I have a couple goals for the last paper: the first is to explore a new, exploding and potentially transformational aspect of popular culture, the World Wide Web, which is kind of like popular culture on steroids or speed. The second is to smooth the transition into the final paper by making this one argumentative/persuasion. A third goal is to let you write about any aspect of popular culture that you have a passion for that we haven't covered, and since the Web encompasses nearly everything, we should be able to find an angle, but run your idea by me before you put too much time into it (BTW, please don't take advantage of this freedom to merely recycle some old paper, since the whole point of the course is to learn and practice the writing process. If, however, you have a project you've worked on before that you want to take to the next level (we're talking major changes), using the techniques we've learned in class, see me and we can work something out. Turning in someone else's work, of course, is an automatic no pass for the paper, and possibly the course, and must be reported to the dean for possible expulsion. Please excuse the preceding, as it doesn't apply to 98% , but that 2% really needs to hear it about now, as I discovered last quarter about this time).
The question we've been asking all quarter, What does the aspect/artifact of pop culture tell us about us? is still useful, but we can add some more specific questions as well: Is true community possible in cyberspace? That is, is the new digital revolution uniting us, or further isolating us (some of the readings in Signs of Life explore the possibility of virtual communities, (brief history) though I have many that are better. Just ask). Is our freedom and humanity being enhanced or threatened? What are the effects of everyone being able to send out information to everyone else? (The question of censorship on the Web seems to have been done to death, as you can see by the student paper on the course website, but perhaps events in Columbine and elsewhere might lead us to rethink it?). If you want to browse for a topic, click here.
Since this topic is unique in that most of the best information is in fact on the Web (especially since the technology is changing so rapidly), I'm not going to require any "dead tree"/CDL sources, but I would like two or three analytical/ argumentative sources (as opposed to popular sources), and melvyl/CDL may be your best bet. You can also use any prewriting technique you like, but note that freewriting has its limitations. I recommend you use the rhetoric webpage to help you think about you ethos, pathos and logos, as well as how to structure your argument (see the bottom of the page). If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask, as others no doubt have the same one.