Eng 1A/Woodhams
Fall 2011
Paper 1
“You Are Not A Gadget, Are You?”
Choose ONE of the topics below.
1. Study at least three blog sites, chat rooms, or news sites on line to
explore some of Jaron Lanier’s concerns about how the hive mentality and
on-line anonymity—among other critiques-- can affect an individual’s
behavior. Examine several of these threads closely and make sure you
have enough evidence in the form of comments and posts to write an
interesting response to what you find there. You can summarize some of
the comments you choose to use as well as cite specific remarks, helping
the reader to understand their context and scope if that seems significant.
Note: you will also want to refer to Jaron Lanier himself in form of a
summary of his ideas that seem relevant as well as use direct quotes of
some his statements that connect to your points. You may also interview
people who participate in blogs or chat rooms and get their opinion and
reaction to how people post on-line, and you may generalize about your
own and others’ experience and if that seems helpful. The essay wants a
main idea or thesis about how people behave on-line that can be
developed through several paragraphs, each with a topic sentence and
support or evidence (see above) for your thoughts.
OR
2. Consider how the on-line activity of people of your generation affects
their behavior and relationships to others, their sense of self and the
world. Though you may cite your own experience to a limited degree and
speak generally of your generation’s attitudes, you will probably need to
interview 3-5 people of your generation to get specific responses, as well
2-4 people of an earlier generation, such as the “Boomers,” if you want to
compare their experiences with technology (this will add a comparison
feature to your discussion, though you can focus mainly on your
generation if you like). You can summarize some of these responses but
you should also highlight specific comments that seem relevant. Note: you
will also want to refer to Jaron Lanier himself in form of a summary of his
ideas that seem relevant as well as use direct quotes of some of his
statements that connect to your points. The essay would like a main idea
or thesis that reflects what you’ve discovered and think about the
relationship between people’s virtual lives and their real lives.
NOTE: These topics are not about proving Lanier wrong (as we can
assume that some of what he says is valid, at least speculatively, given his
expert position) so much as they are about exploring some of his
propositions, trying them out. Of course in the process you may find things
that contradict, modify, or extend his ideas and you should shape your
response to reflect this.
Format: titled, typed, minimum 4-6 pages double-spaced, 1000-1500
words, 11-12 pt
Please note: The work must be your own—any outside evidence must be
cited using MLA format (see plagiarism policy for this course). Please be
aware that the research here should be mostly hand’s on, as outlined
above, and your response will draw on our reading so far and the pool of
knowledge we’ve developed in class.
Due Dates:
Wednesday Sept 7: interview questions, evidence from “You Are Not a
Gadget”
Monday, Sep 12: rough draft or outline, some interview material
Wednesday
Sep 14: Paper due in class