[SOLVED] Society and Digital Media Assignment

CMNS 253 – Society and Digital Media Assignment 3 – Critical Essay
Description:
This assignment asks you to produce a critical discussion of some significant social, ethical or political dimension of digital media. You can take the weekly course topics as initial areas of exploration within which you should develop a more specific focus for your essay:
• Digital media and the decline of democracy papers could focus on the connections between digital media and political polarization; OR trace the development of campaigns of political disinformation; OR examine how
technological and/or policy developments erode or promote democratic social and political processes, etc.
• Digital media and the rise of authoritarianism papers could focus on how digital
technologies have been integrated into authoritarian political systems; OR on how technological and/or policy developments around digital technologies in democratic societies have enabled greater centralization of political and
economic power, etc.
• Digital media and monopoly power papers could examine the nature of the monopoly power exercised by the big tech companies; OR focus on the negative social, political and economic consequences of the tech monopolies; OR look at recent efforts in Europe and the US to curb tech monopolies, etc.
• Digital media and the deconstruction of labour papers could focus on general social and economic issues arising from the app-based gig economy; OR on specific labour relations issues arising from gig work; OR on efforts to regulate gig economy services to mitigate some of the negative aspects of these services,
etc.
• Digital media and discrimination could look at the “encoding” of discrimination into specific digital systems; OR could examine how specific forms of inequality (gender-based, racial, age-based, ability-based, etc.) are reflected in digital technologies, practices and/or developments; OR could examine how discriminatory aspects of digital technologies are being addressed, etc.
• Digital media pathologies, addiction and mental health papers could examine the nature of, evidence for, and implications of smartphone and/or social-media addiction; OR explore specific mental health concerns that have arisen alongside the spread of social media; OR look at ways in which mental health concerns
could be effectively addressed to support a healthier digital media environment,
etc.
• Develop a topic of your own make sure you run this by me.CMNS 253, Spring 2021
Critical essay
Details
The paper should be 2000-2500 words in length (note other formatting considerations
below). In completing the paper, you are expected to consult academic works outside of
the course readings, though you are also welcome to use course readings as references
(maximum 2). Such sources should be SCHOLARLY BOOKS, or ACADEMIC JOURNAL
ARTICLES, whether found in the library or retrieved online, though I will also accept
sources that come from reputable news sources. There is no prescribed number of
sources but 5 outside of the course materials is the minimum you should aim for. It is
also ok to use websites, blogs, etc. for examples and illustration of your argument, but
these should NOT be used as primary substantiation for your claims. If you have any
questions about whether a particular source is appropriate or not, please contact me.
Grading rubric
Content
• Clear definition of the topic and explanation of the connection between
the topic at hand and digital media
• Integration and elaboration of clear and concrete examples that
support the argument
• Integration of support material from external academic sources and
course readings
• Well-argued and well-supported analysis of specific aspects of digital
media in relation to the topic
16%
Organisation and flow
• Effective set-up of the discussion in the introduction (including
orientation to the topic, clear topic and purpose statements, outline of
what the essay will do)
• Logical arrangement, sequencing and well-intergrated flow of
discussion
5%
Clear and correct writing 2%
Formal considerations
• 12-pt Times or 11-pt Ariel font
• Separate title page (unnumbered)
• Pages numbered beginning on page one of text
• Double spaced
• All paragraphs indented on first line
• No spaces between paragraphs
• APA format in text
• APA references
2%
TOTAL 25% Society and Digital Media Assignment