Assignment for Thursday, 12/18 (Day 4)

For Thursday, you should come to class with at least five images that you will use in your essay, and at least one written paragraph.  You may either e-mail the images to yourself (we will have the laptop cart), post them on your blog, or print them out and bring them to class. By Thursday, you should also have your blog set up to start posting your essay as it develops. 

In class, we will split into groups to look at examples of slideshows and see what works and what doesn't work in them.

Slideshow Essay Assignment

The slideshow essay should be well under way. Here are some firmer guidelines for this assignment:

1. Your slideshow essay can address virtually any topic.
   
2. Your slideshow essay must consist of at least ten images and ten accompanying (and substantive) paragraphs that address the topic.
   
3. Your commentary must address more than the images; your commentary must address the subject under consideration. The illustrations only supplement the written commentary. 
   
4. Your accompanying commentary must include outside sources that enlarge your perspective on the images.
   
5. You must set up a blog at blogspot.com or wordpress.com to post your slideshow essay. It's format will look something like this slideshow essay, except yours should alternate between text and image. 
   
6. You may use video in your essay, but it will not count toward your minimum of ten illustrations. 
   

One way to approach choosing a topic for this assignment is to answer this question: What would you write about if you could write about anything? Choose that, and find ten interesting and relevant images to accompany your text.

The essay component of this assignment should draw on outside sources, which must be listed at the end of the essay in MLA format. Your outside sources should not be limited to internet-based sources. The MPH library has a wonderful selection of books, and you should browse its catalog or shelves to find some that are relevant for your essay.

Click here for an example of a slideshow essay without, well, the slideshow. At the copyright holder's request, the images were only allowed for a restricted period of time. Nonetheless, this essay might help you see how the accompanying text functions independently of the images. You can read this without knowing which pictures are supposed to "go with" the writing. 

Click here for an example of the kind of slideshow essay you should not write. While this particular slideshow is valuable in itself (it is essentially a tour of the concentration camp at Auschwitz), it does not feature the kind of writing that I want you to produce for this assignment.  

Your slideshow essay is due on Thursday, January 15 (Day 2). That day, we will begin presenting them in class.