How Has Automation Affected Modern Story Telling?
Assignment Summary:
Write a 1250-word essay connecting at least one reading from each of the three modules of the course (at least three readings in total) with some object or issue of your own choosing;
Correctly quote and cite at least one sentence from each reading you choose.
To get an A:
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Proofread your paper before submitting it.
Assignment:
Write an essay of 1250 words reflecting upon and responding to the themes and readings of the class, and specifically each of the three course modules (Machines, Codes, and Cultures). In your essay, relate these readings and themes to some object or issue of your choosing.
For example:
How does the question of materialism operate in Mattern's analysis of the early city, Weiner's notion of cybernetics, and Plant's description of feminist cyberculture? Which is the most compelling formulation and why?
Are humans programmable? Using examples of how humans acts as machines (such as in factory work settings) with their movements, consider whether actions like walking without thinking are similar to a passive program being run on a computer? What would the difference between machines and humans be, in this case, if any?
Why has the Buffalo area shrunk so much in recent decades? How much of a role has automation played? What about outsourcing? Computerization? (In order to address this type of question some outside sources may be needed.)
You should not use these exact examples, but develop ones of your own.
The title of your essay should be the question you are addressing, and a sentence proposing your answer should be included in the first paragraph of the essay (i.e., your thesis sentence). Your essay should go on to demonstrate and elaborate upon this answer. Your interpretation must address the work of a specific writer or writers from each of the three course modules.
Your first paragraph should introduce your object or issue and summarize the argument you will make in the rest of your paper. In your second, third, and, fourth paragraphs, connect this object or issue to one of readings assigned in each module, using one paragraph for each module. In your fifth and final paragraph, relate the object or issue and the arguments made in the three texts you have chosen to the larger themes of the course such as: culture's influence on technology, technology's influence on culture, determinism, etc.
Your essay must include and address a sentence-length quote from at least three assigned written texts (not screenings/videos), one from each of the three course modules (Machines, Codes, and Cultures). Your essay must go on to relate your understanding of the readings to both an outside object or issue and the course themes. You are free to cite additional sources, including screenings. Cite your sources in MLA in-text style, and employ proper grammar and punctuation. Unless you include sources from outside of the course materials, you are not required to provide a Works Cited section at the end of the paper.