Film and Hip Hop

This course will be offered during the Spring 2018 semester as a 99% online course. This syllabus has not yet been updated for the current semester.

Orientation to the course will take place in D2L Georgia View and will include a quiz on the syllabus.  Students who do not complete this quiz by 10 p.m. on January 18, 2018, will be reported as no shows. Students also must attend one of two on-campus final exam sessions, which will be scheduled during the final exam week, May 1-7.

The class studies hip-hop aesthetics, building on the foundation of the original four elements and moving on to more contemporary practices. It will investigate the influence of hip-hop aesthetics on film and vice versa. Further details about the learning outcomes can be found on the Course Info. page.

Links to other sections of this syllabus can be found in the header and through links in the “General Class Policies” menu on every syllabus page. Pay particular attention to the General Class Policies page.  In addition, enrolled students can access more course materials through Georgia View.

I may need to make minor changes to this syllabus during the term. If  the requirements and/or grading for the course change once the term begins, I will notify students via e-mail or an “Announcements” message within Georgia View.

Online courses at CSU

All online courses at Clayton State University utilize the Desire2Learn Learning Management System accessible through Georgia View. In every Clayton State University course, students should read all information presented in the Georgia View course site and should periodically check for updates-at least every 48 hours.

Remember that this  is not a “correspondence course” in which a student may work at his/her own pace. Each week there are assignments, online discussions, online activities and/or exams with due dates. Refer to the schedule at the end of the syllabus for more information.

You can gain access to Georgia View by signing on to the SWAN portal and selecting the “Desire2Learn Online Classrooms”  link. If you experience any difficulties please email or call the HUB at TheHub@clayton.edu or (678) 466-HELP. You will need to provide the date and time of the problem, your SWAN username, the name of the course that you are attempting to access, and your instructor’s name.

Section information

  • CMS 4800, CRN: 20786
  • CMS 4801, CRN: 21301
  • Semester: Spring 2018
  • Format: 99% online (asynchronous instruction, with an on-campus final exam)

First Steps: Complete by January 18

Orientation to the course will take place in D2L GeorgiaView and will include a quiz on the syllabus. Students who do not complete this quiz by 10 p.m. on January 18, 2018, will be reported as no shows.

All topics and requirements Week 1 are listed  on the individual assignment pages that are linked from the Schedule page.

Required films

The university owns streaming licenses for most of the required films. No assigned film will require separate payment from students.

Required text

This text is available for purchase in the bookstore.

Required materials

The final exam will be taken on campus at a time and date TBD. You must bring a blue book and a Scantron form to the final exam, along with pencils (for the objective portion) and pens or pencils for the short essays.

Both Scantron forms and blue books are available for sale in the campus bookstore.

Required software, hardware, and technical capabilities

The Hub offers training resources to help students master the following tools.

Desire2Learn Training
Desire2Learn is the Learning Management System that runs on Georgia View. To learn this system, I strongly encourage all students to use the training resources available through the Hub.
Web Browser: Firefox or Chrome
In this media-rich class, using an up-to-date browser is mandatory.
PDF Reader (Adobe Reader)
Students must be able to read PDF files.
Media Player: VLC or equivalent
Students must be able to play mp3 and mp4 files. Many software tools will enable this, including VLC, which is available for free download.
Microsoft Word word processing
Students must be able to compose and read documents saved in the Microsoft Word “docx” format.
Clayton State email
Students must access their CSU email accounts on a regular basis. They must be able to use these accounts to attach and retrieve attached files.
Webcam and Microphone
If your laptop does not include a microphone and webcam, you may want to borrow or buy one to use with your university-mandated laptop computer. (Wikipedia has a useful entry on webcams.) My office hours are held online, and they can be useful for online meetings.

Contact information

My contact information including office hours is collected on separate page.

Disabilities

Students with disabilities who require reasonable accommodations need to register with Disability Services in order to obtain their accommodations. You can contact them at 678-466-5445 or disabilityservices@mail.clayton.edu. If you are already registered with Disability Services and are seeking accommodations for this course, please make an appointment with me to discuss your specific accommodation needs and give me your accommodations letter.