15."Don't you know who I am?" (last assignment)

Our last reading of the semester is a literary analysis by Wegs of Oates' short story "Where are you going, where have you been?" In this article, Wegs offers a number of detailed interpretations of the characters and events in the story. Choose 2-3 of Wegs' interpretations which you found particularly enlightening/helpful and explain why you chose them.

14.Oral presentations (Group 5)

Please follow the instructions for Blog assignment 11 when giving feedback to Group 5. Please do not forget to answer all the questions in the self-evaluation part.

13.Oral Presentations (Groups 3 and 4)

Please follow the instructions for Blog assignment 11 when giving feedback to Groups 3 and 4.

12.Review of course themes and texts

We have read and discussed a number of texts this semester, all of which revolved around the course themes of Media and Family Ties. Our only remaining assessment is the final take home essay. So this is a good time for us to cast our minds back over what we have covered. Please reflect on the work we have done and answer at least one of the questions below.

*To what extent have the texts we read influenced your perception of the media as a shaping force in our lives?

*What new insights into family structure and family life have the texts/films given you?

*What was your favourite academic text? Your favourite short story? Please explain why.

11.Oral Presentations (Groups 1 and 2)

PART I. Feedback to other groups
If you were an audience member for Group One's and/or Group Two's presentation(s), please refer to our marking criteria, your notes and your memory and write a short paragraph describing your impressions of the presentation(s). What were the positive aspects of the presentation(s), and what could be improved? Please give honest yet constructive criticism, keeping in mind that the blog is a public forum.

PART II. Self-evaluation
If you are a member of Group One or Group Two, please consider your presentation carefully and then answer the following questions:

1. What grade do you expect to receive for your presentation and why? (Please refer closely to our marking criteria).
2. Which aspects of your presentation were you happy with? Which aspects were you less than happy with? Please explain.
3. What problems (if any) did you experience while preparing the presentation and how did you solve them?
4. Was it useful to have class time to work on this assignment? Was it enough? Too little? Too much? Please explain.
   
5. Overall, would you say this was a positive/useful learning experience? Please explain.
6. Do you have any suggestions to improve this process for future 101/102 students?
   

10.The Merchants of Cool

This is an open blog forum for the documentary "The Merchants of Cool". You may post what you like; here are a few suggestions to get you started.

What is the main thesis of the film? Was there anything in the film that surprised or annoyed you? As a young person, how do you feel about the involvement of corporations in youth culture? Do products simply mirror youth culture, or do they help to create new forms of "cool"?

9.The Key to My Father

This is an open blog forum for Coben's very short story "The Key to My Father". You decide what you would like to post. You may like to consider characterization/the descriptions of the father, genre/point of view, the symbol of the key, your response to the text and so on.