Communications Chapter 1 Homework In this assignment, students are asked to identify the thesis

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Yousman, Gender, Race, and Class in Media 6e

SAGE Publishing, 2021

Course Projects

Part I: A Cultural Studies Approach to Media: Theory

All of these assignments are designed to foster students’ ability to critically read and

understand the readings in the text. They are designed so that students will have

identified the key elements of the essays and thus be prepared to participate and

engage in class discussion. These assignments can be used individually or together for

this unit or all eight parts of the text. By focusing on key elements of writing (research

questions, thesis, etc.), students can identify positive models that may inform their own

writing.

1. Identifying the Research Question: In this assignment, students are asked to

identify the research question in the assigned essay and turn it is as homework. It is

helpful to explain to them that, in some cases, it may read more like a research

2. Identifying the Thesis: In this assignment, students are asked to identify the thesis

statement in the assigned essay and turn it is as homework. Explain to students that the

thesis is the major argument that the author is trying to make or prove in the essay, or

how they are answering the research question. Remind students that sometimes the

thesis is preceded with “I argue . . .” or “In this essay, we contend . . .” (It is not the

preview statement which tells the reader what will be covered such as “In this chapter, I

will discuss . . .”)

Here are some examples for students:

“Urban ethnic working-class situation comedies provided one means of addressing the

Yousman, Gender, Race, and Class in Media 6e

SAGE Publishing, 2021

3. Identifying the Claims/Facts: In this assignment, students are asked to identify 3–5

claims and facts in the assigned essay and turn it is as homework. Remind students

that the claims and facts of an essay are the points that the author uses to provide

support for their thesis and argument: think of them as the findings of the study.

4. Creating Prezi/PowerPoint Presentations: Students create researched-based

presentations using either Prezi or PowerPoint around the following topics. The

associated readings from the text are designed to get students started on the topic.

From there, they will need to gather more scholarly and popular press research to build

the content of their presentations. The topics are fairly broad, so students can narrow

down the focus as they deem relevant and interesting. Place students in five groups and

assign topics/readings. Presentations should be between 10 and 20 min and the

instructor should specify the required number of references, images, and examples to

be included.

Topic Reading

Cultural Studies Kellner