English

English 307

Fall 2022

Dr. Marc A. Ouellette

Long assignment #1

Analysis Essay: 2000 (+/- 200) words

Value: 25% of your final grade

Due: 2 Oct. 2022

“Come together”: The medium, remediation, convergence & more

Your task:

Pick one (1) of the three (3) options listed below and write an essay of 2,000 (+/- 200)

words. The emphasis is on everyday digital technologies that extend the self in ways the

end-user (or consumer) might not immediately recognize and with potential effects that

may not have been foreseen.

For each choice you MUST refer specifically to no fewer than two (2) of the assigned

required readings from the COURSE MATERIALS folder up to and including the week

the essay is due.

Option 1) “Reflections of”: An idea of your own (requires proposal)

You may develop a topic of your own choice. You may even decide to extend a reflection

into a paper. If you do so, please keep in mind that you must submit in writing a proposal of

roughly 150-200 words describing your planned topic and approach. This proposal must

arrive at least one (1) week prior to the final deadline for the essay. You MUST refer

specifically to no fewer than two (2) of the assigned required readings from the

COURSE MATERIALS folder up to and including the week the essay is due.. Given the

nature of the course I will give broad consideration for topics and means of production.

Option 2) “I just called”: The medium, remediation, convergence & the workplace

Read the articles on the “retro art” of the phone call (links below) and use your weekly

readings (at least 2) and materials to analyze the change in “human affairs.” Millennials

are widely held to hate phone calls, but Gen Z and the switch to seemingly endless Zoom

sessions have people thinking phone calls might be better. While this is clearly a kind of

remediation, there is more that is happening, including the extensions making work instead

of saving labour, and in particular, there is a change in “human affairs.” So, how would you

combine your readings, topics raised in class and elsewhere to develop an approach that

would analyze and hopefully explain the situation detailed therein. In particular, keep in

mind how the medium is the message actually works and following from that, what are the

social, political, cultural and/or economic ramifications? Who benefits? You MUST refer

specifically to no fewer than two (2) of the assigned required readings from the

COURSE MATERIALS folder up to and including the week the essay is due. External

research is not a requirement and should be done judiciously, with an eye to relevance.

Links

https://www.inc.com/melissa-angell/zoom-fatigue-phone-calls-worker-preference-hy

brid-work-from-home.html

https://slate.com/technology/2022/02/no-more-zooms-please.html

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/nov/16/stop-watching-me-how-z

oom-helped-me-overcome-my-dread-of-phone-calls

Option #3) “Everybody owns the great ideas”: Theorizing digital technologies (requires

proposal)

Pick a technology of your choice. Please keep in mind the definition of technology. How

would you combine your readings, topics raised in class and elsewhere to develop an

approach that would analyze and hopefully explain the situation detailed therein. If you do

so, please keep in mind that you must submit in writing a proposal of roughly 150-200

words describing your planned topic and approach. This proposal must arrive at least one

(1) week prior to the final deadline for the essay. You may wish to consider any of the

following questions. Why might this be the case? How is this the case? What factors that we

have studied might contribute to or result from this trend? Most important, what does the

technology enhance, render obsolete, retrieve or revert to as it remediates other

technologies? What are the social, political, cultural and/or economic ramifications? Who

benefits? You MUST refer specifically to no fewer than two (2) of the assigned required

readings from the COURSE MATERIALS folder up to and including the week the essay is

due. External research is not a requirement and should be done judiciously, with an eye to

relevance. If you need examples of potential technologies or you wish to consult me about a

specific technology, please do not hesitate.

The evaluation:

As always, I will be considering the following factors:

( the topic, its insightfulness & the coherence of the CENTRAL ARGUMENT

( your level of engagement and/or comfort level with the theoretical material

( your ability to put things in the terms of the discipline

( are there examples and are they effectively explicated

( does the paper end with conclusions for future implications & study

( is the prose lucid, error-free and well-presented (i.e., MLA 6 or 7 ) th th

NOTE:

Essays arriving within one week of the assigned deadline will receive the grade

earned but no comments or corrections. Unless documented, essays arriving after

that will not be graded.

Students may write in the first-person provided they do so within the context of a

scholarly argument.

You MUST refer specifically to no fewer than two (2) of the assigned required

weekly readings up to and including the week the essay is due.

Where to find assistance:

Students are always welcome to ask questions. The more specifically related to the subject

matter your questions are, the better I can help you. To this end, students may wish to

consult the following:

( the essay template, in MS Word in the HELP section

( the “Right Track” document HELP section

( the “Argument Formula” document HELP section

( if relevant, the ePortfolio assistants: odu.edu/success/programs/eportfolios

( the assigned readings

( the list of links provided for each reading

( the collection of reflections & responses you have contributed to help you

think about these issues, topics, concerns, etc.

None of these is meant to replace student-instructor interaction. In fact, these resources are

aimed at helping to maximize the potential of those interactions.

Dr. Marc A. Ouellette

Rubric for five categories of learning and of assessment:

Level 0 (meets few) Level 1 (meets some) Level 2 (meets all) Level 3 (exceeds

some)

Level 4 (exceeds all)

Organization of ideas,

including citations &

references

(10%)

organized ideas with

very limited

effectiveness

organized ideas with

limited effectiveness

organized ideas with

some effectiveness

organized ideas with

considerable degree of

effectiveness

organized ideas with

high degree of

effectiveness

Communication of

ideas, including

incorporation of the

vocabulary of the

discipline

(20%)

communication for

the given purpose

with very limited

effectiveness

communication for

the given purpose

with limited

effectiveness

communication for

the given purpose

with some

effectiveness

communication for the

given purpose with

considerable degree

effectiveness

communication for the

given purpose with

high degree

effectiveness

Knowledge of Content

including definitions

(20%)

demonstrates very

limited knowledge of

content

demonstrates limited

knowledge of content

demonstrates some

knowledge of content

demonstrates a

thorough knowledge of

content

demonstrates an

extremely thorough

knowledge of content

Use of critical/creative

thinking processes &

making connections

(20%)

uses critical/creative

thinking process with

very limited

effectiveness

uses critical/creative

thinking process with

limited effectiveness

uses critical/creative

thinking process with

some effectiveness

uses critical/creative

thinking process with a

considerable degree of

effectiveness

uses critical/creative

thinking process with a

high degree of

effectiveness

Application of

knowledge & skills

including applying &

linking critical

approaches

(20%)

applies knowledge

and skills will very

limited effectiveness

applies knowledge

and skills will limited

effectiveness

applies knowledge

and skills will some

effectiveness

applies knowledge and

skills will a

considerable degree of

effectiveness

applies knowledge and

skills will a high

degree of effectiveness

Spirit of the assignment,

originality, creativity

(10%)

very low degree of

creativity, fidelity,

etc.

limited degree of

creativity, fidelity,

etc.

some degree of

creativity, fidelity,

etc.

considerable degree of

creativity, fidelity, etc.

high degree of

creativity, fidelity, etc.

Total: /