Final Group Project

Final Group Project: Due March 18th at Final Exam Session. Andrew Hageman, Enl 3

This project is comprised of three parts: (1) the New Media production, (2) the group presentation, and (3) the individual written reflections.

1. In your groups, you will design and create a New Media production that pays tribute to a literary text, author, character(s), or genre. Please consider the various online options you have for this project and which one(s) will provide you with innovative ways to engage the text or author or character you choose. The following are only possibilities. You are free to use one, to modify one, or to produce something else not listed here.

A. Create a Twitter account or accounts and compose entries for a fictional character or an author while he/she was working on a text. Example: http://twitter.com/darthvader
B. Create a music video that tells or retells the literary text and post it on Youtube. You could act in this or use action figures or any objects you choose, or make an animation—lots of possibilities. Example of “Flight of the Conchords’ Frodo, Don’t Wear the Ring’”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWf3iJjqYCM&feature=related You could also consider the rapping squirrel already posted on the blog.
C. Character blogs. You could create a single character’s blog with other characters’ comments on it, or perhaps create a blog for the protagonist and one for the antagonist and have them post rival postings. Don’t overlook the prospects of minor characters: maybe GingerNut’s blog…The example here is of a project that is putting George Orwell’s actual diaries online in blog form: http://orwelldiaries.wordpress.com/
D. Author blog or personal website. Currently lots of authors have their own websites to keep fans and followers informed. You could make this serious, ironic, etc. Examples: Serious: http://www.nealstephenson.com/ http://www.stephenking.com/the_author.html Humorous: http://ronaldchevalier.com/
E. Make a series of graphs and charts that engage and/or represent the text in various visual ways. You could create a blog just for posting these items. You could use graphs and charts to map out and/or represent plot transitions, pov alterations, characters, etc. For inspiration, check out: http://graphjam.com/ It can give you the tools to make graphs and then save them to your computer and blog.
F. Create captioned photos to narrate a text. For inspiration: http://icanhascheezburger.com/
G. Make a hyperlinked text to provide online information that enriches the text. Example based on William Gibson’s novel Spook Country, counterintuitively, you need to click on the links at the bottom of each page to the Previous page: http://node.tumblr.com/page/24

2. Each group will give a 10-15 minute presentation on the project. Each participant needs to contribute to this. You should present to us what you have done, how you did it, and especially why you made the choices you did. Tell us how this project has illuminated the text for you and how you hope it can illuminate the text for others.

3. Each participant will write a 2-page double-spaced reflection paper on the project. The focus should be the same as the presentation: what choices did you make and why. I suggest writing these and then bringing them when you meet to plan your presentation.