I am providing a set of topics from which you may choose to develop your essay. You will narrow down the focus of your selected topic so that it is approachable and acceptable for this assignment. This assignment will require that you use scholarly, secondary sources to support your argument. I will provide some for you, but you will be responsible for finding some on your own. Please keep in mind that you are not writing a report. You are writing an argumentative paper that includes research and adds to a broader conversation about your chosen topic. You are to add to this conversation by making a claim about your chosen topic. Focus on the development of ideas rather than on the accumulation of quotes. Click Here for Assignment 3 Topics Requirements • A well-researched, academic argument that adds a new perspective to the existing conversation about your topic • A clear thesis statement that advances a specific, substantial, arguable point • Strong supporting evidence from your secondary research • In-text citation of at least five different secondary sources (at least three academic sources) • A careful evaluation of relevant counterpoints • A coherent organizational structure that enhances the argument and effectively portrays the research • A strong sense of audience • A clear ethos • 1,000-1,500 word essay (not including internal citations and WC page) • Works Cited (MLA) • Meticulous proofreading and proper MLA formatting Don′t Do It! • No dropped quotes (always provide the author’s name) • No more than one block quote • No changing topics at the last minute. For this essay, you’ll be pulling together ideas of personal identity as well as issues of (e)dentity that our modern age presents. You will certainly need to narrow down these topics but choose one of the following to start your research proposal. Option 1: Malcolm Gladwell’s famous essay “Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not be Tweeted” was published in 2010 which seems a world away based on the events we have recently experienced. Gladwell argues that because social networks are made up largely of weak ties, “real” social activism will never come to pass based on actions performed in social networks. Research the roll of social networks as it connects to ONE SPECIFIC social issue that requires change. Compose an essay that either debunks Gladwell’s argument or supports it. Remember that the purpose of your essay isn’t to focus on Gladwell. His will be just one of the sources that you either use to support your argument or it may be one that you refute. You MUST use Gladwell’s essay as source, but you must also find additional, more current sources. Option 2: Begin by reading ″Scroogled″ Doctorow’s story is fiction, but it relies on real-life practices to give it a sense of verisimilitude. Write an essay examining the issue of digital privacy as related to either national security or public safety. In what ways does the ease of online information make us safer? In what ways does it make use more at risk? Is this a fair trade off? • Doctorow’s work of fiction cannot be used a scholarly secondary source, but it can be used as a fictional example to illustrate points, to add interest, or to introduce the topic. • You may want to consider how the FBI “crowd sourced” information after the January 2021 Capital Riots. Was searching social media smart policing or an invasion of privacy? Was asking people to report on their neighbors, acquaintances, family, an act of patriotism or was it frighteningly intrusive? • Do social media sites such as FaceBook, Instagram, etc have the privacy responsibilities or do we give those up when we sign those end user agreements? • (Please don’t use the Franklin quotation about liberty and security as that quotation is almost always taken out of context and actually refers to taxation.) Option 3: Read “Quantum Convention” by Eric Schlich a science fiction story in which the main character faces the many versions of himself he has created. In what ways do the online versions of ourselves continue to “haunt” our daily lives? How might that affect our future jobs, reputations, or even our personal lives? Whether a congressional candidate, a news editor, a school board member, or even a game show host, people are losing their jobs based on social media posts – sometimes far in their past. Do employers have the right to demand that their employees portray themselves in certain ways online or to surveil employees’ profile pages? • Compile research that examines when employees have been fired in the pages. Were they able to fight their termination legally? Were they able to keep their jobs? • Do not make this a general argument. Focus on your career and the rights of employees to their digital privacy OR the responsibilities of employees to maintain a public persona in your specific field. Are teachers held to a different standard? Doctors? Journalists? How does this affect the field you plan to enter? • While this is not a personal essay, you should write with your future colleagues, employers, or employees in mind as your target audience. Other optional sources (These are not full MLA citations. You will need to find these essays for yourself) • Lehrer, Jonah. “Weak Ties, Twitter, and Revolution,” Wired 2010 https://www.wired.com/2010/09/weak-ties-twitter-and-revolutions/ • Stone, Biz. “Biz Stone on Twitter and Activism,” Atlantic 2010 https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2010/10/exclusive-biz-stone-on-twitter-and-activism/64772/ • “How to Citizen with Baratunde” is “a podcast that reimagines ‘citizen’ as a verb and helps us reclaim our collective power”, according to its desсrіption. (Each podcast would need to be evaluated separately based on the guest speaker and topic as two whether it would be a scholarly or popular source: https://www.baratunde.com/howtocitizen • Judith Donath is an expert in communication technologies and how they change society. You may find links to her SCHOLARLY essays on her webpage: http://vivatropolis.org/judith/ • Cathcart, Will, “The Future of Digital Communication,” TED Talks, 16 June 2020. https://www.ted.com/talks/will_cathcart_the_future_of_digital_communication_and_privacy?utm_campaign＝tedspread&utm_medium＝referral&utm_source＝tedcomshare • Enriquez, Juan, “Your Online Life, Permanent as a Tattoo,” TED Talks, May 2013 • Go to https://www.ted.com/talks?sort＝relevance&topics%5B%5D＝Technology&q＝digital+privacy and see a list of TED Talks that may be relevant to your topic. (NOTE: If the link doesn’t work, you can go directly to TED.com and do your own search using the filters digital and privacy.
