Project Check – In # 1 (Due by 12 pm (noon) on 3/19)

March 12, 2022Allison S Curseen1,871 Comments

For your first project check-in, you and your group should discuss and thoughtfully answer the below questions about your project. At this early point in the process, some of the questions may seem hard to answer. Try to answer them anyways. Trying to answer the questions is part of the brainstorming and thinking you need to start doing now. What you ultimately turn in may differ somewhat or completely from what you propose in this check-in, so just do your best to thoughtfully and thoroughly answer the questions.

Due Saturday, March 19th by 12:00 pm

Please submit ONE and ONLY ONE check-in per group. You may email me your responses directly as a Word document, but I encourage you to post your project check-ins to the class site.* Doing so facilitates the feedback loop and also allows you to get a sense of how other groups are tackling similar or related issues.

Group Members:

Title of the Short Story: ______________________________

What & Why

What is your object? (Part 1): What aspect of this text are you focusing on for your final project?
1. How does this aspect of the text relate to how the author/text makes sense of blackness an/or invites us to make sense of blackness?
2. Why are you focusing on this aspect of the text as opposed to another aspect of the text?
3. Other than the aspect your group is focusing on, what, if any, other parts of this texts do similar work?
4. In order for your audience to engage in this particular way of making sense of blackness, what is the number one thing your piece must do and/or feature?
What is your object? (Part 2): What form will your project take? And why?
1. What will your piece look like? sound like? feel like? smell like? taste like? What is the scale of your piece (e.g. size, length, duration, amount, etc.)?
2. Describe the medium(s) and materials you intend to use for your piece?
3. How does the form (the materials, mediums, design, genre, etc.) of your project draw from and/or respond to the aspect of the text you’re focusing on?
4. How will the form (materials, medium(s), design, genre, etc.) of your project allow your audience to engage with this aspect of the text and how it makes sense of blackness?
Please attach a file and/or provide a link to three existing texts that you might refer to as a model for your project. You might not find one text that perfectly models how you envision your project. The goal is that three models together will help you and me have a sense of your vision. As such, when you submit your three links and/or attachments, make sure that you also include A) complete and accurate bibliographic information for the source and B) a brief 2-4 sentence note about which aspect of this text you’re thinking about as a model for your project and why:
- Model 1:_____________________ citation:______________ note:_______
- Model 2:_____________________ citation:______________ note:_______
- Model 3:_____________________ citation:______________ note:_______

WHO

To some degree, I’ve already defined some of the parameters of your audience. In general, you should imagine your audience being members of the BC and local community who could attend an on campus exhibit at 4:30 pm on a Thursday at the beginning of May. However, these parameters tell us less about who your audience is than they do about who your audience most likely wont’ be (e.g. probably not a single mom living Nevada; or a class of first graders; or honors students from the Sabon). There’s still a great diversity of possible attendees, and you should take time to think about the specific demographics or specific aspects of the audience you intend o engage with your piece.

Describe the ideal audience for your piece in terms of number, demographic, interest, background knowledge, and other relevant demographics. (Your description of the audience must be more specific than the audience of the general BC and/or local community.)
Describe your ideal audience for this project. Your audience may be you or may include yourself, which is fine. However, you should still work to be specific about your audience. If your audience is yourself, say more. Yourself in what context? Is the audience for you in the first three months post graduation to record your thoughts and/or make a plan? Is this for you to hold when you feel lonely and/or lost and/or nervous about where you’re going? Is this for you to keep yourself honest and accountable?
When your audience experiences your project (its content and form), what do you hope your audience (even if your audience is just you) will experience or be able to contemplate and/or do?
Take a moment to imagine your ideal audience engaging with your finished piece. Identify AT LEAST FOUR assumptions you’re making about your audience (in terms of background, cultural knowledge, ability, body type, interests, time, value, etc.)? Be honest here. If you’re not making any assumptions than you probably haven’t actually done the work of imagining a specific audience. At the same time not all of the assumptions we make about the ideal audience will be accurate or useful. The goal here is just to acknowledge what those assumptions are.

HOW

What supplies and/or materials will your group need in order to create this project?
What if any special technology or software might you need to create your piece?
What skills and/or technical know-how might your group need in order to create this piece?
Reflecting on your responses to 1-3: Please organize your lists of necessary supplies, technology, and skills into two columns: Column A – Items/Skills You Have and/or Can Acquire and Column B – Items/Skills You Don’t Have nor Know How to Acquire.
Please break the project down into 8-10 detailed and actionable steps or tasks, with specific dates and times (i.e. deadlines) by which you plan to accomplish each task.
Describe how you plan at this point to divide the labor among you? (i.e. Who will do what with whom and how will you coordinate with each other?)

QUESTIONS

Include at least two questions you would like me to answer about your project in particular about the project assignment in general: