Content & Form

Extra Credit: DIY Cultural Artifacts

Create the same image 5 times across 5 different mediums (i.e. using different materials). Write a 250-word report on how the different materials affected the process of creation. Submit 5 PNGs of your images and one PDF with your report.

Stick figures are not allowed. This activity is worth up to 10 points (one letter grade). The image should be classroom appropriate and original. The goal is to gain a greater understanding of how form impacts content and to develop a respect for practice and craft.

Possible Materials
  • Crayon
  • Marker
  • Chalk
  • Ink pen
  • Pencil
  • Pastels
  • Tempura paint
  • Acrylic paint
  • Oil paint
  • Collage (digital or analog)
  • Air-dry clay or Playdoh
Possible Surfaces (don't reuse)
  • Construction paper
  • Printer paper
  • Canvas
  • Cardboard
  • Transparent slides
  • Sidewalk (if using chalk)
  • Other recycled / repurposed materials
  • Yarn
  • Sand

No biological material please.

AI Flags

Vocab Dr. Savage Associates with AI

Word & Phrase Structures

crucial more than not just essential vital aims highlights lists of 3 interdisciplinary approach delve complex key the authors state/write honestly, em dashes

This Rhythm:

"Blank blanks the blank of blank, blanking that blank blanks the blank blank"

Title Formula

"Blanking the Blank: A Title for This Project"
In Cold Blood Week One

Criminology & Pulp Magazines

Write out your answers to the prompts below on a separate sheet of paper.

Prompt 1 Respond to any of the ideas presented in lectures 1 and 2. It can be something that surprised you, something that you found interesting, or something that ran contrary to your own interpretation. Start by summarizing the idea, and then give your perspective on it, followed with evidence from the text that justifies your interpretation. Use direct quotes and include in-text citations with page numbers. Suggested length: 1 page.
Prompt 2 Draw a portrait of one of the figures in In Cold Blood. Under your picture, write a direct quote from In Cold Blood that is relevant to the person you drew.
Prompt 3 Surf the magazine rack section of archive.org for magazines that were popular in the 1950s and early 1960s. Skim until you find something interesting. Describe what you found (include the volume number or date of the issue) and connect it to something you noticed in In Cold Blood. Use direct quotes and include in-text citations with page numbers. Suggested length: 1 page.
In Cold Blood Week Two

The Red Parts

Question 1 What critiques of the true crime genre implicit or explicit in Maggie Nelson's The Red Parts can you apply to In Cold Blood? Support your answer with a quote from each text.
Question 2 Compare Nelson's description of Gary Leiterman with Capote's descriptions of Hickock and Smith. How does this reinforce Nelson's argument about representations of criminality in the public consciousness?
Question 3 Nelson's book centers trauma and decenters the idea of justice. How does her portrayal of the legal system compare to other representations of the legal system that you've seen in true crime media? Be specific.
Question 4 Compare how Capote writes about women and how Nelson writes about them.

Use the quote sandwich method in each of the above prompts.