We ventured across campus to the new, clean, and technically decked Frey Hall for final presentations.  The final projects have emerged over the semester from the combination of course materials, discussions, and individual paths of interest.  This is excellent and exactly what I had hoped would happen.  In her blog post, Mar commented on how amazing it is that 11 people can view the same course materials and arrive at such different places; I concur and would like to add that what’s even more amazing is how these places remain connected through shared awareness of patterns and trends in media studies.

The concept that for me applies to all of your presentations is “ethos as dwelling place.”  This is because although everyone made arguments along the way, what I remember most from the presentations is not the arguments made but the connections made and the sense of situated meaning that emerges from your work. Examples that come to mind immediately are Libby’s digital storytelling journey (how to deal with the silences, and how to walk the walk of this story) and Deborah’s poignant narration of her expectations for a project and how the materials of her digital story took her to places that she didn’t expect to go.  However, all of your presentations was a story of a journey, and your thoroughness and integrity really came through.  This has been a memorable semester and I found it a privilege to work with each and every one of you.  Kudos!