Research Unit
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THE PROJECT

To be a scholar means that you insert yourself into the conversations that the academy considers important; to be a citizen means that you insert yourself into the conversations that the nation, and world, considers important.  You can't do either without incorporating and reacting to the ideas of others. 

Although I label this a "research unit," it is really a "sourced essay."  That is, I'm less interested in you generating a reliable research method than I am that you learn how to develop your own idea in conversation with others who also have ideas and opinions.  Your main task, then, is to formulate a thesis out of the topics that we've been reading about and then pursue that idea by generating your own good reasons -- and generating those by using, or being in conversation with, the information and opinions found in other pieces of writing. 

My expectations for this piece are:

  • that you will generate an argument of your own about the issue at hand and not simply weave together quotations from other people;
     
  • that you will generate this argument by inserting yourself, via your ideas, into the controversy at hand, necessarily taking a well-reasoned side in the issue;
     
  • that you will integrate substantially at least four sources;
     
  • that your prose will show the marked grammatical and structural consciousness which we have been working toward all semester;
     
  • that you are mindful of the lessons which the Good Reasons teaches about your genre, and writing in general.

Choose ONE of the two topics below on which to write.  You may argue for or against the proposition, as you see fit.    In addition to the articles below (most of which are short, by the way) you may find TWO articles from the library databases -- ONLY -- if you feel the need to supplement your argument in particular ways (see below).

  •  Maintaining users' privacy is the responsibility of online social networks.
    • Facebook Privacy Policy
    • Facebook Retreats on Online Tracking
    • Lessons from the Facebook Riots
    • Private Facebook Pages Aren't So Private
    • Sharing vs. Your Privacy on Facebook
    • FIND THESE ARTICLES on LexisNexis (the link to which is in the right column of the library homepage)
      • "Facebook Giving Users Great Control on Privacy."  The International Herald Tribune.  20 March, 2008: 12.
      • "Facebook Privacy Settings Putting Users at Risk."  TECHWEB.  3 October, 2007.
      • Rampell, Catherine.  "What Facebook Knows That You Don't."  The Washington Post. 23 Feb., 2008: A15.
      • Tossell, Ivor.  "Want Privacy?  It's not online." The Globe and Mail (Canada).  30 March, 2007: R23.
      • Verkaik, Robert and Jerome Taylor.  "Facebook Backlash Over Sale of Personal Data." The Independent (London) 24 Nov. 2007, 1st Ed.: 12.
    • FIND THIS ARTICLE on Academic Search Premier
      • Vaidhyanathan, Siva..  "Naked in the 'Nonopticon." The Chonicle of Higher Education 54.23 (15 Feb. 2007).

       

  •  Online social networks should be protected as venues of free speech (especially for students).
    • FIND THIS ARTICLE:  Facebook Gripes Protected by Free Speech, Ruling Says
    • FIND THESE ARTICLES on LexisNexis (the link to which is in the right column of the library homepage)
      • Reinhart, Anthony, Caroline Alphonso, and Rachel DeLazzer.  "Are Teens Crossing The Line With Online Insults?"  The Globe and Mail (Canada).  24 March, 2007: A1.
      • ---.  "Educators Grapple with Policing Abusive Conduct in Online Forums."  The Globe and Mail (Canada).  27 March, 2007: A15.
      • Riga, Andy.  "Cyberbullying:  Schools Are Fighting Back."  The Gazette.  6 August, 2007, Final ed.: A1.
      • Thomas, Daniel.  "300 Bullies Attacked Me on Facebook."  The People.  29 July, 2007, 3 Star ed.: 24.
      • Wallop, Henry.  "118 118 Workers Insults Callers on Facebook."  The Daily Telegraph (London).  7 Aug. 2007: 11.
    • FIND THIS ARTICLE on Academic Search Premier
      • Brydolf, Carol.  "Minding MySpace:  Balancing the Benefits and Risks of Students' Online Social Networks." Education Digest 73.2 (Oct 2007): 4-8.
    • FIND THESE ARTICLES in Newspaper Source (click DATABASES on the library homepage, then find it)
      • Hampel, Paul. "School Discipline Over Photos Sparks Free Speech Lawsuit."  St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO). 14 Dec. 2007.

Because time slips from us, your rough draft is due November 20.  The Final essay is due on December 2 (length 5-7 pages).

SOURCES: 

As I said above, in addition to the sources which are in the book I will allow you each to choose TWO extra sources which you may use in your piece.  They must come from the databases to which the Library subscribes (reach them here, then).  I am happy to help you find appropriate ones, and would like to approve the ones you finally choose.  My goal in doing this is to allow you to find material that will help you answer the particular question you like to explore.