Which perspectives on media culture seen in the course so far have been the most helpful in better understanding yourself as a consumer and/or producer of media and why?

I’ll attach a PDF with absolutely EVERYTHING you need to know when writing this essay, please be extra careful when it comes to the citations which have to be done in MLA format and also he will base the grade upon how you sources you’re using from content he’s provided us in class. I will also attach an essay he posted from a student last year that got a 10 so you can see what he wants. Thanks! 

Prompt for essay the professor gave us: 

Which perspectives on media culture seen in the course so far have been the most helpful in better understanding yourself as a consumer and/or producer of media and why?

Length: 4-6 pages double-spaced pages (approximately 1000-1500 words). Follow the MLA formatting of the template exactly.

Role and Audience: Write as though your essay were meant to be read by a friend or fellow student who has not taken this course but is interested in your topic. In other words, be sure to explain key concepts that would not be familiar to your imagined reader.

Your essay should discuss the main arguments of a minimum of 3 course readings and give examples from your own experiences as a consumer and/or producer of media. No additional research is necessary nor required. Use your media diary to help you brainstorm topics and examples.

This is an essay analyzing your own experiences of media, so using “I” is encouraged as long as you support your points with evidence and analysis, not just opinions. 

These are the key concepts we’ve studied in class: 

Who are you online? (boyd)

Identity work

Imagined audiences 

Context collapse

Networked publics

Impression management

Online Self-Representation

Self-representation

Mediated sociality

Instrumental performativity

Visual Aesthetics of Instagram (Manovich)

Jenkins

Media Convergence 

Participation

Fandom 

These are the links to the books and content you will have to access and cite both in reference and in text citations for me to get a good grade: 

He’ll base my grade upon how many citations you include using the MLA format, of content we studied in class: 

1. Envisioning the Self in Digital Media, in Aiello, Giorgia, and Katy Parry online book 

1. This article he gave us on why do teens seem strange online: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jAglkq9IpnBUdO4ixak64X5mFBZANFKv/view

(boyd, danah, Chapter 1: “Identity: Why do teens seem strange online?” in It’s Complicated: the social lives of networked teens. Yale UP, 2014, pp. 29-53) 

1. Chapter 5 from the textbook: “Ways of Seeing Difference Beyond Stereotypes” in Visual Communication: Understanding Images in Media Culture. SAGE Publications, 2019, pp. 86-107.

1. “The Visual Spectacles of Protest and Activism” in Visual Communication: Understanding Images in Media Culture. SAGE Publications, 2019, pp. 136-158. (See Bibliography) 

1. “Communicating Visions of Collective Identity” in Visual Communication: Understanding Images in Media Culture. SAGE Publications, 2019, pp. 62-84.