Futurist Essay
Complete during: The final exam period for our class.
Outline and sources by: Monday 8 Dec., at class time.
The Prompt
What is the future of ____? Pick a specific business domain or social institution you are interested in (gaming, medicine, business and work, the home, travel, retail sales, the military, publishing/writing, “truth,” etc.) and discuss how technology is likely to affect that domain in the future. Focus on the domain/institution/activity first, and the way technology will affect it second. Ground your analysis in an apparent understanding of the history of the topic and in the futurist arguments we discussed in class. Research and describe specific examples from current technologies as evidence for your assertions. In the spirit of Postman, feel free to comment on both positive and negative aspects of the future you envision. Do something more than just write about what you’ve found: draw conclusions about what life will be like in the future you are describing. These should be part of your thesis, and part of your discussion throughout the paper.
The Details
You will write an essay in response to the prompt above during the final exam period of the class. The essay should have a minimum of six paragraphs: an introduction, four body paragraphs, and a conclusion; but it may require more. Use five or more sources, and be sure to demonstrate your ability to integrate quotes as you refer to your sources as evidence for your assertions. No more than two sources should be from our course readings—the rest should be sources that you researched on your own. You should have at least one direct quote from each of your sources.
We will have a peer evaluation session for this essay on the last regular day of class. For this, you will simply describe your plans for the essay to the members of your peer group. You should bring 3 copies of a printed outline, a works cited page, and the sources you intend to use for the essay (printed out). (If your sources are very long, just print the portions you intend to use.) I will collect these at the end of the peer review and return them to you at the exam.
Prior to midnight on the final day of class, you should submit through Sakai a single document with your outline, links to your sources, and your works cited page. Your outline can consist of 6 sentences – your thesis, four topic sentences, and the beginning of your conclusion.
Requirements:
- A minimum of 6 paragraphs, approx. 900-1500 words
- Five or more sources (no more than two drawn from our course readings)
- Several integrated and correctly cited quotes from your sources, at least one quote from every source
- You’ll complete the essay in a blue book and turn it in at the end of the exam period