Schedule of Assignments
All assignments are due on the day indicated below
All dates in green indicate days we will not meet in class

DATE DISCUSSION TOPIC READING/VIEWING/RESEARCH DUE WRITING ASSIGNED/DUE
Week 1
January 12 		Introduction/Overview
  • Go to My Comp Lab. Instructions on how to purchase access and join the class are here
  • Review the Syllabus. It is available in Blackbloard as well as online here.
    • January 14 Blogging Check out a few celebrity themed blogs PopWrap, Perez Hilton , TMZ and US Magazine. Read not only the entries, but the comments that readers have posted as well. Note what the conventions of each site are. What are the cues that let you know that? Compare these to Vanity Fair and Confessions of an Aca-Fan. What are the conventions for these sites? Audience?
  • Blog Assignment After reading the assignment, post an introduction in the class blog. Tell everyone what you're a fan of (everyone is a fan of *something*) and why.
    • January 15 Demo Day Demonstrations of MyCompLab, RefWorks and Zotero Blog entry in which you discuss your reseach experience to date - what types of projects you've worked on, what research resources you're familiar with and which you typically use most.
    Week 2
    January 19     		Cultural Studies/Virtual Class
  • Read Chapter 1 - Defining What is Culture in Blackboard/Electronic Reserves/How to Do Things With Cultural Theory folder. As you read, mark up the text noting what you agree with, disagree with, are having difficulty with for whatever the reason.
  • Identify potenital issues raised by Matt Hills that may bear on the study of celebrity culture.
  • Write a blog entry in which you discuss these issues. Post this entry in My Comp Lab. (Further instructions are posted there.)
  • Literature Review assigned.
    • January 21 Cultural Studies?
  • Read "'Sometimes you wanna hate celebrities': tabloid readers and celebrity coverage"
  • Read Chapter 2 of They Say, I Say.
    		• Summarize the reading using the strategies suggested in They Say, I Say
    January 22 Cultural Studies?
  • Read "Intimate Fame Everywhere"(Blackboard/Electronic Reserves/Framing Celebrity folder)
  • Read "Coming to Terms" by Joseph Harris (Blackboard/Electronic Reserves/They Say, I Say folder )
    		• Assess the reading according to the three moves Harris outlines (see p.15). Mark keywords and passages in the text. Bring copies (hard or electronic) to class.
    Week 3
    January 26     		Desiring Fame/ Mapping Arguments Bring copies of "Intimate Fame Everywhere" and "'Sometimes you wanna hate celebrities': tabloid readers and celebrity coverage" to class.
    January 28 Desiring Fame Cult of Celebrity - Part I
    January 29 Wiki Bring copies of "Defining Culture" and "Intimate Fame Everywhere" to class.

  • Create wiki account here.
  • Instuctions on how to use the wiki are here.
  • Wiki assignment here.

     

    • Week 4
    February 2

    Library - Meet in Gelman 300

    Wiki Explained/Research Resources

    Read "The Cultural Economy of Fandom" and "Why Study Fans?"

  • Generate a list of key terms/persons from these two articles.
  • Post these lists on the Blog.
    • February 4 Desiring Fame
    February 5 Desiring Fame Wiki/Hybrid Day
    Week 5
    February 9     		Rubbing Shoulders with Fame/Hollywood's meta-commentary on itself

  • View My Big Breakon Blackboard* (in Electronic Reserves - last item at the bottom of the page).
    *Please note - there is no direct link here to the film since it has not yet been released and is meant to be viewed only by students in the class.
  • Read "Identity Crisis" (on Blackboard in Fame and Celebrity/Illusions of Immortality folder)

  • "The Quest for Fame" (on Blackboard in Fame and Celebrity/Illusions of Immortality folder)
    		• Write one blog post on the intersection of these viewing and readings. How do they inform one another?
    February 11 Cult of Celebrity - Part II
    February 12 FameWiki/Hybrid Day First Wiki article (Cultural Studies) due
    Week 6
    February 16     		Fame
  • Discussion of My Big Break
  • Discussion of Literature Review
  • Choosing terms for Fame Culture and Fan Culture wiki entries
    		• Literature Review Worksheet
    February 18 Fan Culture
    February 19 Fan Culture Wiki/Hybrid Day
  • Revisions to first Wiki article due.
  • Proposal Assigned
    • Week 7
    February 23     		Lit Review
  • Bring a copy of your Lit Review to class with you for peer editing. Identify at least two areas that you would like your editing group to address.
  • First draft of Literature Review due
  • Annotated Bibliography assigned
    • February 25 Fan Culture Read
  • "Star Trek Rerun, Reread, Rewritten"
  • ""In The End It's All Made Up': The Ethics of Fanfiction and Real Person Fiction"
    • February 26 Fan Culture Wiki/Hybrid Day Second Wiki article(Fame Studies) due
    Week 8
    March 2     		Fan Culture Read Women, Star Trek, and the early development of fannish vidding in the online Journal of Transformative Works.
  • Begin posting to Blog 2x per week; shift focus to your research.
    • March 4 Fan Culture Read Quentin Tarentino's Star Wars?" - in Fandom folder on Blackboard. Final Draft of Literature Review due
    March 5 Fan Culture

  • Revisions on second Wiki article due
  • Go here for complete information on the Symposium and a link to "The Art of Asking Questions".
  • University Writing and Research Symposium Program

     

    • Week 9
    March 9     		Research Topics
    March 11 Research Topics
    March 12 Wiki Third Wiki article (Fan Studies) due.
    Week 10
    March 15-19     		Spring Break
    Week 11
    March 23     		Proposal workshops
  • First draft of proposal due
  • Revisions on third Wiki article due`

    • March 25 Proposal Workshops Pre-proposal research
    March 26 Proposal Workshops
  • First draft of proposal due
  • Instructions for Peer Review Assignment on My comp Lab
  • Suggestions for feedback
    • Week 12
    March 30     		Research
  • Peer Reviews due
    • April 1 Research Complete the Library Assignment and post the titles and call numbers of the three books you found in a blog post. Describe the process you went through to get the books. Post the abstracts written in class on Thursday on the blog. Identify the areas (research, your own argument, audience and venue, the "So what? Who cares?" questions)that you feel you still need to develop before the final proposal.
    April 2 Research
  • Two Annotated Bibliography entries posted on Wiki
    • Week 13
    April 6     		Individual meetings - sign up for a time on Blackboard (Conference Sign-up on the menu on the left). Come to the meeting prepared to discuss your research to date and the development of your research paper.)
    April 8 Research - Meet in Gelman 301/302
    April 9 Wiki
  • Second Draft of Proposal due
  • Total of four Annotated bibliography entries due
    • Week 14
    April 13     		Writing to Your Audience
    April 15 Editing: Cutting for Clarity
  • Final Draft of Proposal due.
    • April 16 Wiki
  • Total of Seven Annotated Bibliography entries posted
    • Week 15
    April 20     		First drafts/Editing workshops Read drafts from the others in your editing group. First Drafts of papers posted to My comp Lab by midnight on Sunday April 18th
    April 22 First drafts/Editing workshops Read drafts from the others in your editing group.
    April 23 First drafts/Editing workshops Read drafts from the others in your editing group.
    Week 16
    April 27
  • Final drafts of Annotated Bibliography due.
    • Week 16
    April 27     		Last Day of Classes
  • Fill out course evaluations here
    • May 3 Final drafts of research papers due. Final checklist is here.