124264 KO Critical Media Analysis (2025W)

1. Participation and Attendance (10pts):
o Active engagement in class discussions, screenings, and group activities.
o Regular attendance is mandatory, as the course relies heavily on in-class interactions and media analysis.
2. Reflections (24 pts):
o Writing at minimum 5 session reflections in the course Moodle and 3 responses to others (each ca. 100-150 words).
o Reflections should demonstrate critical thinking, personal engagement with the material, and connections to broader themes in Cultural
Studies.
3. Midterm Essay (30pts):
o A 1000-word essay analysing one critical aspect (e.g. gender, race, class, sexuality, age etc.) in a British or American sitcom of your choice.
o The essay should apply at least one humour theory (which we will discuss in class) and discuss how the sitcom manages to reflect or challenge cultural norms, identities, or power dynamics.
o Due by Week 7.
4. Final Essay (36pts):
o A 2000-word final essay that elaborates on a specific topic related to a British or American sitcom of your choice.
o Students may choose to expand on their midterm essay topic or explore a new area of interest.
o The essay should include:
- A clear thesis statement.
- Analysis of primary texts (meaning the sitcom of choice).
- Engagement with at least one humour theory, two critical aspects (e.g. gender, class, race, age, sexuality etc.).
- A conclusion that summarises the main arguments and reflects on the significance of the aspects chosen for analysis.
o Due by the end of Week 13.

The maximum number of absences is 2. If you cannot make it to class, please notify me beforehand.

The plagiarism detection software Turnitin will be used on the written assignments.

As per the departmental guidelines, this class places heavy emphasis on honing critical AI literacy, meaning developing the skills needed to critically assess and evaluate the merits and demerits of LLM-generated content, as well as understanding the ethical pitfalls of generative AI usage. Thus, the use of AI to entirely replace your research and/or writing process is strictly forbidden!

One of the goals of this class is to build and improve your academic writing skills in a sustainable way that will allow you to write comfortably in an academic register for years to come. You would be doing both yourself a disservice, by robbing yourself of the arduous process of learning to write, and me, by making me read and grade a machine’s predictive text.

If AI tools are used inappropriately in individual tasks, papers, and theses, the procedure for “non-assessment due to use of unauthorised aids” will apply!