instructor: Jentery Sayers 
~ classroom: smi 309 
& ougl 101 ~ TTh: 9:30-11:20
Response Paper 1.1: Audiography [ Submit It Now! ]
Due: Thursday, January 10th (length: one to two pages + audiography/playlist)
See Related Example Audiography
English 121B is a mash-up of three approaches to academic work: service-learning, composition, and sonic culture studies. And it’s computer-integrated, no less! That’s quite a bit for a single quarter, but we’ll take each approach in stride. The first step? Articulating to your 121B peers how you sonically situate yourself in relation the course.
The goals of this paper are:
- To unpack how sounds influence your everyday life and form your cultural “soundscape.”
- To use sound as evidence in an argument about who you are, how you are.
- To consider how you represent yourself (e.g., what you tell or don't tell your audience) through sound.
Part I: Compose a playlist (or “audiography”) of sounds that you are accustomed to hearing. (Just the playlist, not the actual sounds on CD, DVD, or the like.) Your list should consist of fifteen to twenty sounds, and its purpose is to introduce you to your 121B peers. There should be an implicit rationale or theme for how you order the sounds—what comes when and why. Furthermore, the playlist should not consist of solely your favorite songs. Be more creative here. What other sounds (e.g., commercials, voices, and noises) do you hear regularly? (For more, see my personal example that I provided to the class.)
Part II: After you compose your playlist, write a one- to two-page letter to your 121 peers in which you describe how your playlist makes an argument about who you are and who you are not. In your letter, please address:
- How did you strategically compose your playlist? That is, what is your rationale for both the order of the sounds (i.e., what songs come when) and what sounds are included and excluded?
- How did you consider your audience (i.e., your 121B peers) when composing your playlist?
- Based upon your playlist, describe your cultural “soundscape” for your 121B peers. What do the sounds of your life say about you, your lifestyle, who you are, who you are not, and so on?
Use your playlist as evidence! Quote it! Reference it! Mobilize it and put it to use!
Extra Participation Credit: You can actually burn your playlist to CD/DVD and submit it for listening. In fact, by creating a sonic version of your playlist, you might make writing your letter easier!
Targeted Outcomes
1: Your playlist is an experiment in sound, style, and genre. It should be creative and anticipate its audience (i.e., your 121 peers). Your letter to your peers should exhibit an understanding of how and why you composed your playlist the way that you did, as well as follow the conventions of letter-writing (e.g., a salutation and a signature).
2: Your letter to your peers should engage your playlist and use it as evidence, and your playlist should include “sound” evidence for who you are and who you are not.
Mark Your Personal Calendar
Your letter to your peers should be one to two pages with one-inch margins, typed using twelve-point Times New Roman font, double-spaced, and spell-checked. It should follow the conventions of letter writing. Please submit your 1.1 letter and playlist via the course drop box before class on Thursday, January 10th.
uw english | jentery at u.washington.edu
