Describe the key facts of the media artifact;briefly situating the artifact in a larger social historical context (e.g. where/when it came from, what forces shaped the way it is now—outside research needed)

You will write two essays to critically reflect on media’s impact on society. For each essay, you will select an artifact (e.g. a music album, a tape recorder, an iPhone app, a Facebook profile page, a video game, a concert ticket, a baseball jersey, a tattoo, a fingerprint, as long as you can make a case that it can be considered as a medium), analyze it in relation to course concepts, and discuss its impact on society.

Grading Criteria: Content-wise: 1) describing the key facts of the media artifact; 2) briefly situating the artifact in a larger social historical context (e.g. where/when it came from, what forces shaped the way it is now—outside research needed) 3) applying one or more course concept(s) from the readings of the past 3 weeks—quality over quantity; 4) analyzing how this medium influences culture and society; 5) assessing its implications for larger questions or societal values concerning identity, privacy, intimacy, literacy, democracy, environment, etc. (i.e. the “so what” question);

Form-wise: 1) clear structure with a thesis; 2) written in good academic English with no grammatical or syntactical errors; 3) attaching multimedia aids—e.g. photographs, web links, video clips, etc.—to your argument; 4) including a MLA-format Works Cited list; 5) between 600 and 800 words.