instructor: Jentery Sayers 
~ classroom: smi 309 
& ougl 101 ~ TTh: 9:30-11:20
What are the readings, listenings, and viewings for the course?
There is no text book for this course. All readings are provided via the course e-reserves , including .pdf versions of webtexts.
I will ask you to read, listen to, or watch the following outside of class time:
English 121 E-Portfolio
>>> Megan was a student in the Autumn 2007 version of this course. Her portfolio should not only give you a thorough introduction into this course, but should also give you a complex understanding of how sonic culture, media activism, and service-learning might be mobilized in smart ways through the four course outcomes.
"Acoustic Cyberspace"
>>> Davis's talk is great material for conversations on the distinctions between visual and auditory paradigms of thinking and acting. Through this talk, we consider how sound might lead to a "sonic analytic," as well as new forms of subjectivity.
Invisible Storytellers: Voice-Over Narration in American Fiction Film
>>> By reading selections from Kozloff's monography, you'll gather a quick, yet productive, set of terms for reading and writing about voice-over narration in film. For one, Kozloff's definition of "voice-over" should be especially helpful.
"A Defense—and History—of Voice-Over Narration"
>>> This brief article will give you a historical sketch (with plenty of examples) of how voice-over narration has functioned, objections to it, and a defense of it.
"To Hell with Good Intentions"
>>> A quote from this one is perhaps best: "I am here to entreat you to use your money, your status, and your education to travel in Latin America. Come to look, come to climb our mountains, to enjoy our flowers. Come to study. But do not come to help" (320).
"A Challenge to the Notion of Service"
>>> How might the notion of service be problematic? After reading this brief talk, we'll explore how service-learning, regardless of intention, may have sexist and/or racist consequences (322).
"The Problem of Speaking for Others"
>>> This article, which is widely anthologized, is both complex and rife with important philosophical and practical questions about subjectivity and representation. When you read it, keep your service-learning in mind. As we progress through the quarter, the question of how we speak for others will arise in your podcasting, blogging, writing, and use of evidence, as well as our in-class conversations.
"Democratic Media Activism through the Lens of Social Movement Theory"
>>> This scholarly article by Carroll and Hackett is a more theoretically-based approach to user-generated media than the MIT Convergence Culture blog entries (see below). As with Alcoff, this article is rather complex and dense. Read through it with service-learning and podcasting in mind.
The media below will be discussed in class. That is, you do not need to read, listen to, or watch them ahead of time, unless you prefer to.
The Boys and Girls Clubs of America
>>> We'll give this website a gander in class in order to converse about the mission, history, and practices of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.
"Voice in the Cultural Soundscape: Sonic Literacy in Composition Studies"
>>> This scholarly webtext is a thorough and engaging look at how "sonic literacy" can function in composition courses. It also argues for why sonic literacy is important, using examples of student work as evidence. We'll go through this text in class; however, I highly recommend reading it on your own, too.
The Shining trailer (recut)
>>> Genre analysis! This humorous "re-mix" of The Shining will get us thinking about how you can approach Major Paper 1.
Grizzly Man
>>> Grizzly Man is an intriguing film on multiple levels. For the purposes of this class, we'll focus on the dissonance between the voice-over narration and the subject matter. What happened to the notion of an objective narrator?
Dark Days
>>> Comstock and Hocks (see above) chat about this film, too. In short, it documents life in the subway tunnels of New York City and tensions between public and private urban space. In class, we watch clips from the film and workshop how (and why) the presence of voice-over narration would alter the composition of the documentary. (And check out the soundtrack!)
Finally, the media below may not be referred to in class; however, they will inform your writing and research in 121:
"Introduction: Into Sound"
>>> This introduction to The Auditory Culture Reader
The Voice in Cinema
>>> You'll be reading a selection from this monograph by Chion in order to become better acquainted with the role of sound and voice in film composition, how to listen analytically to sound and voice-over, and how to unpack the ways in which sound is "mapped" onto visuals and the vice versa.
"The Grain of the Voice"
>>> Barthes's notion of the "grain of the voice" will be central to our thinking about embodiment, service-learning, and speaking for others in this course. I've provided the full text, but I'll go through the stress points in class.
Sonic Outlaws
>>> From this film on "sonic poaching," copyright, and pastiche, we'll watch a clip on the Barbie Liberation Front, which might help us unpack how we think and write about voice and its relation to embodiment and politics.
Night Ripper
>>> Is this legal? How might this "mash-up" record of other people's work be an interesting way of unpacking the ethical, political, and aesthetic implications of "acoustic space," speaking for others, and documenting public work?
"User-Generated Content Expected to Continue Growing While Corporate Revenue Surrounding It Questionable,"
>>> These blog entries are mainly intended for you to gather a quick understanding of how "user-generated media" functions in contemporary culture and composition (for the web). Note how such media manifests in different contexts and situations. As you read, you might ask yourself how user-generated media intersects with "feedback," representation, and politics.
uw english | jentery at u.washington.edu
