Final Paper Guidelines

Overview
This is a 12-page paper in which you can do an analysis of:
  • A technology
  • A technological practice
  • A specific history or philosophy of technology
  • A specific debate amongst technology scholars
  • Discourses or representations (film, TV, museum, photography) circulated about specific technologies, technological practices, technological histories, etc.
  • A specific public policy, policy debate, political problem, or political movement that concerns technology
There are obviously possibilities beyond the list above, but the main idea here is to utilize readings and concepts from the course in order to develop a theoretical framework that will allow you to (1) do substantive research on your topic, and (2) effectively analyze your object of study.  It goes without saying that papers must:
  • Formulate a clear thesis and explain what you doing in the paper, why you are doing it, how you will proceed.  This is what one should do in a proper introduction.
  • Make use of course materials as well as substantive research in peer-reviewed journals and books. 
  • Effectively apply theoretical concepts from the course and from supplementary research.
When I talk about making 'effective' use of people's theories and concepts--such as Marx's notion of commodity fetishism or Carroll Pursell's assessment of appropriate technology--I mean using other people’s ideas/arguments to support your position...not the other way around. That is to say, your paper is not simply a place for you to restate what an author already says. Instead, you need to integrate an author's ideas and specific points into your own argument...and you need to do so by paraphrasing and making use of direct quotations (both of which need to be accurately cited). With respect to the general requirements for the paper, I expect your paper to be well-written, free from spelling errors and major grammatical errors, coherently organized, and rigorously proofread.

Selecting Your Topic
I’m more than happy to help you develop your paper and/or formulate your analysis. I’m also willing to help you come up with ways to shape, or direct, your topic. What I am not willing to do is to simultaneously provide you with a topic, an argument, a way to organize your paper, and a list of resources to use. In short, you need to put some effort into thinking through your topic and your argument. Consequently, if you need to get in touch with me about your topic, make sure that you can at least answer the three most basic questions that I would ask you myself:
  • What is your topic and why are you interested in writing about it?
  • What do you want to say about it, specifically? In other words, what are the main questions you hope to address in your paper? 
  • What concept(s) from the course are going to be the most useful in framing your analysis?
If you can’t answer these questions then you need to spend some time figuring it out. From there, I can help direct you to readings and I can also help you develop some questions or points to investigate in your paper. Coming up with a topic and a theoretical framework (meaning the strategic use of a concept, or set of concepts) is part of the assignment. If that seems difficult, it is supposed to be…it’s college, remember?

Format
  • Due on the last day of class.
  • You must send me a copy of your paper via email (.doc -or- .pdf attachments are preferable). The document should have your last name as the title, for example: Jones.doc -or- Furness.pdf (it saves me the hassle of re-formatting your papers when I put them into folders on my computer). 
  • I will not accept late papers. 
  • Failure to turn in a final paper will result in an automatic 'F' for the course. 
  • Papers should be 12 pt Times New Roman font, standard margins, double-spaced. 
  • The only information you need to include at the top of your paper is your name, the date, and the title of your paper.  If you give me a print copy, please do not submit a cover sheet, plastic binders or anything else...a staple in the corner works just fine, and feel free to print on the back of old assignments, show flyers, etc (just put an 'X' through the old material to avoid confusion).
  • I don't care what citation format you use in your paper, just stick with one throughout the paper (either Chicago Humanities style footnotes or MLA parenthetical citations). Make sure to include specific page numbers in your citations (unless it's an Internet resource) and also be sure to include a formatted bibliography of the sources you used in the paper. Not citing your sources and/or not turning in a bibliography will earn you an automatic 'F' for the paper.
  • If you make use of materials from the Internet--i.e. articles that are only available online and not in print--make sure to include the following information in your bibliography: the author, the title of the article or post, the main website from where an article was found, the date when the piece was originally written or posted (if/when available), and finally, the address itself. I do not care about the date when you accessed the article. 
More Specifics About Doing Research
  • I’m not going to put a quota on how many resources you are suppose to use for the paper but you need to show me that you have put forth your best effort to become an expert on your topic. 
  • The best places to find resources are by looking through the 'For further reading and research' links that I have posted alongside of our weekly assignments, and by searching the technology books I emailed to everyone in April (especially the edited collections).  JSTOR and EBSCO are both great search engines, and both Google Scholar and Google Books are good places to do quick searches in order to sift through material that looks pertinent to your topic.  Bibliographies from other books and articles are fabulous places to find relevant titles.  Technology and Culture is one of the journals from which I've culled a number of our readings this semester and, in addition to their regular articles and book reviews, they also publish bibliographies on specific topics (you can access Technology and Culture through the Columbia College Library by clicking here). 
  • Doing good research means that you will undoubtedly have to spend some time wading through resources that may turn out to be irrelevant to your topic, your argument, or the specific points you want to make in your paper. Unfortunately, that’s just how it goes. The right resources for your final study will not always be the most obvious ones, so make sure to give yourself plenty of time to hit the books (literally or figuratively).
  • I'm more than happy to assist you with research...all you have to do is ask.