First Reflection Paper

Media at Hand, Eye, Ear...

(Scroll to the bottom to see student uploaded examples)

Popular media (print, screen, digital) play a critical role in our everyday lives as we make sense of our own identities and the world around us. For our first reflection paper, you are asked to think about the role of media in your own life and environment. Select one media artefact that expresses your own taste in and experience of the medium. The media artefact can reflect your relationship with any of the dominant media within Turkish, American, or global societies (i.e. clothing, books, comic books, magazines, newspapers, film, television, radio, music, theater, digital media, or something more radical etc.). The artefact that you choose should have particular meaning for you now, have had special meaning for you in the past, or an imagined meaning in the future.

• Write 500 words (roughly 2 pages, double-spaced) on the effect of a media artefact to your own bodily perception (body, sensorium).
• Type your reflection on a word document, copy and paste to the form, then submit.
• You can upload an image, video, or audio file related to your artefact.
• You can integrate one or two more central concepts from the back of our course reader or website (Don't over do it). Some example question to think about that use the central concepts to engage with a media artefact: How does the medium affect your own perception of embodiment? How does the artefact’s categorization affect how you can or cannot use the object (utility)? What effect does the artefact have on your sensorium? What are the emotional, social, or economic values associated with the artefact?
• Don’t just answer these questions: this should be a thoughtful, well-written reflection paper.
• Check for English, spelling, and coherence before submitting.

Student examples of media artefacts: