Overview
As you can see from the Revision assignment and the Module 4 Introduction and readings, writing exists in an ecosystem. Various intended and actual audiences read a text, sometimes spreading it to new modes and media, either as simply as citing it or as transformative as revising it for their own uses.
In this blog assignment, I want you to make a map of a text ecosystem. Let me define some terms:
- Map – any visual representation. If you want to use Prezi like I did, be my guest. You certainly don’t have to make a video; a Prezi link is good enough. A map can be a chart from Microsoft Office (Insert > Smart Art > Relationship). You can hand draw a map as well, and scan or take a well-lined up picture of it. You can use any of the tools from the Infographic assignment. You can make some art.
- Text – any rhetorical artifact that you have produced. The easiest and maybe obvious one would be your current Revision assignment. But it can be a poem, a meme, a PowerPoint, a research paper, a lab report, a letter, whatever.
- Ecosystem – any work that has at least three nodes or separate artifacts intended for circulation. Notes and outlines don’t count as intended for circulation.
I know you have other things going on this week, and this can feel like an open assignment with a model (my video) that might seem overwhelming. In budgeting time for the class, this is supposed to take you two hours, so plan your ambitions accordingly. The video I made took way longer than two hours. Also note, that’s the time allotment. If you take only an hour on it, that’s fine too. I would like you to spend more than five minutes, however.
Your task
- Decide on the text you want to use. Make sure it has three nodes of circulation. The Revision assignment could be a good candidate, but it is not required that you select that. You might have Harry Potter fan fiction that you wrote (yes, this can be self-sponsored writing). You might have a poem that you wrote for a class that was meant to emulate another poem. You might have a lab report that you had to revise into a final study.
- Decide on your nodes. You have to have three, and you certainly can have more, but at least three, and one must come from the past. You can also “imagine” a future node if you want. Maybe the piece you selected would make for a good meme someday? Maybe a policy brief? Amicus curiae brief?
- Decide on your media. There are two levels to this. How do you visually represent your writing? Maybe it is just a fancy title “Lab report”; maybe it’s an image of the text; maybe it’s an icon. Then, how do you represent your map. Is this using a computer tool like Prezi, Visio, or Microsoft charts? Maybe hand drawn? Maybe 3D art made with popsicle sticks? Time lapse video of Starbucks cups as matryoshka? Be creative.
- If your image needs some commentary, add it. You should have a short blurb that describes how to read your ecosystem map in the blog post or as part of the actual representation you upload.