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: /