Presentations

You will give two presentations to the class.

For your first presentation assignment, you will each give a short presentation (up to four minutes) that includes at least five slides. In the presentation, you should describe a piece of culture (book, music, film, art, etc) that you find compelling and explain to the group why they should want to experience the piece of culture themselves.

These are the rules for the presentation:

1. The text of your presentation should be carefully prepared but not read directly. You may use note cards, but they should have only a few key words, not sentences that you read.
2. At least one slide should have an image but no text.
3. At least one slide should have text but no image (other than the presentation theme).
4. At least one slide should combine text and image.
5. At least one slide should have an ironic relationship to what you say in the presentation. In other words, rather than simply supporting your words, the slide should create a tension with your words.
6. The final slide should present your sources and acknowledge any other assistance you received in making your presentation.
7. You should also provide a printed outline of key points for your presentation, so that anyone who is unable to hear (or has difficulty hearing) the audio can follow the shape of the presentation.

Final Presentation

For the final presentation, you have two options:

• You can do a research-based presentation that extends our class conversations about Word and Image to some new topic. You might present about another poet or artist who combines words and images, for instance. You could investigate another digital medium, such as Pinterest or Instagram. You could examine the comics of another era or culture. The presentations can also come from group projects if class members' interests overlap.
• Alternatively, you can do a presentation based on one of the readings you have done for the class after the second paper deadline. For this option, imagine that you are giving a short talk at a gallery that is displaying the main text--some of William Blake's or Matthea Harvey's works, for example. For your presentation, give the audience a sense of something specific that you can help them notice or think about more deeply.

For either option, consider carefully, based on what you have learned this semester, how to combine spoken words, written words, and images in your presentation. The research underlying the presentation does not need to be extensive, but the presentation should show how you have used some form of research to enrich your understanding of your subject.

The timing (up to four minutes) and rules for the slides for this presentation are the same as for the first one. We will also have time for a question or two from the class after each presentation.