Overviewing the Act of Valor and Syrian Journey Paper

Description of assignment: Write a 700-900 word response that critically reflects on at at least one required film and one required reading from each week of a given Unit on UB Learns.
• For example: Critical Reflection 1 (Unit 1) must include analysis of at least one required film + one required reading from Week 11 and Week 12 each in relation to each other.
• Relate the films and readings to each other in the context of the broader themes/topics of the course.
• Course themes include but are not limited to:
▪ Structures of identity, ethnicity, sexuality, class, race, otherness ▪ Issues of social/political/environmental justice
▪ Notions of mobility, and ideas about the migrant through film and media; gender and migration; the city and migration; migration and climate change; queer migration; notions of home; border-crossings etc.
▪ Political oppression; incarceration; technologies of surveillance; protest cultures; human rights discourse, labor struggles, modes of solidarity etc.
▪ Also see more in “Course Description & Themes”, pg. 3-4 in the syllabus. o
Note: Your assignments should demonstrate your understanding of both films and reading in relation to each other. Do not simply describe films, or detail out the plot and characters, (a storyline of the film is easy to find on Wikipedia or any film library);
Generic Assignment Prompt: Here are some general questions to prompt your critical reflections. You do not have to answer each of these questions in each post, but use them to guide you as you watch, read, analyze and write about films/texts in this course.
• What are the central arguments made by the assigned film(s) and reading(s)for the week, in relation to the subject of migration/immigration or diversity and movement of peoples and cultures?
• What social/cultural/political/historical issues brought into focus in the films?
• What themes emerge from these films and texts with regard to social justice, gender/race/nation or global issues in the materials studied?
• How do you connect to these issues/themes personally, and how do the films and readings help you understand them in new ways (or not)?
Structure of post: You can divide your reflection into 3 (and upto 5) paragraphs ideally including a brief introduction, a body (main analysis of texts and films) and a brief conclusion. (You do not have to label each paragraph as such).
• Title of post (in the subject line): Title your reflection in a manner that helps the reader get a quick sense of the contents of your post. It can be creatively worded or just functional or both, that is up to you.
• Introduction: Provide an opening statement that indicates how you are approaching the course materials, helping the reader understand what they are about to read. Make sure to mention the title of the films and the readings you are reflecting on within the first 1-3 sentences of your reflection. If possible, mention any key insight or idea from your reflection here.
• Body: The main content of your reflection that focuses on the analysis of the films and readings for the week, relating them to each other. This can be further a single paragraph or it can be divided into a couple more paragraphs if you wish.
• Conclusion: Try to end your piece with a central question informed by your reflection, indicating a direction you would like to explore further in relation to the subject.
Style: A critical reflection should ideally combine an analytical approach and personal experience or outlook. It is not mandatory to argue your position like in an academic essay, but it is required to analyze and reflect on the course materials assigned. Do not make sweeping statements without justification; illustrate your point using examples/quotes/scenarios from films and/or texts to support your argument. Also balance the analysis reflecting on both the films and the readings, not just one or the other.
Citations: Cite the film and readings within the text and also at the end of your post, following any commonly accepted format such as Chicago (Notes and Bib or AuthorDate), MLA, APA etc (End citations are excluded from Word count).
• If you refer to any texts or films other than the required ones, you may cite them in addition to the required films and readings, however ensure that the content of your reflection is mainly devoted to the assigned course materials.
• The Chicago Manual of Style Online is available through the UB library, under Databases for your reference. https://www-chicagomanualofstyleorg(dot)gate(dot)lib(dot)buffalo(dot)edu/home.html
• MLA sources can be found here: https://owl(dot)purdue(dot)edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_ and_style_guide/mla_formatting_and_style_guide.html
• For any help with writing contact the Center for Excellence in Writing, UB. https://www(dot)buffalo(dot)edu/writing.html
Posting:
• Don’t attach documents or email your assignments to the instructor.
• Copying and pasting from Microsoft Word into UB Learns discussion blog can at times cause formatting issues. Use a basic word processing software (like Notepad or Textedit) to compose your text, and then copy from it and paste into UB Learns. Or type directly inside the text box on UB Learns, after creating a thread in the relevant discussion forum.
• Keep a copy of your work with you: Save backups of your assignments before you post them, you are responsible for keeping a copy of your own work.
Some Don’t:
• PLAIGIARISM: No plaigiarism will be tolerated. It can result in failure in the course and serious consequences. Transliterating content from other languages to use in your post is also considered plagiarism. Don’t overuse quotes. Your assignment should not include more than 20 percent of quoted material.
• Describing a film is not reflection or analysis: Don’t spend a significant part of your assignment, in summarizing or describing a film’s story, scene, plotline or 11 characters. This information is easily available online and does not constitute a critical reflection.
• Do not write just to fill word count: Repeating the same information, using irrelevant text, rambling and using too much description as described above, will not be appreciated.
• Don’t ignore readings: Leaving out any of the required materials from your analysis can adversely impact your grades.
• Don’t submit late: Don’t wait till the last minute to post, give yourself ample time to post, so that you account for unexpected delays. Late posts can cause you to lose points under punctuality and attendance. [See grading and attendance policy].
week 11
Overview: The Military-Entertainment ComplexOverview: The Military-Entertainment Complex
Before looking at what some games can tell us about migration, it seems useful to look at what most games tend to tell us about the world. This week's readings provide a critical examination of two games, Full Spectrum Warrior and Civilization III, solid examples of the first-person shooter and the strategy genres. It may be useful to choose a text based on what one is most familiar with, but not necessarily. Of the two, Wark is the more densely theoretical. When citing her, please use paragraph number, as in neither the attached pre-print (2006) nor my printed version (2007) does she provide page numbers. E.g. "The novel is a line of a certain type, which opens towards certain possibilities, a storyline" (Wark 2007: 60).
When considering these games, I challenge you to ask where the migrants are in these games. Are they called migrants, or something else? Are there good migrants or bad migrants, or both? Take seriously the claims of these games to portray a realistic - if not real - world. Even if no one called a migrant is presented in gameplay, we can extrapolate. First-person shooters set in "bad countries" frequently depict civilians, but as a rule do not simulate the things those civilians will do to survive. Why this silence?
Readings - choice on to read one
Nick Dyer-Witherford and Greig de Peuter. "Banal War: Full Spectrum Warrior" in Games of Empire: Global Capitalism and VIdeo Games. University of Minnesota press, 2009. pp 97-122 Link:
https://learn-us-east-1-prod-fleet01-xythos(dot)s3(dot)amazonaws(dot)com/5e00ea752296c/11164747?response-cache-control=private%2C%20max-age%3D21600&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%2A%3DUTF-8%27%27gamesOfEmpire_ch4.pdf&response-content-type=application%2Fpdf&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Date=20201116T060000Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=21600&X-Amz-Credential=AKIAZH6WM4PL5SJBSTP6%2F20201116%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Signature=8ab876e24457734c01e79fd574d6d8c2a1afdb9ae792fc7a6af4257d10cd70d8
McKenzie Wark. "America (on Civilization III)" in Gamer Theory. PDF pages 37-55 PDF pages 37-55 - Alternative Formats:
https://ublearns(dot)blackboard(dot)com/ultra/courses/_172610_1/cl/outline
Videos - Watch both
"Listening Post - Feature: The Pentagon's Grip on Hollywood." YouTube, uploaded by Al Jazeera, 1 July 2012, https://www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=rT4JyhZgrO0. (8:10 video)
"SWT: This War of Mine." YouTube, uploaded by ErrantSignal, 30 November 2014, https://www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=KP0aDTZD-uU. (7:46 video)
Games - Play One
MolleIndustria. "Oiligarchy." https://www(dot)molleindustria(dot)org/en/oiligarchy/ (Free, browser or download for Mac/Windows)
week 12
Last week, though it included some possibly subversive games, was overall focussed on how games depict the imaginary of power. This week asks you to consider alternative design approaches. The reading is light, meant to get you thinking about game design, and to give you time to play. There are three required media for this week. One is a review of Papers, Please that gives you enough of an understanding of the game for our purposes. If you would like to play the game, a link has been provided. Two other games are required for this week. One is a short game about Syrian refugees by BBC news, and the second is part of an educational project on American history. The MissionUS games are long, so space them out over two or three sessions. You only need to play through one of the MissionUS games. At time of writing, my Lena Brodsky has only recently finished grocery shopping (watch out for rotten peaches).
Reading
Ian Bogost. "The Rhetoric of Video Games" in The Ecology of Games: Connecting Youth, Games, and Learning. Edited by Katie Salen. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2008. link：
https://learn-us-east-1-prod-fleet01-xythos(dot)s3(dot)amazonaws(dot)com/5e00ea752296c/1920133?response-cache-control=private%2C%20max-age%3D21600&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%2A%3DUTF-8%27%27BogostRhetoricofVideoGames.pdf&response-content-type=application%2Fpdf&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Date=20201116T060000Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=21600&X-Amz-Credential=AKIAZH6WM4PL5SJBSTP6%2F20201116%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Signature=6c23cc9be43a957de8dd6c1b1919b6d525129821fd097df5dae90d27754c0de7
Watch both of the videos
Jane McGonigal. "Gaming can make a better world." Ted Talks, February 2010. Link:
https://www(dot)ted(dot)com/talks/jane_mcgonigal_gaming_can_make_a_better_world?language=en&fbclid=IwAR1RQzh1Eos56ESUyf-G3Qnzg3os3rS8U2eQYN9WFfWPV82usgFD-LXj004#t-1137194
"How 'Papers, Please' Reflects on Morality." YouTube, The Girl with the Controller, 7 March 2018. - youtube
https://www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=z7un-I8pTLo
Play Games (play BBC and one MissionUS)
BBC. "Syrian Journey: Choose your own escape route." BBC News, 1 April 2015. https://www(dot)bbc(dot)com/news/world-middle-east-32057601
MissionUS. "City of Immigrants" OR "Prisoner in my Homeland." https://www(dot)mission-us(dot)org/play/
Optional ($10): Lucas Pope. "Papers, Please." 3903 LLC, 2013. https://papersplea(dot)se/