Composition & Rhetoric Project Assignment

The Remix Artist

You already composed one multimedia essay/remix in class during week three; now you have the opportunity to expand on your new skills. For this assignment you will create either one or a series of multimedia remixes. In terms of length and depth, think of these as akin to either a short novella or a small collection of short stories. If you choose to complete one text, it should be much more significant, lengthy, articulated, and "professionally" produced than the one you made in class.

You may choose to:

·  remix an existing work, such as a play, film, poem, or story,

·  construct a commentary/opinion text from existing material on the topic of your choice,

·  use "original" material (music or footage you recorded),

·  or some combination of the above options.

To successfully complete this assignment, you must:

·  show that you understand the remix genre

·  provide evidence that you know, understand, and address an audience

·  articulate your use of rhetorical principles in creative argument

·  clearly communicate some idea, message, or artistic vision, both in the multimedia essay AND in an accompanying written artist's statement

·  address questions of fair use in your composition

·  produce a thoughtful, well-produced final product, revised at least once after a meeting with Steven or other instructor.

The McLuhan Challenge

The McLuhan challenge is nearly identical to the above assignment, except that you will work with physical media rather than digital media. You will work to create a physical and virtual (we'll scan the text and digitize it after you're finished) text in the tradition of McLuhan and Fiore's groundbreaking text, The Medium is the Massage. You may write about media and technology as McLuhan did, or you may address some other issue of your choice. The same criteria apply to this assignment as the previous assignment.