INSTRUCTIONS

The following includes step-by step instructions and recommended tasks for orienting yourself with the class project guidelines and to get started planning. Make sure to review each step of the below Asynchronous Instructional Materials carefully before submitting your Planning Worksheet to ensure you meet the main criteria.

By the end of this week, you should:

Understand the media post assignment, including its objectives and criteria.
Review student samples and FAQs to guide your project.
Begin your planning worksheet and brainstorm ideas for your media post.

Complete the following steps to orient yourself with the project and get started on your planning worksheet.

Step 1. Review Assignment Guidelines

Start by carefully reading through the assignment overview and basic criteria linked below. Focus on the following:

Purpose: The media post aims to educate a general audience on how Latin American Studies provides insights into a current event (broadly defined) that is relevant for your audience.
Format Options: Blog post, podcast, video, zine, social media post (among others).
Key Components: Title, focus question, discussion of a current event, integration of course materials, and clear objectives.

READ FULL ASSIGNMENT OVERVIEW & BASIC CRITERIA HERE

Recommended Tasks:

Take Notes: Highlight or write down the main criteria for the media post assignment. Pay special attention to the required elements (e.g., the inclusion of course readings and discussion of current events).
FAQs: Read through the FAQ document to clarify expectations, address common challenges, and understand grading criteria.
Identify Questions: Jot down any uncertainties or concerns about the assignment to review during class meetings or office hours.

Step 2. Explore Resources and Course Themes

Familiarize yourself with examples of past student projects and related resources to inspire your approach. Jot down notes from either document for topics that interest you and/or ideas for your own project. You will be asked to document some initial ideas for Portfolio - Part 1.

Resources:

Resource 1. Student Samples: Review former LATI 10 Student Projects to get an idea of rand of topics and formats (blog posts, podcasts, videos, etc.) students have made in the past. Note how they address the assignment’s criteria, particularly the use of current events to introduce topics and raise focus questions as well as course readings and other creative elements to examine issues and engage the public.

Resource 2. Course Themes: Current Events According to LATI 10 Themes and Concepts . This resource was created by former LATI 10 students in Spring 2023 to showcase how different current events topics might connections to course themes. During Thursday's lecture, we will review concepts covered during the first 3 weeks as well as "preview" upcoming readings to explore possible connections to "current events". Review key themes from the document to get an idea of some possible topics you might explore for your own project.

Step 3. Complete Portfolio - Part 1

Instructions: Get out a notebook, tablet, or document to write your portfolio.
Label your portfolio: Date + Part (we will have two Parts for each meeting during summer session, one following asynchronous materials and another one given during our zoom meeting) .

Read the below prompt and then set a timer for 7-10 minutes. Free write any ideas that come to mind in response to any of the guiding questions.
Word count will vary but on average entries are 150 words or more for each prompt (see the portfolio assignment submission portal for additional guidelines and instructions).
Reminder: There are no "right" or "wrong" answers for portfolio entries. After reviewing resources from Step 2, free write ideas to that you recall from either resource and/or outline some initial topic ideas to help get started with project planning.

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Step 4. Review Important Elements to Consider (Recommended before attending Discussion Section)

Your planning worksheet will help you refine your ideas and outline your project. It includes extra sections and tips to generate ideas. Before getting started, review the below tips to ensure you focus on important elements of the planning worksheet to meet main criteria:

Focus Question: Narrow down your topic to a specific problem or debate you’ll explore. The focus question orients your research or inquiry into a given social issue or phenomena. If you start out with a question that is too broad, you can often end up with too many sources or become overwhelmed with too much information.

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Current Event: Focusing on a concrete example/ specific story offers a useful strategy to engage a wide range of audiences by introducing relevant issues. This can help introduce your topic and/or raise relevant topics to your audience. If your focus question is too broad, a helpful strategy is to ground your topic in your current event to raise questions, to then connect to deeper issues or explore broader social patterns in your project. Note: "Current events" is broadly defined to include headlines in the news but also be the release of a film, a happening on campus, something trending on social media, or something deeply historical that is being revisited or gaining new meaning in the present, among many many other possibilities.

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Course Materials: Insights from Latin American Studies. What reading(s) from class will you incorporate into your media? How might the

reading connect to the different elements you plan on collecting? What might your audience need to know about the scholar and their work in order to understand those connections?

Recommended Tasks:
1. Start filling out the Worksheet (Before attending discussion section): See additional tips and guidelines for each section and jot down several ideas to bring to section to workshop. If you are interested in working in a group for the project you can go ahead and get started listing some initial ideas.
2. Start Collaborating (Group work strongly encouraged but not required). Pro Tip: If you would like to work in a group you do not need to meet at the same time to effectively collaborate. Make a shared doc and outline a clear plan for everyone to share initial ideas, leave suggestions or comments, and to finalize the worksheet. Maintain a clear line of communication and set internal deadlines to ensure everyone has an opportunity to contributing to project planning.

Click "Next" for Thursday's Session Materials