green media (spring 2012)

MS 301: Green Media
Tues & Thurs 9:55 – 11:40 am
Lone Mountain 350

Professor David Silver
Office: Kalmanovitz 141
Office Hours: Tues 1 – 2 pm & by appointment
Contact: dmsilver [ at ] usfca [ dot ] edu

Green Media is an advanced production media studies course devoted to making media about making food. In this class, we will learn how to combine words, photographs, video, and social media to tell and share compelling stories about food and food production. Along the way, we will explore different meanings of food, food politics, and connections between food and culture.


Learning Outcomes
1. Learn how to use social media to make and share engaging stories about food and food production;
2. Develop a unique, creative, and compelling voice within your media work; and
3. Learn how to collaborate creatively and effectively.

Course Texts/Costs
o All readings are free and online, available for free via Gleeson Library, or available for free outside my office.
o Students are required to purchase a flickr pro account ($25/year).
o Throughout the semester, students will accrue a number of food-related costs, including homework assignments involving shopping at local farmer’s markets and purchasing ingredients to cook or bake class-related assignments.

Course Schedule
On Tuesdays, we will discuss readings, films, and videos about food, food production, food politics, and food and culture. All readings/viewings will be assigned at least a week prior to being discussed. On Thursdays, we will have social media workshops in class, cooking workshops in the kitchen at St. Cyprian's Church (2097 Turk Street), and Demo Days – class periods when students demonstrate their green media. There is no final exam.

Grading
Quizzes, homework, and in class assignments - 20%
Class and online participation - 30%
Projects - 50%

Attendance Policies
o Missing class, or attending class unprepared, will significantly affect your final grade.
o If you do miss class, contact a classmate to find out what we discussed in class and ask to borrow his or her notes. Then, do the same with a second classmate. After doing this, if you have questions about missed material, visit me during office hours or send me an email.
o On Demo Days, a completed assignment is your ticket to ride. If you have not completed the assignment, do not come to class.

Rules
1. No late work accepted.
2. No drinking out of non-reusable containers during class.