Media Assignment

Media Assignment – Anthropology 2140 Fall 2020

 

 

The Assignment:

 

Please read Harding (2005) and watch Matika Wilbur TEDxSeattle talk

 

With what Harding and Matika are saying about how Indigenous peoples are represented in the media start thinking about the impacts of these representations.

 

Using these sources as a starting point to frame your thinking, in this assignment you are asked to provide a critical reading / analysis of the media presentation on an Indigenous issue / event in Canada.  The story/issue/coverage that you select does not have to be currently in the news. Think about a topic that you are interested in (child welfare, education, resource extraction projects, health care, policing, water quality on reserves – this is entirely up to you) and use that as a starting point to start exploring how a particular instance/story about this topic has be presented in Canadian media.

 

Unlike other research assignments, this one asks you to use primary media sources to form the core of your research.  This means that the traditional research skills that you may have for looking up books and journal articles will not be sufficient.  We need to be able to search media sources and we need to be able to do this on an ongoing basis throughout the term.

 

The assignment is to pay attention to what is making the news, and how it is being reported / presented.  Which points of view are being favored?  How is the media source “spinning” the story?  What are the implicit and explicit assumptions built into this “spin”? This is what I mean by a “critical reading” – pay attention to the language – how are people being referred to? What are the assumptions built into this language? And what kinds of comments does this presentation of the story solicit?

 

 

 

Media sources can include:

• Indigenous run media
• Mainstream / non-Indigenous media
• Print media
• Television / Film
• Internet sources

 

Basically – any public source of information that is reporting / presenting an Indigenous issue or event.

 

Note that many of the stories will not appear just once – track them as their coverage evolves.  Other stories will be “killed” right away – this is of interest too.  Why do some things make and stay in the news while other do not?  Note the trajectory of your story.  Note public responses to your story.

 

** Whatever source and story you choose, you will need to include a full reference in the submission of your final assignment.  This includes the source, date aired / printed / accessed online.  If it is a print source, please include a copy of the source with your assignment. The best way to keep track of this as you start to collect your coverage is to keep a running list of your references. It is so much easier to do so than to try to find reference information later.

 

*** Read Harding (2005) and watch Matika Wilbur ASAP.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your essay needs to include (and will be evaluated on):

 

1. A description of the event / issue.  What is the story and where did you find it?  Assume that your reader has not seen the original source.  This is where you set up your presentation.

(5 marks)

 

1. A critical reading / analysis of the story and its presentation in the media.  To include:
   • Links between Harding (2005), Matika Wilbur and your analysis.  You must cite Harding directly as a way of framing your analysis. (3 marks)
   • Links between the story and the content of the course (from readings, lectures, films, discussion).  (12 marks)

(Total of 15 marks)

 

1. Conclusions – Draw some conclusions of your own.  Some questions you might consider are:

• What values and messages other then those explicitly outlined in the story are being transmitted?
• What are the potential impacts of this? What / who is silenced out of the conversation?
• What stereotypes are being reinforced or disrupted?

 

** These questions are only suggestions.  Your conclusions may draw out different questions.

(10 marks)

 

4. Essays need to be proofread, edited, and error free.

(5 marks)

 

Total: 35 marks

 

Meeting these requirements for the assignment will likely take you 8-10 double spaced pages. I will continue to read as much as you write past 10 pages. If you find that your essay is less than 8 pages, you may want to think about areas that you can expand your discussion.

 

I do not specify which referencing style that you use. Please use the reference style that you are most comfortable with, and/or the one dominantly used in your primary field of study.