Course Material
Syllabus: CCHU9076 The Journalist: Comics, Movies, Fiction and Fact
Under the 4-year curriculum at the University of Hong Kong, undergraduate students are required to complete six Common Core courses normally within the first three years. The HKU Common Core Curriculum is divided into four Areas of Inquiry to enable students to explore a range of common human experiences, including Scientific and Technological Literacy, Humanities, Global Issues, and China: Culture State and Society.
CCHU9076 The Journalist: Comics, Movies, Fiction and Fact developed by Professor Keith Richburg is offered on Wednesdays during the second semester. Using comic books, movie clips, fiction, and the nonfictional narratives of working journalists, this course will examine the various portrayals of the journalist and how often they conform to reality. We will also look at how effective journalists have been at telling their own narratives — portraying the gritty reality or embellishing the comic book superhero version of the profession. From this course, through role playing and enacting live scenarios, students will learn more about the daily working life of journalists from beat reporters to foreign correspondents, better understand the ethical questions journalists face, and better appreciate the role of a free press in democratic societies.
Tutorial Activity: Discussion
Tutorial Activity: Group Presentation
Tutorial Activity: Roleplay
The primary purpose of the roleplay activity is to help students recall a key concept they learned in class (journalistic ethical dilemma), explain the concept in their own terms, and apply the concept to a new scenario. The roleplay activity encourages active learning that strengthens student’s conceptual knowledge.
The secondary purpose of the roleplay activity is formative assessment. Although the activity requires groupwork, the presentation includes an individual component, which gives the teacher the opportunity to observe individual student performance and provide instantaneous feedback. This activity reinforces student understanding of a key concept (journalistic ethical dilemma), helping students prepare for the final project which also tests their knowledge on the key concept.
Final Project assignment guidelines and grading rubric
For the final project, students will create a story illustrating the reporter’s role in
society. The story can be based on history or be fictional, and can be presented through the following multimedia mediums:
-
a graphic novel / comic book
-
a novella
-
a short movie
-
a podcast
Some of our student artifacts can be viewed at Unforeseen Circumstances, an online journal.