Communication 417
Research Paper  Term Paper  Analytical Essay

 Deadlines

Work on the project will begin on January 20, 2010  and end on or before

Term Papers are are to be emailed to the instructor  on the day of the regularly scheduled Final Exam period.

   Section 02  3:00  to 4:15      Papers are due  Tuesday May 11  at  5:00 p.m.

   Section 01  4:30 to 5:45       Papers are due  Monday May 10 at  5:00  p.m.

Requirements:

A  25 to 30 page analytical essay will be written  which:

·         furnishes a review of the major argument and assumptions contained in Neil Postman’s book Amusing Ourselves to Death

·         furnish a review of the major argument and assumptions contained in Jeff McCall’s Viewer Discretion Advised

·         extends some of the arguments which Postman and McCall about television to alerting us about the way in which the medium of the internet may be influenced and shaping the culture.

·         Includes at least 20 quotations from the books other relevant sources and at least 20 hyperlinks which amplify and augment the ideas contained in the essay/research paper.  Utilize at least 10 resources beyond the textbook  and use APA style convention for internal citations and end of essay references.

           Introduction

The introduction will function as an executive summary identifying the nature and purpose of the essay and previewing the major conclusions of the essay.

Chapter Summaries 

            Each section of the paper which reviews  the Postman and McCall books will contain an  chapter summaries, and an analysis,    
            interpretation and evaluation

      Summaries will not analyze or evaluate; just report the central arguments made in the  chapter.  The summary of each chapter will not be
      comprehensive  but rather focus on illuminating the most interesting andimportant arguments contained in the chapter

Interpretation and Evaluation

The final section of the review will render a critical judgment of the arguments contained in the text including a critical and reflective assessment of the quality of the argument contained in the each book.  It will include:

1) an evaluation of the strength and limitations of the arguments presented by the author; 

2) an evaluation of the nature, quality and representatives of the evidence that is presented to support the arguments presented; and

3) a discussion of  the degree to which the arguments presented in McCall and Postman are still relevant and important given the changing nature of the information environments – which arguments are  still compelling, which arguments need to be rethought given changes in the nature of the media environment.

Extension and Application

        The final section of the research essay will extend and apply Postman’s and McCall arguments to the internet.  The central focus of this         section of the essay will be on the relevance of Postman’s and McCall ideas for understanding the way which the internet as a medium         of communication has:  shaped the nature of the news, shaped the nature of political discourse, shaped the nature of education,            `        impacted children and childhood and so forth         .

 Primary Resources

Postman, N. (1986).  Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business

 McCall, Jeffrey (2005)  Viewer Discretion Advised: Taking Control of Mass Media Influences

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