Assignment Content
Introduction Media Essay One:The concepts we cover in this course include countless phenomena that occur and shape our world on a daily basis. The purpose of media essay assignments is to help you relate course materials to the world around you and to help you understand the forces, both social and technological that impact all of us.The Assignment: Find a current (no more than a year old) news article in the media that demonstrates issues and controversies surrounding the use or development of technology in our society. The article chosen should deal with at least one or more of the concepts or questions covered in the reading up to this point in the course (chapters 1 -4). Please note that you MUST reference material from the textbook in your essay, using MLA style parenthetical citation for both direct quotes and paraphrases. Failure to do so will result in lost points. Some of the concepts and questions we have explored that you will likely find in the media include:* When technology fails, it fails big!* Is technology always used rationally?* Technological progress vs. progress in general.* The technological fix.* Luddism/Neoluddism and attempts to resist technology.* Social constructivist view of technological advance.* Great men and women theory.* Technocracy/scientific management.These are just a sample of some of the concepts and questions surrounding technology and society that we have explored so far. You should not have difficulty finding a current article that deals with at least one of these, or other topics covered thus far. Sources for your article might include but not be limited to, newspapers, websites such as CNN.COM or MSN.COM, magazines such as Time or Newsweek, or some of the electronic databases available through the FTCC Library webpage. These databases include such useful resources as Issues and Controversies, Science Resource Center, NC Live, and the Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. See COURSE INFORMATION for guidance on accessing these databases if you have never used them.Keep in mind, this is a current events assignment that relates course material to things going on in our world (and thus the news) now. Do not use articles more than one year old.
After you have selected an article and read it, write a one or more page essay that explains:1. What is the controversy?2. How is technology involved and what are the potential impacts on society?3. How many sides are there to this issue (at least according to your article), and what are they?4. What concepts or questions explored thus far in the course are apparent in this article? State the concepts by name!5. What are your own feelings on this issue, and has any of the material covered thus far in the course impacted this opinion?6. What is the source for your article? Provide the name, date, issue and/or volume number of the publication, name of the author (if given) and name of the article for print sources such as newspapers or magazines. Provide the web link for online sources. Provide the database and article name for articles accessed through the FTCC Library’s electronic databases.Your written response to the above should be done in MS Word or a similar word processing program, using size 12, Times New Roman font. Further, the essay must be in MLA format and must include a works cited page that at a minimum lists the course textbook and the news article as sources.Acceptable LengthOne or more full pages of text.Formatting Requirements