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SEMN 499-01 Digital
Passages: Personal & Public Narratives—Syllabus/Schedule Kalamazoo College, Fall
2017 Richard Koenig,
Professor Meeting Time: Tuesday and Thursday 12:10 to 2:00 PM Meeting Place: Room 122 (and 103) of the Light Fine
Arts Building Office Hours: Tuesday 2:30 to 3:30 PM and Wednesday
1:00 to 3:00 PM (or by appointment) Office: Light Fine Arts 203 E-mail: rkoenig@kzoo.edu Phone: 269.337.7003 Course Description Digital
storytelling stands out for its directness of emotional expression and voice. In
this course, students will
help bring to life the reality of their individual experiences—past,
present, and conceivable future—through digital storytelling. Students
will reflect on their lives prior to college as well as what theyÕve
experienced while in school. They will look inward, but also outward, since
students at Kalamazoo College have developed strong interests in a field of study
and/or causes of social justice. We will look to see how their personal
experiences have coalesced to influence their deep interest in a
discipline—possibly interwoven with a practice of a being a socially
constructive human being. Stories will
begin with personal, factual evidence that grows outward—from the
specific to the general. Students then will make small pieces that
relate their story using image and text or video and sound (utilizing easily
accessible tools). The works
may range from straight reportage to the experimental, from non-fiction to the
allegorical. Their creative works will be designed primarily for,
and dissemination through, social media. By imparting their story to an
audience, it is hoped they will make meaningful connections between themselves
and others. Course and Content Students will begin this course by getting acquainted
with the lean efficacy of digital storytelling including websites, small
videos, and podcasts. They then will move toward a bit of personal
archaeology—a mining of the past where they look for small but
significant ÒartifactsÓ from their lives (including
meaningful college experiences). To accomplish this, they will interview each
other to gather information in an objective way, mediated through a second
party. Students
will then work to unpack the past, parsing its meaning, to see how small things
along the way may have had a deep impact on them in the present. Examining
their personal narratives, students will discover what has
influenced them toward a life that is passionate toward an area of study and/or
to a social issue. To tell the
story, students may choose to use straight reportage, or allegory and metaphor,
extending their notions into the future. Finally, they will make digital
artworks to frame their experiences, both lived and planned,
for others to witness. In the end, a seed of factual history will have grown
and morphed into something new to be shared. Each student will create a series of small still and time-based
pieces—there will
be an emphasis on easy and accessible techniques rather than demanding,
high-end equipment and editing. The works will be designed
for dissemination on the web through social media such as web logs, and
compilation sites, but could also be packaged to run at small film festivals. Course (Capstone) Goals Senior Capstones are
the culmination of the Shared Passages Program, a thread of cross-disciplinary
engagement woven through a Kalamazoo College education. As seniors,
students will have fulfilled most or all of the requirements of their chosen
majors, minors you have achieved depth and breadth in the liberal arts, learned
through experiential opportunities, lived and studied in international and
intercultural settings, and undertaken significant independent
scholarship. While each of these elements of the K-Plan is potentially
transformative in and of itself, making meaningful connections among them are a
hallmark of a well-integrated Kalamazoo College education. Senior Capstones
provide a unique opportunity for students to reflect on their K-Plan, craft a
narrative of their education, and explore the relevance of the knowledge and
skills theyÕve developed for their post-graduation lives. As a means of
providing similar educational experiences, each element of the Shared Passages
Program (First-Year Seminar, Sophomore Seminar, and Senior Capstone) has common
programmatic components. Thus, Senior CapstonesÉ á
Draw students from various majors together
through collaborative engagement with critical issues facing the world today. á
Encourage cross-disciplinary thinking and
problem solving. á
Maximize student control of content, process,
and knowledge generation. á
Encourage students to explore connections
(and disconnections) among components of their K-Plan. á
Invite
students to articulate a narrative of their education in anticipation of their
lives after graduation. This course aligns closely with programmatic
components of the Shared Passages Senior Capstones. It begins by bringing
together students from various disciplines with the aim of working with
techniques of what I call Òlow-fiÓ digital storytelling. The work will be
conducted in the classroom as well as in the computer lab. Along the way it
will encourage rigorous reflection and the making of connections (in their
education and social experiences), help develop and hone skills associated with
career development (finding meaning through experience), all through a
self-directed digital practice. Attendance Attendance is
mandatory—it is crucial that you miss as few of the meetings as possible
as the instruction builds upon itself. Each student may miss two classes with
no penalty. Two late arrivals may be counted as one absence. After two
unexcused absences your grade can be lowered at the discretion of the
instructors. One must have documentation to obtain an excused absence—or
have pre-arranged it with me. If you do miss a class, please contact a fellow
student for notes. Course Responsibilities and Final Grading Merely completing the requirements for an
assignment will not necessarily ensure a good evaluation for that assignment. I
look at technical, formal, and conceptual aspects of your work but also the
level of exploration and risk taking. Below is a breakdown of how your final
grade will be determined: 10% Assignment One (still image sequence) 10% Assignment Two (audio piece) 10% Assignment Three (video one) 10% Midterm Journal 10% Midterm Participation 10% Assignment Four (video two) 20% Final Project (personal narrative) 10% Second Half Journal 10% Second Half Participation Class Participation This is very
different than attendance—it is in addition to it, if you like. Good
participation means that one shows up on time, is prepared, and with all work
completed. It means one actively and candidly contributes to discussions, while
also being supportive of your peers. It means that one shows by means of facial
expression and body language that one is following what is going on. It means,
quite simply, that one contributes to a positive class atmosphere. Along those lines, one important note about
discussions during a class such as this—the classroom will be held as a
safe space for candid discussion of difficult topics. We will endeavor to
remain respectful and courteous to our classmates. Please turn off all
laptops, tablets, and phones. Do not email, text, or Facebook during structured
class time. Hardware, Lecture, and Lab Time Our usual meeting place will be Fine Arts Room 122
(FABLAB). You will note that there are fifteen (fairly) new Apple I-Mac
computers, with the very latest Adobe Creative Suite software, on which you
will be working. This room is accessible to you from 7:00 A.M. throughout the
day till 1:00 A.M. except for organized class times (8:30 PM to 3:30 PM
Tuesdays and Thursdays). Please
note—my other class meets in this room Tuesday and Thursday mornings from
8:30 to 11:30 AM. Due to this you will not be able to work in the FABLAB during
that time. I usually begin each class period with a PowerPoint
lecture so please come on time each day. After that, there will be time for a
variety of demonstrations or open lab time. To complete your work to a
satisfactory level, you will have to spend time outside of class working. Do
not leave things until the last minute, especially when hard copy is
due—I will notice the lack of quality and grade accordingly. Look, think,
and plan ahead. Text/Readings There are no required textbooks for this
course—I will give you handouts as needed. Please see our schedule for
dates of particular readings and discussion sessions. For each reading I want
you to come to class with three questions or Òtalking pointsÓ two which you can
refer for discussion. These notes should be entered into your journal as we go
along. Journal
(20%) You will be required to keep a digital journal while
in this class. In this you can record your reading summaries for four readings,
as well as ideas for your assignments and work in general. I will take a look
at this at midterm and at the end of the course. Lab
Fee and Costs
You will not be charged a lab fee for this class. Disability/Prerequisite
Any student with a disability who needs an
accommodation or other assistance in this course should make an appointment to
speak with me. There is no prerequisite for this class. FABLAB—Saving
Your Work The iMac computers in the FABLAB will save your work
during the term—but you will have to use the same computer (and remember
to sign out). In any case, you should ideally save all of your work in at least
two places as you go along. The second place beyond the computer on which you
work could be a flash drive and/or in the cloud—for this you can open a
free account with Dropbox. I will have a group folder there so you can turn in
digital files that way. At the end of the term remember to take all of our
files off of the computer (one way or another), as these files will be
permanently removed. Please do not eat or drink in the FABLAB. Office Hours and College E-mail Please feel free to
meet me for any questions or concerns that you have regarding the course. I check my college e-mail
frequently during regular working hours—please use it to communicate with
me. I will usually respond to you within 24 hours. If there are any changes to
our schedule I will contact you this way—so please be sure to check your Kalamazoo
College account and the course website.
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