Essay 4 Options for 150 points. Options. 1,400 words and is due no later than start of class on May 10
(Added a new option)
One. Based on Adam Gopnik's essay "The Caging of America," support, refute, or complicate the assertion that mass incarceration is "The New Jim Crow." You can refer to the Netflix documentary 13th, about the New Jim Crow in the aftermath of slavery. Is there enough evidence to support the claim that mass incarceration is a continuation of Jim Crow and therefore is aptly called The New Jim Crow?
Two. Defend, refute, or complicate Conor Friedersdorf’s assertion in “A Social-Media Mistake Is No Reason to be Fired” that too often digital mobs pervert our ability to distinguish a social media mistake from a job-termination-worthy behavior.
Three. Develop an argumentative or cause and effect thesis of your choice that addresses one of the essays we’ve read on online shaming and digital mobs.
Four. Addressing Catherine Buni and Soraya Chemaly’s “The Unsafety Net,” develop an argumentative or cause and effect thesis of your choice about misogynistic trolls and social media.
Five. Support, defend, or complicate the assertion that the unstoppable presence of trolls on Twitter has made being on Twitter, for many, an exercise so embedded in futility that deleting one's Twitter account is probably the best option. Consult Lindy West's "I've Left Twitter," Joel Stein's "How Trolls Are Ruining the Internet," Kathy Sierra's "Why the Trolls Will Always Win," Andrew Marantz's and "The Shameful Trolling of Leslie Jones." And the following YouTube Video:
Six. Comparing “Faces in the Mirror” and “Markets and Morals,” develop an argumentative or cause and effect thesis about how the relationship between the commodification of everything, including celebrity, results in dehumanization.
Seven. In the context of “Our Baby, Her Womb,” support, defend, or complicate the argument that surrogate motherhood is a moral abomination.
Eight. In the context of “Unspeakable Conversations,” defend, refute, or complicate Peter Singer’s position that there are moral grounds for infanticide or “mercy killings.”
Schedule to 5-10-17
4-19 Essay 3 Due. "Caging of America" by Adam Gopnik.
4-24 "The Flip Side of Internet Fame" (90) and "Evolution of Shaming." Also see "Social Media Mistake Is No Reason to be Fired."
4-26 Support, defend, or complicate the assertion that the unstoppable presence of trolls on Twitter has made being on Twitter, for many, an exercise so embedded in futility that deleting one's Twitter account is probably the best option. Consult Lindy West's "I've Left Twitter," Joel Stein's "How Trolls Are Ruining the Internet," Kathy Sierra's "Why the Trolls Will Always Win," Andrew Marantz's and "The Shameful Trolling of Leslie Jones." Also see "The Unsafety Net: How Social Media Turned Against Woman."
5-1 "Faces in the Mirror" 31 and "Markets and Morals" 40
5-3 "Our Baby, Her Womb"418
5-8 "Unspeakable Conversations" 96
5-10 Essay 4 Due
Sentence Fragment and Comma Splice Review
Find fragments and comma splices in the following:
I’ve been teaching college composition and critical thinking for thirty years. If I had to pick a year that defined a radical change in my students, I’d have to point to 2012, that was the year things started to go downhill, it was the year when smartphone users in the United States topped 100 million. It was the year a growing number of Americans, and people worldwide, began to see the smartphone as a necessity. More important than having a toothbrush or wearing underwear. The smartphone became an external organ, a kidney with WiFi.
More than a human appendage, the smartphone became an opium-drip machine that you carried around with you 24/7. You could enjoy validation and dopamine all day long. Until the mindless zombie state took over and depression set in.
Depression made people turn to their little opium gadgets with even greater intensity. As if the very source of their mental disease might save them and put them into states of euphoria the gadgets had once provided them.
I talk about the smartphone-induced zombie state with my students all the time, I talk about how this zombie state will make them “bottom feeders” in the new economy. Their time and energy wasted on their opium machine will make them lose their competitive edge to those who have the strength of mind to keep their smartphones in their proper place.
I tell my students that this zombie state was prophesied in the 1999 film The Matrix. In which we see we have a choice to take the red pill of knowledge or the blue pill of ignorance. Most people in the film’s future dystopia choose ignorance. The blue pill prophecy was fulfilled, I tell my students, in 2012 when everyone in the world believed, erroneously, they not only did they need a smartphone; they needed to constantly address the smartphone’s voracious appetites.
All of my students have horror stories of friends and family members whose lives have been ruined by smartphone addiction. They’ve traded ambition and caring for being numbed and depressed by their little dopamine device. They talk of older brothers and sisters, unemployed college dropouts, who live in the dimly-lit basement where they can be seen hooked to their smartphone all day and night.
My students speak of their own battles with social media-induced depression. Many of them have deleted their Facebook accounts, they all feel better for it. I’ve had students announce to the class that they deleted their Facebook account and it was followed by applause as if they were announcing their many days of sobriety at an A.A. meeting.
I confess to my students that while I rarely use my five-year-old smartphone, a dinosaur by today’s standards, I have wasted much time relaxing in front of the Internet since the late 1990s when I was deluded, like millions of others, into believing surfing the Net gave me infinite possibilities and a giddy sense of omnipotence. But thousands of hours wasted on entertainment and consumer research was time I could have spent practicing writing and playing piano. Rather than honing those skills, I’ve remained a dilettante.
I, too, am in need of an intervention, I confess to my students. I, too, am a casualty of the false utopian promises of technology. Looking at twenty years and tens of thousands of hours wasted wallowing in the malaise of the Internet's languid seductions, I must now redeem myself. Before it's too late.
Essay Options for topic of shaming and digital mobs
Two. Defend, refute, or complicate Conor Friedersdorf’s assertion in “A Social-Media Mistake Is No Reason to be Fired” that too often digital mobs pervert our ability to distinguish a social media mistake from a job-termination-worthy behavior.
Three. Develop an argumentative or cause and effect thesis of your choice that addresses one of the essays we’ve read on online shaming and digital mobs.
"A Social-Media Mistake Is No Reason to be Fired"
The author is arguing that digital mobs are mindless, they have no sense of proportion, they are succumbing to peer pressure, they are venting unresolved frustrations by meting out punishments against others, and they are not being fair in that the new technology can, with digital mobs, ruin people's lives.
The author wants us to see this pathological, unfair behavior as grounds for supporting the claim that we as a society need to raise the bar of what constitutes a life-ruining "crime."
There are counterarguments, of course.
First, some will say that even if the author's sentiments are correct, he is on a fool's errand. Internet users are trolls and otherwise normal people descend to lowest common denominator regardless of some writer's high moral position. It's naive to think otherwise, so we must act accordingly.
Some will argue that people get what they deserve, people are responsible for their own actions, including the stupid things they do on the Internet, and that we can't legislate morality or social norms.
Some will argue we shouldn't wait for Internet users "to be nice." What we see is what we get. Our best strategy therefore is to assume the worst in people and be very, very cautious of the things we post on the Internet.
And never go online when under the influence of alcohol or other substances. The sharks are out there. They taste blood. They will eat us if we're not careful. Don't rely on some bleeding heart author's claim that we need to be nicer to one another and make the Internet some utopian world where everyone says kumbaya, because guess what? It's not happening.
"The Flip Side of the Internet Fame"
The Stupid Factor
We can attain short-lived "fame" for being so stupid we're funny on the Internet, and we get lots of attention. Unconsciously at the very least, we may "act out" or act stupid because we desire attention and fame.
But we may not be funny or famous. We may just look stupid. We inevitably become fodder for the web community's salacious appetites. That's the downside. We lose our dignity.
Fine Line Between Fame and Public Humiliation
Sure, we can be "famous" and enjoy the dopamine rush and self-validation resulting from millions of hits and likes, but at what cost?
If we lose our dignity in a maelstrom of public humiliation, is it worth it? It seems the line between fame and humiliation is getting finer and finer. Too many people don't know how to draw the line. Or they are so needy for attention they don't care.
Some of us relish in others' neediness and others' urge to share their car crash existence on YouTube. We're spectators to an ongoing online car crash.
In the above scenario, human dignity is lost on both the exhibitionists and the voyeurs.
Meme Effect
A girl didn't pick up dog poop from her dog. The video of her infraction went viral and became a world-wide meme. Now she is the equivalent of "Dog Poop Girl." Is that fair? She was harassed so badly she dropped out of college. This is her life now. "Thanks, viral videos."
In 2010, a 2-year-old boy Ardi Rizal in Indonesia is seen smoking and this video defines him for life.
Often a meme becomes a symbol of shame and moral failure.
History of Public Shaming
Civilizations have always had a penchant for public shaming as a way to affirm morality and social order. Societies wanted to set examples and offer cautionary tales to their citizens. Flogging is common.
The scarlet letter was so common in puritan America it inspired a rather slow-paced novel.
Shaming Presents New Problems in Age of Internet
But while social stigma has its value, Internet shaming is completely out of proportion and is a form of overkill.
Victims have little protection from the law. Part of the problem is we're in new territory without legal precedents.
"A Terrible Shame"
While many champion shaming like writer Jennifer Jacquet, author of Is Shame Necessary?, shame, according to Eric Posner, leads to chaos in the Internet Age as we read in his essay, "A Terrible Shame."
"The Evolution of Shaming" by Ed Yong
Third-Party Punishment
Third-party punishment: When we punish or shame people whose bad behavior doesn't affect us directly. We punish or moralize to achieve certain benefits.
The Moralizing Effect
We moralize because it can be addictive.
We moralize because it gives us a sense of belonging.
We moralize because it cements our moral beliefs.
We moralize because moralizing signals to others that we adhere to a moral code that makes us trustworthy.
We moralize because moralizing gives us social capital, or so we believe.
We moralize because it signals "cooperative intent" and thus makes our acceptance into the tribe more likely.
We moralize because it's easy to sit in our robe eating a Hot Pocket while judging people on the Internet and feeling good about ourselves. How much time and energy does such an exercise require in order to feel like we're riding high?
Essay Option
Develop an argumentative or cause and effect thesis of your choice that addresses one of the essays we’ve read on online shaming and digital mobs.
Some thoughts on the above essay prompt:
Frankenstein was a monster who came to life and destroyed his maker. Likewise, we created social media and it will destroy us. We can analyze its foibles and pathologies, but at the end of the day its tentacles strangle us and kill us.
The authors we've read on the subject are all smart and they all make good points, but there is no change in policy, law, or human behavior that will occur. I'm reminded of the Chinese words "Mei banfa," nothing can be done.
As we read the authors' erudite insights into public shaming on the Internet, we are seeing that the trolls of the world win. Our higher angels don't flex their muscles as mightily as our lower trolls. The lowest common denominator triumphs in the age of social media.
We see that even normal people, non-trolls, if you will, can succumb to odious behavior and become dumb, irrational versions of themselves.
The cause and effect thesis should focus on the tragedy of how decent, smart people become irrational players in a social media environment.
Sample Outline
Paragraph 1: Summarize an essay we read, including Eric Posner's "A Terrible Shame," or the Jon Ronson video. 200 words.
Paragraph 2: Summarize a case of someone being humiliated and the lasting effects of online shaming. You may know the person or you can write about someone in the news. 200 words.
Paragraph 3. Analyze 5 causes of normal people being degraded by their need to shame relatively innocent victims. 150 words.
Paragraphs 4-8: Your supporting paragraphs at 150 words each. 1,300 subtotal.
Paragraph 9: Your conclusion, a restatement of your thesis: 100-200 words: 1,400-1,500 words total.
Subordination and Coordination (Complex and Compound Sentences)
Complex Sentence
A complex sentence has two clauses. One clause is dependent or subordinate; the other clause is independent, that is to say, the independent clause is the complete sentence.
Examples:
While I was tanning in Hermosa Beach, I noticed the clouds were playing hide and seek.
Because I have a tendency to eat entire pizzas, inhaling them within seconds, I must avoid that fattening food.
Whenever I’m driving my car and I see people texting while driving, I stop my car on the side of the road.
I have to workout every day because I am addicted to exercise-induced dopamine.
I feel overcome with a combination of romantic melancholy and giddy excitement whenever there is a thunderstorm.
We use subordination to show cause and effect. To create subordinate clauses, we must use a subordinate conjunction:
The essential ingredient in a complex sentence is the subordinate conjunction:
after |
once |
until |
I workout too much. I have tenderness in my elbow.
Because I workout too much, I suffer tenderness in my elbow.
My elbow hurts. I’m working out.
Even though my elbow hurts, I’m working out.
We use coordination to show equal rank of ideas. To combine sentences with coordination we use FANBOYS (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so)
The calculus class has been cancelled. We will have to do something else.
The calculus class has been cancelled, so we will have to do something else.
I want more pecan pie. They only have apple pie.
I want more pecan pie, but they only have apple pie.
Using FANBOYS creates compound sentences
Angelo loves to buy a new radio every week, but his wife doesn’t like it.
You have high cholesterol, so you have to take statins.
I am tempted to eat all the rocky road ice cream, yet I will force myself to nibble on carrots and celery.
I want to go to the Middle Eastern restaurant today, and I want to see a movie afterwards.
I really like the comfort of elastic-waist pants, but wearing them makes me feel like an old man.
Both subordination and coordination combine sentences into smoother, clearer sentences.
The following four sentences are made smoother and clearer with the help of subordination:
McMahon felt gluttonous. He inhaled five pizzas. He felt his waist press against his denim waistband in a cruel, unforgiving fashion. He felt an acute ache in his stomach.
Because McMahon felt gluttonous, he inhaled five pizzas upon which he felt his waist press against his denim waistband resulting in an acute stomachache.
Another Example
Joe ate too much heavily salted popcorn. The saltiness made him thirsty. He consumed several gallons of water before bedtime. He was up going to the bathroom all night. He got a bad night’s sleep. He performed terribly during his job interview.
Due to his foolish consumption of salted popcorn, Joe was so thirsty he drank several gallons of water before bedtime, which caused him to go to the bathroom all night, interfering with his night’s sleep and causing him to do terribly on his job interview.
Another Example
Bob dropped his peanut butter sandwich in the tiger’s enclosure. He leaned over the fence to reach for his sandwich. He fell over the fence. A tiger approached Bob. The zookeeper ran between the stupid zoo customer and the wild beast. The zookeeper tore his rotator cuff.
After Bob dropped his peanut butter sandwich in the tiger’s enclosure, he leaned over the fence to recover his sandwich and fell into the enclosure during which time he was approached by a hungry tiger, forcing the nearby zookeeper to run between Bob and wild beast. During the struggle, the zookeeper tore his rotator cuff.
Don’t Do Subordination Overkill
After Bob dropped his peanut butter sandwich in the tiger’s enclosure, he leaned over the fence to recover his sandwich and fell into the enclosure during which time he was approached by a hungry tiger forcing the nearby zookeeper to run between Bob and the wild beast in such a manner that the zookeeper tore his rotator cuff, which resulted in a prolonged disability leave and the loss of his job, a crisis that compelled the zookeeper to file a lawsuit against Bob for financial damages.
McMahon Grammar Lesson: Comma Rules (based in part by Diana Hacker’s Rules for Writers)
Commas are designed to help writers avoid confusing sentences and to clarify the logic of their sentences.
If you cook Jeff will clean the dishes. (Will you cook Jeff?)
While we were eating a rattlesnake approached us. (Were we eating a rattlesnake?)
Comma Rule 1: Use a comma before a coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS) joining two independent clauses.
Rattlesnakes are high in protein, but I’d rather eat a peanut butter sandwich.
Rattlesnakes are dangerous, and the desert species are even more so.
We are a proud people, for our ancestors passed down these famous delicacies over a period of five thousand years.
The exception to rule 1 is when the two independent clauses are short:
The plane took off and we were on our way.
Comma Rule 2: Use a comma after an introductory clause or phrase.
When Jeff Henderson was in prison, he developed an appetite for reading.
In the nearby room, the TV is blaring full blast.
Tanning in the hot Hermosa Beach sun for over two hours, I realized I had better call it a day.
The exception is when the short adverb clause or phrase is short and doesn’t create the possibility of a misreading:
In no time we were at 2,800 feet.
Comma Rule 3: Use a comma between all items in a series.
Jeff Henderson found redemption through hard work, self-reinvention, and social altruism.
Finding his passion, mastering his craft, and giving back to the community were all part of Jeff Henderson’s self-reinvention.
Comma Rule 4: Use a comma between coordinate adjectives not joined with “and.” Do not use a comma between cumulative adjectives.
The adjectives below are called coordinate because they modify the noun separately:
Jeff Henderson is a passionate, articulate, wise speaker.
The adjectives above are coordinate because they can be joined with “and.” Jeff Henderson is passionate and articulate and wise.
Adjectives that do not modify the noun separately are cumulative.
Three large gray shapes moved slowly toward us.
Chocolate fudge peanut butter swirl coconut cake is divine.
Comma Rule 5: Use commas to set off nonrestrictive (nonessential) elements.
Restrictive or essential information doesn’t have a comma:
For school the students need notebooks that are college-ruled.
Jeff’s cat that just had kittens became very aggressive.
Nonrestrictive:
For school the students need college-ruled notebooks, which are on sale at the bookstore.
Jeff Henderson’s mansion, which is located in Las Vegas, has a state-of-the-art kitchen.
My youngest sister, who plays left wing on the soccer team, now lives at The Sands, a beach house near Los Angeles.
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