| 86228 | humn 4460.01 | Online | Fall, 2019 |
Tiptree & Black Mirror
September 23–September 27
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This week, we look at two texts that consider the implications of getting too intimate with technology: James Tiptree, Jr.’s “The Girl Who Was Plugged In” and the Black Mirror episode “The Entire History of You.” How do human emotions interface with binary code? Is our evolution compatible with perfect memory or a perfect body? Does technology make us something other than human?
We will also continue our work on Wikipedia by learning more about sourcing.
Wikipedia Project Considerations
Over the past few weeks, you have become more familiar with the workings of Wikipedia and seen articles for several of the texts and thinkers in new media. This week, I ask you to have a look at the available articles on the WikiEdu dashboard and start to think about which you might want to work on as your semester project . You needn’t decide right now, but you should begin to get an idea during this lesson.
Notice that there are two types of articles: authors and stories/TV episodes. I have tried to include all available articles in need of editing. You will want to choose something that you’re interested in doing more research on — equivalent to a research paper. You might even start a preliminary bibliography in your Wikipedia sandbox.[1]
Next, find something about editing or contributing to Wikipedia that you did not know and try it out in your next journal post.
Read and View
Read “The Girl Who Was Plugged In” and watch “The Entire History of You,” taking notes as you do. Note character names, dominant themes, motifs, symbols, and important passages. Where do these important aspects of the text appear? After a first read, try to find at least one secondary text[2] that addresses these texts on the Internet or in Galileo.[3] You might also check YouTube. Read or watch the criticism and take notes.
Journal Post 9
 | Resources to review for journal posts: “Writing in the Liberal Arts”; “Writing Top Ten”; “Editor’s Checklist”; Adding a reference. Cite sources correctly using footnoted references, and link to Wikipedia entries in the text of your post.[4] |
Research and write about any aspect of either text, incorporating your initial research. Be sure to cite correctly and that you give your post a unique title and date.
Journal Post 10
Compare any aspect — character, theme, symbol — of the two texts. How do they complement each other? What does one say about the other? Is there a characteristic that both protagonists (antagonists) share? Your goal here is to find connections between the two texts. Again, be sure to support your ideas with at least one source, cited correctly. Date and title your post.
Reply
Reply to at least two different colleagues’ posts.
Due Date
Please have all of the above completed by Sunday, September 29, 2019. I will evaluate your this lesson the following day, email everyone a progress report, and post audio feedback at the top of the next lesson if necessary.
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Notes
- ↑ Just click “Sandbox” in the upper-right of the Wikipedia widow when you are logged in.
- ↑ It would be helpful to begin with their respective Wikipedia entries that I linked above, but these should not be cited as sources.
- ↑ Obviously, the latter is better.
- ↑ External sources are always footnoted as references; Wikipedia entries are always just linked in the text. Never cite a Wikipedia article like you would an external source.
