is speaking, to whom, and whether the text is a narration. For example:

Narration: “Quote text”

Hank: “Quote text”

Hua: “Quote text”

Narration: “Quote text”

Hank: “Quote text”

[This “play-like” format is not official MLA citation policy, but I am allowing it for this class. All of the other formatting details for block quotes apply.]

Reminders for Mon. (11/02)

Hi all,

Just some quick reminders for Monday’s class, Nov. 2nd:

• We will finish up our discussion of Big Hero 6 on Monday
  • Facilitators: Jillian Valdes & Sara Aldaghady
  • (There are no blog responses for Monday, so no commenting homework!)
• We will also be conducting a peer review session for the midterm essays
  • Please bring in 4 hard copies of your draft, which should include at least a working thesis paragraph and another body paragraph with a close reading example
  • If you have misplaced your copy of the essay prompts, you can download them from the “Handouts” page
• Also, for those of you who signed up to revise your close reading papers, they are due in hard copy in class on Monday!

Have a Happy Halloween weekend!

-Prof. Tran

Check out Alissa Walker’s “A Tour of ‘San Fransokyo,’ the Hybrid City Disney Built for Big Hero 6” if you want to learn more about the technology behind the construction of the animated world of the film.

Take a look at “‘Big Her 6′ shows that an Asian American Cast Can Top the Box Office,” a piece by Adriel Luis that offers insights into the diverse voice casting of the characters in the film.

Manhola Dargis’s review, “Happiness is a Warm Robot: ‘Big Hero 6,’ an Animated Film Based on a Marvel Comic Book,” for The New York Times. 

Marjorie just sent me this article about Monica Rambeau, who is a black female superhero and apparently the first woman to hold the title of Captain Marvel. The article goes into detail about the different transitions Monica’s character was forced to undergo and how her original title was taken over by a series of superheroes, including Carol Danvers.

I think it follows really well on our recent discussions about the challenges of creating and marketing minority superheroes, so check out “The Unfortunate and Obscure History of Monica Rambeau, the First Female Captain Marvel,” if you’re interested!

Reminders for Wed. (10/28)

Hi all,

Here are some quick reminders for Wednesday’s class, Oct. 28th:

• We will begin our discussion of Disney’s Big Hero 6 on Wednesday. If you need access to the movie, it will be on reserve at the media center in the Douglass Library until Wednesday morning.
  • Bloggers: Serina Thomas, Jimmy Nolan, Ben Manahan, Sara Aldaghady, John Sieg
  • Facilitator: Ashley Berry
  • *A note to bloggers: Please provide a brief summary of the scene you are writing on before delving into your analysis. (You do not have to type up the dialogue). We will discuss close reading films in greater detail on Wednesday, but some things you might want to pay attention to (in addition to plot details) are: (1) the representation of characters; (2) setting; (3) music and sound effects; (4) lighting, etc.

Looking forward to our discussion!

All the best,

Prof. Tran