Media Studies 200: Intro to Media Studies
Intended for 60 undergraduate students
Fall 2025 at the University of Victoria
M and Th, 10 - 11:20am | 1.5 units | prereq: AWR
Taught by Jentery Sayers (he | him) | jentery@uvic.ca
Office hours: Th, 12-1pm, in CLE D331
Teaching assistant (marking): Maya Wei Yan Linsley (she | any)
Worksheet 4 covers the second half of Module 3: Approaches. Your response is due via Brightspace by Monday, December 1st at 10am, but there’s a grace period until Thursday, November 4th at 10am. See details below, under “When to Submit It.”
The worksheet is open-book, meaning you are allowed to use handouts, the course website, my slides, your notes, recordings of class sessions, the library, and the internet to address the prompts.
Please cite your source materials, including any AI tools you use and all media you mention in your responses. See “Citing Your Sources” below for details.
Please download the worksheet (in DOCX format) to complete it in a word processor such as Microsoft Word, Google Docs, OpenOffice, LibreOffice, or Pages for Mac.
This open-book worksheet contains four prompts. You should respond to three of them. If you respond to all four, then we will mark the first three.
Each response is worth 33 points, plus a default bonus point, for a total of 100 points.
Some prompts ask you to create media. Please attach your audio, image, or video files to your response in Brightspace. Do not use YouTube, SoundCloud, Vimeo, Google Drive, or any other non-Brightspace platform to submit files.
Prompt 1. Identify a UVic program or community where you’d like to see change. Now, create a poster to appeal for that change. The poster should include text and images, and it should make three types of rhetorical appeals. Then use no more than 350 words, including terminology from the “Rhetoric and Persuasion” handout and “Media” and “Communication” modules, to: 1) identify the program or community to which you’re appealing, 2) describe the three types of rhetorical appeal(s) you’re making for change, 3) describe the problem motivating the change you wish to see, 4) identify who would be most affected by the change, and 5) explain what it would take for the program or community to actually make the change you’d like to see. Don’t forget to attach your poster to your response. You can use software to make it, or you can make it manually and then photograph or scan it.
Prompt 2. Use an image to index or document a moment when a fictitious character in a TV show, web series, comic, or similar format helped you feel seen by media. Ideally, you take a screen grab or photograph of the moment, but you can find one online if need be. Then use no more than 350 words, including terminology from the “Representation and Intersectionality” handout and “Communication” and “Media” modules, to: 1) describe the image, 2) describe the moment you felt seen, 3) explain how the character helped you feel seen personally, 4) explain how the character helped you feel seen socially, 5) mention how frequently you feel seen by media in this way, and 6) share what you learned about representation, intersectionality, and power from this exercise. Don’t forget to attach your image so I can see it.
Prompt 3. Identify an actual or virtual space that was designed to tell a story. Examples include museums, exhibits, escape rooms, amusement parks, video games, and even some stores, malls, and restaurants. Now, use photography, video, audio, or screen caps to document the space. Then use no more than 350 words, including terminology from the “Narrative” handout and “Communication” and “Media” modules, to: 1) identify the space, 2) describe it, 3) describe how it evokes, embeds, and/or enacts stories, 4) describe how it stages and prompts emergent storytelling, and 5) share what you learned about narrative and environmental storytelling from this exercise. Don’t forget to include some documentation of the space.
Prompt 4. Select a fanwork that interests you. Types of fanwork include fanfiction, fanart, fanvids, fanzines, fanmusic, fandom podcasts, and podfic. Then use no more than 350 words, including terminology from the “Fandom” handout and “Communication” and “Media” modules, to: 1) describe the fanwork, 2) describe its fandom, 3) explain what makes it a participatory social activity, 4) explain what makes it transformative creative material, and 5) share what you learned about fandom, participatory culture, and transformative works from this exercise. Please include a URL for the fanwork or attach it to your submission.
We will use the following rubric, based on UVic’s official grading system, to assess your responses.
1 point will be deducted for every 25 words over the prescribed word count.
10 points will be deducted from the overall mark if no references are included at the end of the worksheet (see “Citing Your Sources”).
5 points will be deducted from the overall mark if the references at the end of the worksheet are not formatted according to an established citation style (see “Citing Your Sources”).
The total of these points (0-100) will constitute 15% of your final mark in this course.
You do not need to meet the word count in each response to earn a high mark.
We recommend using prose (paragraphs) rather than point form in your responses. Prose is more synthetic and will allow you to make connections.
You should also avoid repetition within responses and across them. I do not recommend writing about the same topic or theme in every response (e.g., four responses about video games, TikTok, or a particular fandom).
We do not recommend relying on generative AI or other AI tools to write your responses to this assignment. AI-generated responses tend to be generic, and they lack self-reflection, which is an element of every prompt in this worksheet. AI results can also be biased and inaccurate. It is your responsibility to ensure that the information you use from AI is accurate. You should also pay attention to the privacy of your data. Many AI tools will incorporate and use any content you share, so be careful not to unintentionally share copyrighted materials, original work, or personal information. In short, relying on AI could create more work for you in the end.
All sources, including AI tools, must be properly cited. (Language for this policy was drawn from language used at the University of Washington.)
Please do not forget to cite any material from which you draw ideas or examples. This includes course handouts but also any AI tools if you use them. You are welcome to use your preferred citation style (MLA, Chicago, or APA, e.g.).
Please submit a DOCX, ODT, PAGES, or PDF file containing your answers and references along with any media files you were prompted to attach or embed.
If you would like written feedback, then you should submit Worksheet 4 by 10am on Monday, December 1st. If you would like to avoid a late penalty but are ok with limited written feedback, then you should submit Worksheet 4 by 10am on Thursday, December 4th. We will deduct five points for every business day we receive Worksheet 4 after 10am on Thursday, December 4th. We will close the submission portal for Worksheet 4 at 10am on Monday, December 15th, and cannot accept any submissions after the portal is closed. We will not accept any submissions by email.