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This
writing assignment investigates the intersecting lines of popular culture,
subcultural production, technology and writing, by utilizing various writing
practices such as observation, evaluation, and synthesis to analyze a web
zine that is produced by an electronic subculture. For this assignment,
students use qualitative methods developed by cultural and literary critics,
sociologists, and ethnographers to study an electronic subculture of their
choosing. This subculture can be organized around issues of identity that
concern sexual orientation, gender, ethnicity, and race, or it be can be
organized around a particular cultural icon or subcultural practice. Traditionally,
zines are products of fan culture with their roots in science fiction fanzines
of the 1940s, but they have more recently been conceived as "spaces for
a range of usually intelligent dialogue not found in other media outlets"
(Wan 17) Zines come in both print and electronic forms and provide
a rich source of study for composition instructors who want to address
rhetorical concepts such as audience, style, and ethos while at the same
time bringing cultural issues to the fore. Thus, this assignment
encourages students to view the Internet as an ethnographic space where
cultural production takes place and to problematize the possibilities and
limitations of using qualitative research methods.
This
assignment has several options that allow students greater mobility for
presenting their final product. Students should have the option to create
a web project depending on students' and instructors' capabilities. Also,
those students who feel more comfortable with traditional print essays
should not feel pressured to produce an electronic text. Students may also
work in groups to produce a series of evaluations around a particular subculture
such as Princess Diana fans or feminist zines. Providing options for textual
production as well as specific criteria for each option will enable students
to find their comfort level with using technology. It will also allow students
as a whole to work at their own speed and within their capacity. |