[Summary] [ Schedule ] [Bibliography] [Assignments] [Final Projects]

Professor Justine Cassell
justine@media.mit.edu

Professor Henry Jenkins
henry3@mit.edu

Assignments:

Interpretive question: Each week students are required to submit at least one interpretative and motivated question about the texts under discussion that week. Students may revise previously submitted questions in light of new text material. Occasionally we may cancel the question requirement in favor of another equally straightforward and non time-consuming assignment. To see the submitted questions of previous classes, please view the links on the Schedule page. Due each class period.

Analyze a children's artifact: Choose a game, toy, program, book, or other artifact for children and analyze (in 1-2 pages) the representation of childhood that it explicitly or implicitly conveys/imitates/relies on. Due March 15th.

Critical Essay: Undergraduates (7-10) pages; Graduate Students (15 pages). Students should develop a topic in consultation with one of the two professors which allows them to apply some of the theoretical and conceptual materials from the course to explore some aspect of contemporary children's culture. Due April 12th.

Produce a children's artifact: Produce/construct/implement a game, toy, program, book, or other artifact for children. Examples include: writing a children's story, implementing a video game, building a children's toy, filming a segment of a children's show. Then write 1-2 pages about the underlying assumptions about children/childhood that are pre-supposed by your artifact. You will be bringing your artifact in to share with the class. Due May 3rd.