: Analyzing Technology and Social Issues
Our most recent class readings have focused on the role of technology in our lives and how technology affects how individuals function socially. Christine Rosen’s “Our Cell Phones, Our Selves” focuses on how cell phones have changed how we communicate, both, for example, with the person on the other end and in public spaces when we use cell phones. Jeffrey Rosen’s “The Naked Crowd” has us thinking about identity and privacy issues and how technology positions us to make decisions about how we present ourselves to others, what we disclose, and what we keep private. Finally, Sam Anderson’s “In Defense of Distraction” describes how our reading practices have changed because the technology in our lives has inundated us with information. All of these authors bring up important elements of how technology is shaping our lives, the way we interact in our world, and the decisions we make as members of different communities.
For this writing project, you will need to choose one of the essays from Writing Analytically Chapter 20 “Manners, Communication, and Technology” and analyze it. The purpose of this analysis is to understand what the writer is arguing, to search for different ideas or opinions in relation to that argument, and to come up with your own ideas or implications for the role of the technology (discussed in your article) in relation to the social world. You should use the techniques we have been using in class and your class notes about these articles to help you with this analysis.
More specifically, you are writing a textual analysis of one of the essays from Chapter 20. Textual analyses include:
- A solid summary of the text: what it is saying, what it is arguing, why that is important
- A solid summary of what other people are saying about that issue, whether they are for it, against it, agree with some reservations, etc.
- The implications of the conversation about this issue. In other words, a majority of your paper is tracing the conversation (what your primary text and others say about this situation) but the analysis comes in when you talk about what these different points of view mean, why they are important (or not), why we should pay attention (or not), why these issues matter.
This is not an argument paper in the traditional sense; that is, you don’t necessarily have to take a stand on this issue. Your role is really to describe what is going on with this issue, discuss why this issue matters, and then consider the implications of this issue for your audience.
Specifications:
- 7-8 pages (2100-2600 words), double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12 point font.
Required: Four sources: These sources are in addition to the primary text you use (the primary text being one of the essays from Chapter 20). These sources can come from our textbook (or the list of suggested readings at the end of each section), our library, .gov websites, or newspapers. Additionally, you need one academic source (that is marked “peer reviewed” and found in our library)
