Attendance + participation (in-class discussion, including leading discussion and "mini" presentations) - 30%

In-class Presentation - 8%

Canvas Discussion Posts - 4 x 3% = 12%

In-Class Midterm - 20%

Final Project (This includes the proposal of the project, the creation of the project itself, the oral presentation of the project and bibliography) - 30%

Description of Graded Components

Participation: Active participation in class and engagement with the assigned materials are vital. Please come to class prepared by having read/watched/listened to the assigned readings/film/music. Before class: Prepare the films/songs/texts at home by watching/reading them, using a dictionary and researching vocabulary/key terms, and completing the assignments as advised in the calendar. Access additional materials and resources on Canvas. Please bring any readings and notes to class. 

Participation will be graded on the following scale: 

High degree of preparedness and active participation = 10 points

Moderate degree of preparedness and participation = 9 points

In class and making an okay contribution = 7 points

In class, but silent or ill-prepared = 4 points

Unexcused absence = 0 points

In-Class Presentation: Visual and contextual analysis of a section of a graphic novel (with a focus on a vignette), concluding your presentation with an open-ended discussion question. 

Canvas Discussion Posts: Canvas Discussion Posts (4 as indicated in the calendar) are due before Wednesday’s class (but you may post them at any point before then). Please post a reflection on the materials (either Monday’s or Wednesday’s) of the week by including at least 2 remarks. Please compose responses in complete sentences, about 150 words in length. These reflections are also an opportunity for you to include links to other materials; please cite these materials clearly and include links to websites, images, articles, etc. Think about the context of your sources (if you find a newspaper article, consider whether the journal has a well-known political orientation; if you select a TV interview, try to see if it comes from a private or public channel, etc.). You will be graded on content, the format of your reflection (length and citation of materials), and your writing.

Midterm: Writing exercise (both short- and long-answer questions) conducted in class pertaining to class material. 

Final Project: Comics/graphic novels/BD are grounded in creativity and experimentation of form. Your final project consists in creating a work grounded in the themes and analyses of the course and presenting it to the class during an oral presentation (with bibliography). The presentation will be followed by a Q+A with the class. 

Grading Scale

Your final grade will be assigned as a letter grade according to the following scale:

A         90-100% (“Excellent”)

B          80-89% (“Good”)

C         70-79% (“Satisfactory”)

D         60-69% (“Passing”) 

F          0-59% (“Failure”)