Module 1 Essay Prompt

 

Our discussion in class at the start of Module 1 explored the notion of “connections” when it comes to objectives organizations might seek in building participatory arts and culture programming. In class, and in responses to Module 1 questions on the course site, we put forth ideas about myriad ways through which a continuum of arts participation opportunities facilitates (or can facilitate) connections among people. But what are some specific values we might find attached to (or embedded in) participatory programming? And, how should we identify/discuss particular opportunities for participation within the broad continua we discussed?

Working with an example of a particular arts/culture organization’s program that your group chooses, you have two initial tasks in this essay:

     1). articulate three to five (3-5) primary values that undergird “participatory” aspects in the example, and

     2). identify a range of participation opportunities or roles (i.e who participates and how). There is no set number on this second task, but your list should be as exhaustive as possible given your example. No need to detail each “role” or thread of participation beyond naming or labeling (i.e. a sentence should suffice), but be specific and succinct (eg. instead of simply saying “audience,” state what audience members might be expected or assumed to be doing).

A third task is to wrap the essay up by critically analyzing and discussing ways in which the values you indentifed intersect with (support, contradict, extend, amplify, etc) three (3) of the threads for participation identified in task #2.

Illustrate your essay with transmedia examples related to the organization/program you choose (i.e. things that tell the story across a range of ‘media’); these may be embedded in your essay as links or actual media objects.

In choosing your example, feel free to draw on those explored in class, detailed in comments on the Module 1 prompt, links posted to our course Diigo group, or one your group comes up with independently. Given the brevity of this assignment, your essay should clearly:

A. describe the example at hand by providing a brief ‘bio’ of the arts organization/program

B. identify and succinctly explore the values underlying “participation” that you have identified

C. list and label as many threads (roles & opportunities) of participation that you can come up with for the example

D. evaluate and analyze intersections of the values and threads, paying attention to concepts emergent in Becker’s work as well as other readings from Module 1.

Be sure to draw on writings and other resources we have examined in class in order to contextualize and illustrate your comments. There is not a certain number of sources you have to use, and since this is an essay it should present a logical argument toward your group’s collective thinking; it needn’t be laden with outside citations, but should address relevant ones as needed.

Each group will lead a 25-30 minute presentation & discussion about their essay in class on 10/15/15. Should you split into two groups to do this assignment, each group should do a separate presentation. Successful and engaging presentations will be more than basic outlining and explanation of your essay’s argument, and will ideally involve an element of interactivity. Be creative, have fun, and try to enact a flavor of the example you discuss in the essay (to the extent possible!); do not feel pressured to have a ‘hi-tech’ presentation or activity. Feel free to run any ideas by me, and let me know what sort of media/tech you might be using as I will help coordinate any resources.

ESSAY RUBRIC: (out of 20)

description of example = 3pts

identify & describe values= 5pts

list & label threads of participation = 5pts

critically analzye intesections of values & threads= 5pts

spelling/grammar/flow = 2

SUBTOTAL = 20