Anth 362 Gender and Ethnicity in China and Tibet (Fall 2011)
Multimedia Film Commentaries

Due: 5 total (though do more for extra credit!) due Fridays, 5pm, the week the film is screened for the class.

• *NOTE: one of these must be for week four's film, Stranger in my Native Land. Please discuss that film in terms of theories we read about nationalism and "imagined communities" (Due Mon, Sept 26, 5 pm).

Length and Format: a web-based document including images and/or video that incorporates at least 1-2 pages of text (ie., if it were cut-and-pasted into a Word document it would be that length at 12 point font, double-spaced, 1 inch margins). They should be informal commentaries on the film screened for that week of the course, with specific reference to ideas and debates in the week's readings. All references to the readings should be cited with in-text, parenthetical citation (ie., Lopez 1998: 10). No reference list is needed unless you cite sources outside the syllabus, but all images or video used should have a way for viewers to see their source, title or creator, and if possible, creation date (ie., in a caption, a rollover box, or in-text reference).

Evaluation: Despite the multimedia format, this is still a writing assignment, only here you get to experiment with other genres of writing in a less formal setting.  I will evaluate based on (in order of priority):

1. Extent to which you refer to the week's readings and demonstrate clear understanding of basic terms presented in the course;
   
2. The creativity and originality of your ideas;
   
3. The clarity of your organization and writing;
   
4. The extent and creativity with which you integrate text and image/video.

In this course, we take a multimedia approach to the anthropology of China and Tibet, treating images and video as seriously as we do written texts. This semester, we're also experimenting with multimedia formats for writing assignments.  These informal commentaries are your chance to try your hand at a different kind of writing--which is no less academically rigorous.

The idea is to critically comment on course films with reference to ideas and debates from the relevant week's readings, and using clips or stills from the film, or related images from other sources, to illustrate your points. We screen a total of 10 films this semester; you must comment on at least 5 of them (including week 4). But feel free to do more for extra credit. The film commentaries can thus work as a kind of ongoing blog about the course material. You will hand them in on Fridays in the form of a URL emailed to me. Note that your commentaries will not be shared with anyone unless you want to; but be sure to configure your site for private access only if that's what you prefer.

Web Platforms: There are a variety of web platforms that could work for this assignment; choose one you are familiar with, such as a simple stand-alone website, blogspot, or tumblr. See examples of Reed student assignments done for prof. Ben Lazier's class. Or, I will be experimenting with Voicethread software for various 'image assignments' (see the first one: "Where is Tibet"?)--this is a very user-friendly and more academic platform for image blogging that allows you to draw on the image or video while recording a voice or video comment. See www.voicethread.com for examples and support material. Note that when you upload your text to Voicethread, save it as a pdf first, and magnify the font to at least 16 pt.

For help with this and other multimedia assignments, the folks in the mLab (ETC 226) are there to help you! For tips on downloading and working with video clips, see these user-friendly guidelines from Tony Moreno in the mLab: Firefox Extensions for Downloading and Video Conversion Programs

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