Memory in Pop Culture Writing Assignment Memory in Pop Culture (MPC) Writing Assignment
Many works of art in pop culture, such as motion pictures and television series, will employ various types of memory phenomena as plot devices.
As a result of taking this course, you are now better equipped to speculate about the causes of these memory phenomena and whether they are accurate portrayals of how our memory systems actually work – or if the artists took some creative liberty.
The Memory in Pop Culture (MPC) writing assignment requires you to write about a work of art from pop culture (e.g., movie, TV series or episode) in which memory has a prominent role in the plot and/or theme.
For this writing assignment, you must summarize and interpret the plot (including adequate descriptions of the main characters), relate the work to course concepts by explaining how it is related to memory, speculate on the relevant brain substrates, and critically evaluate its portrayal of memory phenomena. Your assignment should be written in a less formal style for a general but educated audience, 2-3 double-spaced pages in length, and formatted in APA style.
The objectives of the MPC assignment are for you to:
• view, summarize, and interpret a work or art from pop culture (e.g., movie, TV series or episode) that is somehow related to learning and memory phenomena.
• explain how the work of art relates to behavioral and neuroscientific concepts from class.
• critically evaluate the portrayal of learning and memory phenomena in pop culture.
After claiming an appropriate work of art from pop culture and composing your MPC writing assignment in Microsoft Word, you must first upload the file (Word document) as an assignment on Sakai, where it will be screened for plagiarism using Turnitin. This step is required to receive a grade for your MPC writing assignment. Then, you will post what you wrote to your group’s MPC discussion forum and comment on at least five other posts in the forum.
Memory in Pop Culture (MPC) Writing Assignment
Memory in Pop Culture Writing Assignment MPC Rubric
Unsatisfactory (0 pts.)
Poor (5 points)
Good (10 points)
Appropriateness of selected work of art from pop culture
Work of art is otherwise inappropriate or the full APA-style reference citation is not provided
Connection to memory concepts in weak or not made explicit in the assignment
Work of art has a clear connection to memory concepts that is made explicit in the assignment
Plot summary
The summary is incomplete or absent
The summary is inaccurate, unclear, or too verbose
The summary includes a description of the plot, structure, and/or characters that is accurate, clear, and concise
Connection to memory systems and principles
No connection to relevant memory systems and principles is made whatsoever
Relevant memory systems and principles from the work of art are mentioned, but not well-discussed
Relevant memory systems and principles from the work of art are clearly discussed, with supporting evidence
Brain substrates
No consideration of the neural basis of the memory phenomena from the work of art
The neural basis of the memory phenomena from the work of art is mentioned, but not adequately supported and/or likely to be incorrect
Reasonable speculation about the neural basis of the memory phenomena in the work of art, supported by referring to course concepts
Critical evaluation of the portrayal of memory phenomena
No critical evaluation of the portrayal of memory phenomena in the work of art whatsoever
A brief assessment of the portrayal of memory phenomena in the work of art is provided, but without clear rationale or sufficient discussion
An assessment of the authenticity of the portrayal of memory phenomena in the work of art is provided, with clear rationale and sufficient discussion of why or why not the portrayal is authentic
