English 76-101, Section

Interpretation and Argument Living Social in the Age of Social Media Wean Hall 6423 MWF 9:30 10:20 AM Instructor: Sheila Liming Office: Wean Hall, 1309 E-mail: sliming@andrew.cmu.edu Box: Baker Hall 245, English Faculty Offices Office Hours: by appointment Course Description Living Social in the Age of Social Media Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter. These phrases have become very familiar to us almost to the point of obsolescence. But it isnt just friends we seek through social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter (not to mention Instagram, YouTube, Tumblr the list goes on). Online social media platforms offer us the ability to build human networks, to participate in the workings of democracy, and to voice and broadcast our opinions. But, according to a growing body of research, they also isolate us, allow us to bully and terrorize each other, and limit our abilities to live and act socially. This section of 76-101 develops the stakes of living socially in an age and a world dominated by social media. In it, we will chart the controversies associated with social media participation on a global scale, from Twitters role in the Arab Spring, to Facebooks function in moments of national tragedy. We will collectively examine this debate using an array of texts, including academic and journalistic writing in conjunction with blogs, television, and film. Students will hone critical thinking and communication skills in this context, analyzing and synthesizing arguments about social media and human interaction while developing their own ideas and opinions on the subject. Course Goals and Objectives Interpretation and Argument is structured by the following overarching goals: To introduce students to fundamental practices of critical reading and academic argument, including summary, synthesis, analysis, and contribution. To model a process of concept grouping for reasoning through multiple perspectives about an issue. To demonstrate a rhetorical model of academic contribution that is socially responsible to an ongoing, academic conversation. To help students understand and begin to meet the requirements of college-level argumentation and composition. Becoming a competent writer in this way requires that students be reflective and strategic with their composing processes, particularly with planning, writing, reading, detecting and diagnosing problems within their own work, and finally with revising their own textual products.

Overview and Major Assignments The course employs personal narrative, film, television, critical essays and journalistic opinion pieces to develop students critical reading and writing practices. The major writing assignments are organized in a cumulative sequence of three essays: 1. Argument Analysis Requires students to explain, in their own words, another writers argumentative stance on an issue. Engages students in the act of critical interpretation, requiring them to reenact the argumentative moves of a given text. 2. Argument Synthesis Helps students synthesize and analyzeor tie togethera number of distinct sources into one coherent description of a problem. Shows students how to combine and criticize a number of distinct perspectives while highlighting their own argumentative position in the debate. 3. Contribution Allows students to enter into a specific debate, choosing and arguing for their position. Provides students the opportunity to hone research skills and draw from additional sources outside of our class readings. Requires students to also prepare and give a brief oral presentation on their chosen contribution topic. Other assignments: Position Papers: brief, 1-2 pp. paper assignments asking you to respond critically to a given reading or readings In-class quizzes: there will be some scheduled quizzes, such as following our viewing of the film The Social Network, to test for comprehension and interpretation. There will also be a few unscheduled, or pop, quizzes based on reading assignments for that day of class. These will be infrequent, but not previously announced. Please stay on track with your reading. Supplemental Paper Assignments: brief, 1-2 pp. (in general) assignments designed to get you started thinking about a paper topic or argument. These will generally be due 1-2 weeks before the paper itself is due. Extra Credit: There will be two opportunities for extra credit in this class. 1. Halloween Extra Credit You will be encouraged to come to class dressed as your online avatar a term which, in this case, can mean many things. If you are someone who participates in MMRPG, you may already have an established avatar that you use as part of these games. However, you may also possess an online avatar which has to do

with the way you present yourself online as distinct from in real life. This could be the way you style and present yourself on social media sites like Facebook or Twitter, or your avatar could embody or perform an instance in which you may have purposefully misrepresented yourself online (a lie that you told about yourself, or something or someone you pretended to be). You will be asked to explain your avatar in class, and then will be awarded points (1-10) based on the following: 1) effort (thought and detail put into your costume) 2) interpretation/ argumentation (how you defend or explain your avatar) You may earn up to 10 points roughly one daily assignment or you may receive 1 forgiven absence for your participation in this extra credit assignment. 2) Group Presentation Evaluation Extra Credit As part of final group presentations, class members will be required to evaluate their peers and respond to their presentations. If you wish, you may opt to do additional peer evaluations and earn two extra credit points per additional evaluation. I will explain the details of these evaluations when we discuss the Contribution Essay presentation component in class. Texts (available in campus bookstore) Graff, Gerald and Cathy Birkenstein. They Say, I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing. New York: W. W. Norton, 2005. Additional Required Readings (available through Blackboard: https://blackboard.andrew.cmu.edu) Aboujouade, Elias. Ordinary Everyday Viciousness. Virtually You. New York: Norton, 2010. Castells, Manuel. Prelude to Revolution. Networks of Outrage and Hope: Social Movements in the Internet Age. New York: Polity (2012): 20-52. Coll, Steve. Leaving Facebookistan. The New Yorker, 24 May 2012. Web. Newyorker.com, 19 July 2013. Dean, Michelle. The Lessons of Steubenville. The New Yorker, 11 January 2013. Web. Newyorker.com, 19 July 2013. Dersiewicz, William. The End of Solitude. Digital Divide, ed. Bauerlein. New York: Tarcher (2011): 307-317. Grant, Melissa Gira. Girl Geeks and Boy Kings. Dissent, winter 2013. Web. Dissentmagazine.org, 19 July 2013. Hartzog, Woodrow and Selinger, Evan. Quitters Never Win: The Costs of Leaving Social Media. The Atlantic, 15 February 2013. Web. Theatlantic.com, 20 July 2013.

Jenkins, Henry. Love Online. Digital Divide, ed. Bauerlein. New York: Tarcher (2011): 160 165. Johnson, Steven. The Internet. Digital Divide, ed. Bauerlein. New York: Tarcher (2011): 26 33. Morozov, Evgeny. Facebook and Twitter are just places revolutionaries go. The Guardian, 7 March 2011. Web. Guardian.co.uk, 20 July 2013. Pesta, Abigail. Thanks for Ruining My Life. The Daily Beast, 10 December 2012. Web. thedailybeast.com, 19 July 2013. Rosen, Jeffrey. The Web Means the End of Forgetting. New York Times, 21 July 2012. Web. Nytimes.com, 20 July 2013. Ross, Winston. Steubenville Rape Case Splits Town between Big Red and Guy Fawkes. The Daily Beast, 7 January 2013. Web. thedailybeast.com, 19 July 2013. Shirky, Clay. Gin, Television, and Cognitive Surplus. Cognitive Surplus. New York: Penguin (2013): 1-29. Turkle, Sherry. Always On. Alone Together. New York: Basic Books, 2011. Print. Required Film/Television: Fincher, David, dir. The Social Network. Sony Pictures, 2010. Recommended Texts A good college dictionary. Carnegie Mellon also grants access to the Oxford English Dictionarys online database for on-campus users. Access at www.oed.com.

Course Policies and Procedures Attendance Since this is a small discussion class, attendance is mandatory. You are allowed four absences without penalty following your fifth absence, your grade in the class will begin to drop by a half-a-letter grade per absence (5% of your total grade). Plan ahead if you think you might miss class for religious holidays or for other scheduled events. I do not distinguish between excused and unexcused absences you are allowed four absences be they excused or unexcused before your grade begins to decrease, unless other special arrangements have been made with me ahead of time. If you have extenuating circumstances significantly affecting your attendance throughout the semester (such as illness or a family emergency), it is your responsibility to notify me about your situation and obtain authoritative documentation to excuse your absences (either from a Dean or from your advisor). If you miss more than the allotted days due to your situation, we will discuss whether its prudent for you to continue in the course. If you miss class, you are responsible to contact your peers for materials and information youve missed. Thus, it is your responsibility to keep on top of the homework. Do not email me asking

whether or not there was a daily assignment. Missing a class is no excuse for not completing the homework. Likewise, I expect you to have read the assigned readings and to be ready to discuss them, even if you were absent the class before. Finally, you are responsible for keeping track of your own absences. A sign-in sheet will be used daily and absences will be thus recorded. Please be conscientious of your class participation make sure you get the sign-in sheet, and please dont expect me to do this for you! Late Arrival Arrive on time. You will not receive an A in this class if you do not arrive on time. Lateness not only disrupts the class but also demonstrates disrespect for your peers and for your instructor. For every two days you are late to class, you will be marked for one absence. If you are more than 15 minutes late to class, you will be marked absent for that day. Class Participation Since 76-101 is a discussion course, its important that you participate in class. Participation which includes both classroom involvement and physically being in class makes up roughly 15% of your total grade. While your class participation grade falls to my discretion, there are several steps you can take to ensure you achieve a satisfactory grade: Come to class prepared, with a hard (physical) copy of the required reading. Since laptop use is prohibited in class, it is essential that you print out and bring a copy of the required reading to class every day (or, in the case of Graff, bring your book with you to class). Failure to do so will result in the loss participation points; additionally, failure to do so may affect any in-class writing assignments, quizzes, or exercises that require the text in question. Be prepared to participate; plan to participate. You should anticipate contributing to course discussions on a regular basis. This means that you must both be prepared (having done the required assignment or reading) and must formulate and offer contributions to the discussion on a regular basis (at least once a week). Be courteous toward your peers. When you raise disagreement in class either with the instructor or with your peers try to do so respectfully. Articulate your reasons and grounds for disagreement with an idea rather than a person. Failure to show adequate respect towards your peers or towards your instructor result in your being asked to leave the classroom. Such a request will, in affect my assessment of your class participation.

may turn,

Using Sources Properly In this course, we will talk about the differences between plagiarism and the misuse of sources. There is a difference, and so the consequences for each are not the same. We will discuss how to use sources appropriately; and if you have any questions, always feel free to ask me. Its been my experience that those writers who plagiarize are those who feel overwhelmed by the assignment and out of desperation, use someone elses work to stand in for their own. If you get so frustrated with an assignment that you feel like your only option is to plagiarize, come see me. My role as a teacher is to help students, not to punish them please use me as a resource to help you write, brainstorm or work out your essays. All papers submitted in this class including short, type-written homework responses (Position

Papers) must comply with Modern Language Association (MLA) guidelines and citation rules. This means that you must provide MLA compliant documentation for the use of additional sources, including: a Works Cited page, providing correct bibliographic information for each source cited, quoted, or consulted in your paper correct in-text citations for each source cited, quoted, or consulted in your paper

If you are unsure of MLA guidelines, I suggest you either consult or purchase a current MLA Style Guide, or consult the following online source: The Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University: 2009 MLA Style Guide http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/ Academic Integrity, Plagiarism, and Cheating At Carnegie Mellon, we believe in the excellence of our students and in the integrity of our academic programs. We also believe that your good ideas become better when you test them against the ideas of others. So for this course, feel free to discuss your ideas about the major writing assignments with other students. Collaborating on question/answer homework assignments or open-book quizzes, however, is not acceptable; these types of assignments are designed for me, your instructor, to monitor how you are handling specific parts of the course materials. Blatantly taking someone elses words, ideas or concepts, and using them without citing your source is plagiarism. So is using another students essay, or part of his or her essay, as your own. In the world of writing (academic writing especially), this is a serious crime, and is treated as such. Anyone who uses non-documented material from another source, including online sources, will receive a failing grade for the entire course and will be referred to the Deans office for possible further disciplinary action. All final versions of essay assignments will be submitted to Digital Dropbox, a function of Blackboard, which runs digital comparisons of submitted assignments in order to identify possible cases of plagiarism. For this reason, you must submit final versions of papers to Digital Dropbox. You may additionally submit versions of your assignment through other electronic means (via email), but if you fail to submit your paper to Blackboard, it will be treated as late, and lateness penalties will apply. General Guidelines on Submitting Assignments Please note that to receive a passing grade, you must hand in all drafts (rough and final) of all three major papers, and complete the presentation component of the final assignment. All papers, including short response assignments, must be typed, double-spaced, with 1 margins. Rough drafts of all three main papers must be submitted both in electronic and paper forms. Electronic format means that papers are submitted through Blackboard. Rough Drafts must be submitted in class and through Digital Dropbox. Final Drafts must be submitted through Digital Dropbox. Paper copies of all essays must be stapled, paper clipped, or otherwise affixed; if you expect me to be your secretary and do this for you, you will forfeit five points on the paper in question. Include page numbers on all assignments longer than one page.

Carefully edit and proofread all texts to eliminate problems in grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Digital copies of all final papers must be cleanly edited and readable. This means that you must remove all digital comments/suggestions, including highlighted or underlined text, and including all comment balloons. Spell-check your documents. Any time you cite an essay, film, book, article, song anything, in fact, that constitutes previously published material in your writing, you will need to include a Works Cited section of your essay that provides complete and accurate bibliographic information for any cited material mentioned. If youre not sure how to cite sources, please consult a citation manual or online resource (see Using Sources Properly, above).

Documents that do not meet these and other assignment-specific requirements will not be graded. They will be returned to you and when resubmitted will be treated as late submissions. Deadlines All written assignments must be submitted on the due date, and missing the class when the assignment is due doesnt mean your assignment isnt late. Turning in an assignment on time is part of doing the assignment, and late work will be graded down, regardless of how well its executed. Lateness penalties are as follows: Rough drafts and Peer Reviews. For every day that is, every day of the week, and not every class period that a rough draft or revision statement is late, your final draft will lose two points. If you do not hand in a peer review or a rough draft, I will not grade a final draft. Final drafts. For every day that a final draft is late, you will lose five points. Daily assignments. All late assignments may receive a maximum of half-credit (50%), regardless of how late they are. Cell Phones, Laptops, etc. Students are expected to participate and be engaged in class discussion. Therefore, students are required to silence or turn off cell phones before coming to class (there is, quite obviously, to be no text messaging during class). All laptops must remain closed unless you have made prior arrangements with me and have demonstrated that using a laptop is necessary for your learning. Religious Observances If you have a conflict between a religious holiday and a graded assignment, please contact me in advance so that we can make appropriate arrangements. Learning Disabilities If you have a learning disability that could impair your progress in this course, please contact Equal Opportunity Services on campus (http://hr.web.cmu.edu/dsrg/students.htm). We can arrange to accommodate your learning style based on EOS recommendations. Please notify me at the semesters beginning of your learning needsdo not wait until the semester becomes overwhelming to acknowledge the problem. On-Campus Writing Resources

International students, non-native English speakers, and native English speaking students alike are encouraged to take advantage of Carnegie Mellons Global Communication Center (GCC) to receive help in preparing writing assignments. To make an appointment or speak with a tutor, go to: cmu.edu/gcc Or, visit the GCC on the first floor of the Hunt Library. All students are also welcome and encouraged to take advantage of the peer tutoring services provided through the office of Academic Development. http://www.cmu.edu/academic-development/ Communications You can reach me via e-mail, office phone, or a note in my mailbox in the Baker 245 Faculty Office. The best way to reach me, of course, is through email I check it frequently and, while I cannot guarantee an immediate reply, it is certainly the fastest way to reach me. If you have questions about the policies of this class, review the syllabus first, and then come to see me.

Course Schedule
Unit I: Defining Social Media, Defining Social Existence Monday, August 26 Introduction; course overview, syllabus, survey Wednesday, August 28 Dersiewicz, The End of Solitude DUE: 1-page, typed response paper which answers the following questions: 1) What is Dersiewiczs argument in this essay? 2) What is your response to Dersiewiczs argument? Graff, chapters 1 and 2 from They Say, I Say Discuss summarizing strategies for Dersiewicz NO CLASS: enjoy your Labor Day! DUE: final Dersiewicz response paper Rosen, The Web Means the End of Forgetting Continue to discuss Rosen Johnson, The Internet continue to discuss Johnson Graff, chapter 3 from They Say, I Say Discuss using quotations, sandwiches, etc. Introduce Argument Analysis Essay

Friday, August 30 Monday, September 5 Wednesday, September 4 Friday, September 6 Monday, September 9 Wednesday, September 11 Friday, September 13

Unit II: Living Socially in the Age of Social Media Monday, September 16 Shirky, Gin, Television, and Cognitive Surplus Workshop: Organizing Argumentation DUE: 3 quote sandwiches (1-2 sentence blocks of text which include the following: a) a quotation from the text which, to you, constitutes Shirkys main claim in this essay, and b) an interpretation of that quote and an argumentative claim about the meaning of Shirkys essay) Wednesday, September 18 Friday, September 20 Work with summarizing strategies; continue to discuss Shirky DUE: Argument Analysis Essay, rough draft peer review: bring a hard copy of your essay to class and also submit an electronic copy through Blackboard Plagiarism Handout: read before coming to class Discuss plagiarism and university policies; discuss Argument Analysis drafts

Monday, September 23

Wednesday, September 25 Friday, September 27 Monday, September 30 Wednesday, October 2 Friday, October 4 Monday, October 7

NO CLASS: mandatory conferences In-class workshop: collective assessment DUE: Argument Analysis Essay, final draft Please submit essay in electronic format only using Blackboard Jenkins, Love Online Aboujouade, Ordinary Everyday Viciousness Graff, chapters 8 and 10 from They Say, I Say DUE: Position Paper (bring hard copy) After reading chapters 8 and 10 in Graff, prepare a 1-page paper that answers the following question: Jenkins essay, Love Online, celebrates the Internets ability to facilitate positive human relationships, Aboujouades essay Ordinary Everyday criticizes the Internets ability to do just your opinion, which of these arguments at this moment in time? That is, who important issue in their writing, [note: Im not asking you to argue whos right, Im asking you to argue for whose argument matters more]

while Viciousness the opposite. In is more pressing targets the more Jenkins or Aboujouade?

Wednesday, October 9 Friday, October 11

Introduce Argument Synthesis Essay discuss maps DUE: Argument Synthesis Map (bring hard copy) in-class work with synthesis maps and issue analysis Be prepared to present your map and argument in class. screen: The Social Network screen: The Social Network note: you must finish watching The Social Network before class on Monday, October 21. A copy will be placed on reserve in the Hunt Library Film Collection (basement): you may rent and watch the film there if you do not have acess to another copy.

Monday, October 14 Wednesday, October 16

Unit III: Social Media and Social Fallout: the Costs of Digital Socialization Friday, October 18 No class, mid-semester break: huzzah! DUE: Argument Synthesis essay, rough draft Monday, October 21 Quiz on The Social Network discuss The Social Network

Wednesday, October 23 Friday, October 25 Unit III: Geeks Like Us Monday, October 28 Wednesday, October 30

Grant, Girl Geeks and Boy Kings in-class work on Argument Synthesis Essays discuss Halloween extra credit Turkle, Always On DUE: Argument Synthesis Essay, final draft Please submit essay in electronic format only using Blackboard. Also, Halloween Extra Credit: come dressed as your own avatar! Score mad points! (See assignment for

explanation.) Friday, November 1 return to discussion of Turkle introduce Contribution Essay, topic proposals

Unit IV: Social Media in Perspective: Contemporary Case Studies Monday, November 4 Case Study I: leaving social media Coll, Leaving Facebookistan Hartzog and Sellinger, Quitters Never Win (in Leaving Social Media folder) Wednesday, November 6 Case Study II: Steubenville, OH Dean, The Lessons of Steubenville Pesta, Thanks for Ruining my Life Ross, Steubenville Rape Case Splits Town continue to discuss Steubenville case study discuss finding sources and conducting research for Contribution Essay topics DUE: Contribution Paper topic proposal Prepare a 2 pp. (minimum) typed proposal which includes: 1) 1 detailed paragraph explaining your topic -- why does it interest you? Why is it important? What are the stakes of issue? 2) 1 detailed paragraph explaining your argument how have you come to this position? What other opinions have your own? 3) An preliminary bibliography including four sources, two of which should be from our class readings so far discuss topics in class Wednesday, November 13 introduce group presentation requirement create presentation groups check in on research and progress discuss Prezi presentations

Friday, November 8

Monday, November 11

this influenced

Friday, November 15

demonstrate templates and presentation styles Monday, November 18 Wednesday, November 20 Friday, November 22 Case Study III: The Arab Spring Castells, Prelude to Revolution discuss Castells group work: in-class time to work on group Prezis DUE: updated Contribution Paper topic proposals After reviewing my comments on your initial proposal, your updated proposal should include more detail, and a complete bibliography listing a minimum of six used in your final paper, including two from our CLASS OPTIONAL: individual paper conferences Class is not mandatory, though you are welcome to come and discuss questions relative to your Contribution Essay. NO CLASS: Thanksgiving! Presentations: Groups A & B Presentations: Group C & D Last day of class! Course review; FCEs; edibles.

sources to be class readings Monday, November 25

W-F November 27-29 Monday, December 2 Wednesday, December 4 Friday, December 6

Argument Analysis Essay

76-101: Interpretation and Argument Carnegie Mellon University

The Assignment
Prepare a 3-4 page paper that summarizes Clay Shirkys argument in Gin, Television, and Cognitive Surplus. You have, Im sure, had assignments in the past where youve been required to summarize material; this is different. In this paper, you will be required to analyze, summarize, and reconstruct Jenkins argument, not just the content of his writing. There are three main points to this process: CLAIMS: identify Shirkys main thesis; then, identify minor arguments he makes along the way (subclaims) which help him to establish and prove his main point Your thesis should state both Shirkys main point in writing this essay and make a claim about the significance or stakes of that point. In other words, your thesis should answer both questions of what and why: What is claim? Why is that claim important? example of thesis with claim: In this essay, Shirky ultimately argues _____. example of thesis with both claim and stakes: In this essay, Shirky ultimately argues ________, which calls attention to the issue of __________ and furthermore demonstrates _________________. GROUNDS: identify Shirkys evidence in his writing. What kinds of information quotations from other writers, facts, statistics, examples taken from culture or the world around him does he use to support his argument? How do these various pieces of evidence either help him prove his otherwise inhibit his ability to do so? WARRANTS: identify Shirkys objectives and stakes. Why is he writing? To whom is he writing? What is his main purpose in writing? What does he want to accomplish? What is at stake (or what does he believe is at stake)? Why is this issue so important to him? Does he succeed in convincing reader, of its importance? An academic summary is really an argument analysisit is the first step toward entering an academic conversation because it requires us to rearticulate another authors point of view. The key to this assignment is not trying to account for every point Shirky

Shirkys

point, or

you, his

makes but, rather, focusing on isolating the main point of his argument and the main argumentative moves he makes in order to get there. Supporting your argument. It is important to provide textual evidence from the article to support your argument. Use direct quotes or paraphrased material to support your opinions of Shirkys text. Be selective in this regard and, as you incorporate textual material, ask yourself: Is this material important to my argument? Is it important to Shirkys argument? If it isnt (or if it feels like you might be stretching things), try to find more solid textual support. NOTE: See the syllabus if you have questions about citation and style, or come see me. Considering your audience. Your immediate audience is, of course, myself. All academic writing, however, is generated with the idea of a hypothetical audience, which usually includes a community of academics. In summarizing Shirkys argument, try to position yourself as speaking to an audience of educated people who know nothing about your specific topic, but who are otherwise very intelligent, culture-savvy folks in other words, scholars like me. You never know exactly who may end up reading your work. Common Mistakes/Misconceptions (a.k.a The Top Six Most Common Ways to Not Get an A on this Paper) (Erroneously) believing that an argument analysis does not require you to make an argument. Every time you articulate an opinion however unconsciously or casually you are making an argument. Take responsibility for your opinion of Shirkys writing; be persuasive, be thorough, and remember that your objective is to convince me that you have read him thoroughly, correctly, and intelligently. Writing an argument analysis paper about social media, or media, or society, or social living, and not about Clay Shirkys opinions on these topics! In other words, I dont care what you think about social media. I care what you think Shirky thinks about social media. Organizing your essay chronologically. Thats not an analysis, thats just boring! If I see a paper that includes phrases like In paragraph number one, Shirky says On the second page, Shirky claims or Next, Shirky goes argue I will be, as the British say, most annoyed. that often the the whats at appear to be Assuming that there is only one thesis in Shirkys argument. As already mentioned, this paper demands that you craft an argument of your own. Try to consider Shirkys writing from all angles, and pursue the one interests you the most. Unpopular or seemingly strange readings are most important. Also, the thesis you identify ought to encompass stake component of Shirkys writing that is to say, it must significant to a set of given problems/issues. Forgetting to talk about warrants. The assumptions an author makes are the

on to

easiest, and most available, way to critique and analyze their argument. What does Shirky assume in this piece? What does he take for granted? How does this help or harm his argument? Forgetting your works cited! Automatic five points (and ten if you also forget the in-text citations)! Dont be silly! Final Draft: electronic copy only

Important Details Rough Draft: one hard copy, on electronic copy

Argument Synthesis Essay

76-101: Interpretation and Argument Carnegie Mellon University The Assignment Write a 4-5 page paper that interrogates a central issue presented by our course readings so far. This issue is itself to be first generated by an Argument Synthesis Question. For your question, you may create your own (so long as you run it by me first, and so long as it begins with either a how or a what), or you may choose from the following list: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. What does it mean to be social, or to live socially, today? What is the relationship between social media and our social lives? How have social media changed the way we interact as human beings? What kinds of expectations are set for social interaction by social media? How does social media inhibit our abilities to be social? How does social media help us to be more social? How have human relationships changed as the result of social media? How has social media developed over a given period of time (the last decade, say)?

The goal of this paper is to explore a topic related to social media, social living, or any combination of these two ideas, which is commonly debated or discussed among the authors weve read so far this semester. In answer to this question, you must develop your own thesis and then use the authors from our course syllabus to defend this thesis. Not all of the authors will agree with your thesis; indeed, thats the challenge of the paper. You must comprehend and reconstruct authors argument to show either a) how the agree with/ support your thesis, or b) where they disagree/ diverge, and how those disagreements/ divergences may be refuted. The perspective you offer on the debate will naturally reflect your own opinion, but the main purpose of this paper is not to argue your own opinion. Rather, the purpose of this paper is to convince others of one correct opinion in this debate, and to use a variety of authors to substantiate that point of view. If we refer to Kenneth Burkes model of the cocktail party, this process represents the synthesizing stage of entering the conversation. The Procedure 1. Select a research question that interests you. As previously stated, this may either come from the list of questions provided, or you may create your own. NOTE: if you do draft your own research question, please bear in mind that is must begin with either a how or a what, and that it must be broad enough to encompass all the authors weve read so far (in some manner). 2. Develop a thesis statement. Your thesis serves, in effect, as the answer to the research question you originally posed, and it is towards this end that you will group your authors

into camps which offer different interpretations of the issue. 3. Create camps. You ought to find, after completing steps 1 and 2, that your authors fall into 2-4 major groups; these groups will be characterized by a common opinion on in the issue. For example, if you choose to pose an answer to research question #2 (What is the relationship between geeks and intellectuals?) you may create three groups thus: a. b. c. [Neutral] 4. Create a synthesis map. This step will be discussed in-class, but basically requires you to visually chart, through whichever means you prefer, the way your groups diverge in relation to your chosen question/thesis. Find a paradigm case. This is an example that you will position at the beginning of your paper to show or illustrate the issue (research question) at the heart of your argument. This may come from the popular media (newspapers, television, movies, etc.), from music (song lyrics, albums, bands or performers), from history (a historical event or fact), statistics, or anything else you can think of! A group who might argue that the Internet has greatly enhanced our abilities to be social. [Positive] A group who might argue that the Internet has greatly deterred our abilities to be social. [Negative] A group who might argue that, love it or hate it, social media is here to stay, and we need to learn to adjust our expectations of social interaction.

5.

NOTE: Do not be surprised if you find that you must reshape your question(s) as you begin to work through the different arguments youve read. Likewise, expect to spend some time rereading material as you think through this project. This is not an easy paper to write; you will need to carefully consider the topic you choose and the way you understand each authors argument in relation to that topic. Important details Rough Draft: one paper copy in class, one electronic copy submitted to Blackboard. Final Draft: one electronic copy, submitted to Blackboard. You know the drill.

Contribution Essay
76-101: Interpretation and Argument Carnegie Mellon University ________ The Assignment Prepare a 6-9 page paper devoted to an original topic which relates to the broader social living, social media, the Internet, and human relationships. So far you have summarized, synthesized and analyzed perspectives in a debate. By now, you surely know enough about culture, subculture, and punk to begin to craft a topic, and argument, of your own. This is the point (to recall Burke) where you enter the academic conversation with your own, original contribution. Your contribution, however, does not stand alone: you must devise a list of sources (6 min.) who help you to accomplish, or explain, your argument. Two of these sources must come from class readings; the others may come from anywhere you choose, but must present a debate or argument that can be incorporated into your own academic essay (that is to say, they must be somewhat scholarly in nature, and you must be the judge of that condition). Assignment Options You have two different options for writing your contribution essay. Read through both options and, if you are still stuck for ideas, consult the list of sample topics provided below. 1. Case Study Analysis. Choose one text that, to you, represents a particular aspect of social life that has been central to our discussion of the topic this semester. You could, for instance, extend our analysis of the movie The Social Network and show how it presents a history of social networking, the conflicts associated with that history. You could also choose another movie, show, musical work, video game, novel, or short story, and perform a similar analysis. Or you might focus on specific events or political issues, such as the rape controversy in Steubenville, OH, the revolutions referred to as the Arab Spring, or the role of Internet hacktivist organizations like Anonymous. 2. Theoretical Argument. Here you may choose to either a) argue for a perspective you feel has been missing from the authors we have reviewed/studied, or b) attempt to answer a large, significant question about social life, social media, or the connection between modern human relationships and media use that may have been posed by some of our authors, but for which you must do additional outside research. For instance, you could argue we have always lived socially with the help of media and media tools, using 3-4 different historical case studies to prove your point, such as the invention of the telegraph, the radio, the television, and the Internet. You could discuss how each of these tools has historically enhanced or altered social existence.

Things to keep in mind Mapping your argument. Practice the process of writing the Argument Synthesis Essay to identify opinion groups, arguments, etc. Dont forget to include alternative opinions. The best arguments pay attention to their naysayers (instead of ignoring them). What are the plausible/popular arguments against your argument? Why are they wrong? Important details No rough draft with this one instead, youll prepare a Contribution Essay Proposal (see Course Schedule for details). Sample Contribution Paper Topics: News / Events / People hackers Anonymous WikiLeaks Julian Assange, Bradley Manning, or Edward Snowden The Arab Spring Social media and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan The NSA PRISM Steve Jobs Boston Marathon Bombings helpful web-based applications, like Google Personfinder Trends YouTube Netflix imdb.com Internet news outlets (like HuffingtonPost.com) sexting SnapChat Chat Roulette blogging issue-specific blogging (like food blogs) Instagram quitting Facebook Twitter Culture: Film, Television, etc. The Wire (television) The Departed (film) House of Cards (Netflix/web television) Breaking Bad (television) etc. Issues Privacy Piracy Identity Theft Stalking / Safety Depression / Loneliness Pressure to be social Cyberbullying and kids Harassment Gaming and Internet Participation MMRPG World of Warcraft Starcraft etc. Tools cell phones / smart phones tablets e-readers iPods / mp3 players Google Glass etc.