🏫 Media Studies 200: Intro to Media Studies
🎓 Intended for 60 undergraduate students
📆 Spring 2026 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: M and Th, 11:45am-12:45pm, in CLE D331
âś… Teaching assistant (marking): Maya Wei Yan Linsley (she | any)
Worksheet 3 covers all material from Module 3: Approaches. Your response is due via Brightspace by Thursday, March 26th at 10am.
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 material, including any media you discuss in your responses.
You should download the worksheet (DOCX format) and complete it in a word processor such as Microsoft Word, Google Docs, OpenOffice, LibreOffice, or Pages for Mac.
Note that this webpage contains information (including information about how we’ll assess your responses) that does not appear in the downloadable worksheet. We thus recommend reading this entire page before you start the assignment.
This open-book worksheet is divided into two sections. You should respond to three prompts in Section 1 and two prompts in Section 2, for a total of five responses.
Each response is worth 20 points 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 1.1. Select a social media trend that appeared in the news between January 2020 and March 2026. Next, find examples of that news coverage across three different venues: 1) a public broadcaster, 2) a private broadcaster, and 3) an independent podcast that isn’t affiliated with a public or private broadcaster. Copy the URL for each example and paste all three into your worksheet. Now use no more than 425 words, including terminology from the “Media Effects” handout and “Media” and “Communication” modules, to: 1) identify and describe the social media trend, 2) explain how people, including journalists and podcasters, interpreted the trend to have A) direct effects, B) minimal effects, and C) third-person effects on people’s feelings, cognition, and/or behaviours, 3) apply one effects theory (see pages 3 and 4 of the “Media Effects” handout) to explain the trend’s significance or social impact, and 4) share what you learned about media effects research from this exercise.
Do not select the devious licks trend, which we discussed in class. Your trend should be specific. For instance, TikTok is a platform, and short-form content is a format, but devious licks was a trend.
Don’t forget to include a URL for each of your three examples.
Prompt 1.2. Select a generative AI tool that produces text, images, audio, and/or video. Next, provide an example of how people interact with it and the sort of content it produces. This example can be drawn from the internet or based on your own interactions with the tool. Now use no more than 425 words, including terminology from the “Ownership Effects” handout and “Media” and “Communication” modules, to: 1) identify the tool and who owns it, 2) describe it and its uses, 3) point to two examples of when the media (including private and public broadcasters) covered it, 4) identify one of its uses that you believe should be regulated either in Canada or globally, 5) explain why that use should be regulated and how it could be regulated (see five types of regulation on page 3 of the “Ownership Effects” handout), and 6) share what you learned about media, regulation, and ownership effects research from this exercise.
Don’t forget to attach or embed your example of how people interact with the tool and the sort of content it produces.
Prompt 1.3. Select an app you’re familiar with and then use no more than 425 words, including terminology from the “Culture” handout and “Communication” and “Media” modules, to: 1) identify a specific subculture who is active on the app, 2) briefly explain the subculture’s interests and beliefs, 3) explain how the app’s design addresses, supports, and appeals to that subculture, their interests, and their beliefs, 4) describe the habits of perception and performance you associate with the subculture’s activity on the app, and 5) share what you learned about media habits and cultures from this exercise. Feel free to include videos or screen caps of the app to support your writing, but do not share any private posts or content.
You can be a member of the community you’re examining; however, membership is not an expectation of this prompt. Feel free to focus on a website instead of an app if you wish.
We recommend being as specific as possible when identifying a subculture. They should share a specific set of interests, goals, stories, or identities. For instance, “Instagram users” and “Generation Z” would be too broad for this exercise.
Prompt 1.4. Select a small business or non-profit and imagine ways to rebrand it to attract customers or charitable donations. Next, create three of the following types of media to demonstrate the promise of your proposed rebrand and attach those media to your response: image, audio, text, video, and interface. Now use no more than 425 words, including terminology from the “Media Aesthetics” handout and “Media” and “Communication” modules, to: 1) identify the small business or non-profit, 2) describe what it does, 3) describe your rebrand’s aesthetic and its approach to composition, interaction, and experience, 4) identify your intended audience and explain why your rebrand’s aesthetic would resonate with them and the small business or non-profit, and 5) share what you learned about media and media aesthetics from this exercise.
You’re welcome to use languages other than English in your rebranding. If you’re unsure where to start, then consider some of the following aspects of a typical rebranding: core messaging, web and social media presence, content creation, local / IRL presence, visual and sonic identity (including logos and consistency), customer sentiment and testimonies, memorable feelings and experiences, and engaging storytelling. Not all rebrands are about “modernizing” or “professionalizing” a business or non-profit. They may emphasize what makes a business or organization welcoming or unique.
Don’t forget to attach media files that demonstrate the promise of your proposed rebrand.
Prompt 1.5. Imagine you work for a game company. Your boss asks you to make a puzzle for a cooperative mystery game that people could play at home or in escape rooms. The puzzle should be set at the scene of a mystery, and its solution should also solve the mystery (like a “whodunnit”). Players will assume the role of amateur sleuths. You should use images and text (audio and video are optional) to produce however many clues you wish according to three constraints: 1) your clues should include an icon, an index, and a symbol, 2) at least two clues should be “true,” and 3) at least one clue should be a “red herring.”
Now use no more than 600 words, including terminology from the “Meaning and Semiotics” handout and “Media” and “Communication” modules, to: 1) describe the puzzle, the scene of the mystery, and your clues, 2) identify your icon, index, and symbol, 3) share the solution to your puzzle and the mystery, 4) explain what you anticipate players would do to decode the clues and solve the mystery, and 5) share what you learned about media and semiotics from this exercise.
A true clue helps players solve a puzzle. A red herring misleads or distracts them from solving the puzzle. You are welcome to add any other elements you wish, as long as you include all the elements above.
Be sure to attach all the media for your clues to your response. That way, we can access them and try the puzzle ourselves!
Prompt 2.1. 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 425 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 appeals 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, 5) explain what it would take for the program or community to actually make the change you’d like to see, and 6) share what you learned about media and rhetoric from this exercise.
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 2.2. 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 425 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 media, representation, and intersectionality from this exercise.
Don’t forget to attach your image so we can see it.
Prompt 2.3. Identify an actual or virtual space that was designed to tell stories and prompt storytelling. Examples include museums, exhibits, escape rooms, amusement parks, video games, roleplay settings, and even some stores, malls, and restaurants. Now, use photography, video, audio, or screen caps to document the space. Then use no more than 425 words, including terminology from the “Narrative” handout and “Communication” and “Media” modules, to: 1) identify the space by name or title, 2) describe its design or layout, 3) describe how it evokes, embeds, and/or enacts stories, 4) describe how it stages and prompts emergent storytelling (this may include content creation), and 5) share what you learned about media, narrative, and environmental storytelling from this exercise.
Don’t forget to include some documentation of the space. Ideally, it’s from your point of view and based on your experiences of the space.
Prompt 2.4. Select a fanwork that interests you. Types of fanwork include fanfiction, fanart, fanvids, fanzines, fanmusic, fanedits, fangames, fandom podcasts, and podfic. Then use no more than 425 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 criteria to guide our assessment of your responses.
The degree to which they:
We will use the following rubric, based on UVic’s official grading system, to assess your responses.
The total of these points (0-100) will constitute 25% of your final mark in this course.
12 points will be deducted from the overall mark if no references are included at the end of the worksheet (see “Citing Your Sources”).
8 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”).
5 points will be deducted for every source that’s used in a response but is not included in the references section at the end of the worksheet (see “Citing Your Sources”).
5 points will be deducted for every fabricated source used in the worksheet (see “Citing Your Sources”).
We encourage you to cite the course handouts but do not expect you to do so unless you quote or paraphrase them. See “Cite this Handout” at the end of every handout.
1 point will be deducted for every 25 words over the prescribed word count.
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.
We also recommend writing your responses from the first-person perspective. That point of view makes it easier for you to explain your decisions and share what you learned from each exercise.
You should avoid repetition within responses and across them. We 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 respond to this assignment. AI-generated responses tend to be generic, and they lack self-reflection, which is a key element of every prompt in this worksheet. AI results can also be biased and incorrect. 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 (including copyrighted materials, original work, and personal information) you upload, paste, or share with them. In short, relying on AI could create more work for you in the end, and it tends to hinder or “deskill” the learning process.
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 decide to use them. You are welcome to use your preferred citation style (MLA, Chicago, or APA, e.g.).
Please download the worksheet, complete it, and 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.
A response to Worksheet 3 is due by 10am on Thursday, March 26th, but there is a grace period. We will deduct five points for every business day we receive Worksheet 3 after 10am on Friday, March 27th. We will close the submission portal for Worksheet 3 at 10am on Thursday, April 9th, and cannot accept any submissions after the portal is closed.
We will not accept any submissions by email. Thanks for understanding.