Photo Essay

You have been working all semester to document your communities using a variety of genres and intellectual approaches. First you used descriptive and analytical writing proficiencies to analyze a significant artifact in your neighborhood. Then you profiled a prominent community member whose values reflect and/or impact the place you call home. Finally you studied a particular genre—the restaurant review—and put the conventions of that genre into effect as you evaluated a restaurant in your community.

The next assignment asks you to continue using critical thinking to write your community. This time, you should create a Photo Essay that combines photographs and texts to create a piece of visual rhetoric. Your photo essay must center on some aspect of your own local community here in Metro Detroit and make a coherent, critical, and original point (have a thesis). Use at least 15-20 photographic images and at least one-hundred words, combined with one another in any way you deem effective. Present your photo essay as a blog entry.

Most photo essays follow one of two formats: the narrative essay or the thematic essay. A narrative essay tells a story through images and text and may proceed chronologically or not. An example of a narrative photo essay would be the “story” of a veteran’s parade in your town. A thematic essay meditates on a particular idea, theme, or concept, using images and text to develop that theme. An example of a thematic photo essay would be a story about civic engagement that makes an argument about the value of volunteerism.

Your priority should be creating a creative, original, critical argument. Remember that your photo essay must be an example of “rhetoric,” which means it must have a point, an agenda, an underlying message that you hope to convey to your audience members (your classmates and professor). You will present your photo essay to the class, showing us the images and talking through what your argument is. Don’t just read your text off the screen. Be ready to talk to the rest of us about your thesis and your visual images. Make it engaging. Have fun!

In addition, you must hand in a reflective essay of approximately 2 pages that analyzes your photo essay, explains your intentions as a rhetorician, and describes the process you went through creating the photo essay. The reflective essay should be self-critical, explaining your strengths and weaknesses, what you learned, and how well you think your photo essay does at creating a piece of visual rhetoric.

Deadlines:
Tuesday, March 20—Have a rough draft of your photo essay posted on your blog for
your classmates to look at and critique
Thursday, March 22-No class today. Take advantage of the day "off" to work on revising your photo essay.
Thursday, March 29—Have a final draft posted to your blog before class begins today and have the two-page self-analysis ready to hand in. We'll begin presentations today and continue hearing presentations in subsequent classes.