Day Six: The Art of Critiquing

Class Code of Conduct
Together, we will create a living document that will serve as a code for how to treat one another when we respond to our peers' performative and aesthetic work. As a guiding framework for both how to give and receive feedback, this document will be open to revision throughout the quarter. If there is anything you want to change, add or modify, you are free to speak up in class.

Exercise:

• Take out a piece of paper or open a new document on your computer
• Think of a time when you were given feedback that was either constructively helpful or damaging/hurtful/unhelpful. This can be for anything: schoolwork, artistic performance, sports, etc. 
• Take five minutes to reflect:
• What was the context?
• Who was giving the feedback (not the specific person -- no name sharing -- but what was their role?)
• What were your expectations in terms of receiving this feedback?
• What was said? How was it said?
• How did this feedback make you feel?
• What did you ultimately learn from this feedback?
• Why would you classify this feedback as either helpful or harmful?
• In groups of two, share your feedback stories, and as a group translate each story into a guiding principle for the code of conduct.
• We will be sharing these as a class to add to the code of conduct.

Putting the Code of Conduct into Practice: General Class Feedback and Self Critique

• After reading Pelias & Shaffer Ch. 10 & 12, what are some thoughts you have re: general feedback for the class's Cut-Up performances?
• How were you subjectively moved (or not) by the class's performances?
• What were some performative choices that were made?
• Did this assignment change your approach to writing at all?
• What are some things you'd like to see happen in the rest of the quarter's performances?
• Take a few moments to give yourself a short critique. What feedback would you give yourself in terms of:
• Emotional honesty/vulnerability?
• Experimental writing techniques?
• Performative choices?
• Connection to audience?
• Performing a perspective outside of your own?

Generating a Rubric for the Peer Critique assignment

As a class, I'd like us to come up with some criteria for the Peer Critique assignment based on the Code of Conduct and your reflections on critiquing. What elements should I look for? How should we all strive to critique each other? Assignment here.