Humanities Homework Help

22A Culminating Project: Creating a Video Essay or a Podcast

General Guidelines:

Our course theme is “Misinformation and Truth.”  You will be reading different genres of texts related to our theme.  For your culminating project in this course, you will create either a video essay or a short podcast episode in which you explain to an audience (1) how they should view their relationship to “misinformation and truth” and (2) why it is important.

Consider choosing a topic that is currently a popular “myth” in your field of study. 

What are the most popular “fake news” and misinformation/disinformation surrounding the topic that has shaped the general public’s understanding?  Why would people believe in such a myth even without any scientific data or evidence?  What are your interpretations of its origin and how should people view, change, or reconsider their relationship to such a myth?  And why this “anti-misinformation” is important?

Intended Audience:

Imagine you are creating content to share with a specific audience (e.g., a group in the community, a particular demographic, or an organization) for a specific purpose. Your intended audience and purpose will shape what information you choose to include in your project and how you choose to organize and present this information. 

Message:

You have read several texts from our course readings and your own library research that relate in some way to society’s relationship to misinformation and truth.  For your final project, you will need to determine what information is most relevant to your audience and ultimately, what message you want to share with them.  What do you want to say to them about how to view and interact with misinformation, fake news, etc., and how should they find the truth?  What will be the reasons for your argument (i.e. main thesis) in this project?

Use of Texts:

For this project, you must incorporate a minimum of three texts.  At least one of these must be texts from Unit 1, and at least one must be a text you chose on your own.  Throughout your video essay or podcast, you will need to cite your sources and provide brief oral summaries of the main points from these texts that will help you convey your message.

Final Project “Showcase”:

In our last week (7/26), you will be sharing your video essay or podcast with the entire course either by uploading your video to YouTube, using Flipgrid, or upload your work to iTune and share the link.  If you have other ideas that fall outside these methods, feel free to let me know and seek my approval first before you submit your Project Proposal.  

Time:

Your final presentation, video, or podcast should be about 5 minutes long (no more than 6 minutes).