syllabus
blackboard
student.email resources

last.updated 1.12.09

 

Metaphor Analysis


Purpose

This assignment gives you the opportunity to examine the metaphors about technology used in a specific text. By doing this examination, you will be practicing the type of analysis that you will want to do when experiencing similar texts as a way of understanding your audiences'/students' attitudes towards writing technologies.


Instructions–Epistemological Process

First, choose an artistic or commerical text that you want to examine. Types of texts include...

  • novel/short story
  • movie
  • television show (focus on an episode)
  • comic book/graphic novel
  • YouTube Video
  • television commerical/print ad/advertising campaign
  • other texts are acceptable, but should be approved by the instructor

Second, conduct additional research about this text, so that you can converse with what others are saying. Blogs and other non-academic writings are acceptable as long as you treat them a voice in the culture and not as academic authorities.

Third, examine the text, asking questions such as...

  • what technologies does get represented in this text?
  • what does the text say about the technologies' capabilities? what does the text say about humans' capabilities? what is the relationship between the technology and humans?
  • what is the technologies' relationship to power in the text? do they have power in and of themselves? do they enhance power?
  • what is being emphasized, the hardware or the software?
  • describe the people using the technology, as well as those not using, afraid of, uncertain, or ignorant of the technology
  • ask other questions of the text that are relevant to helping you understand this specific work

Instructions–Writing

Write a 1500 word paper in which you explain what arguments the text you have chosen is making about technology and support your analysis with details from the text. In this paper, you, in a logical order, will...

  • breifly describe the text you have chosen, paying close attention to the representations of technology
  • analyze the text by explaining the arguments its composer has made about technology; use details from the text to support your analysis. Your analysis should engage the academic conversation that we have been studying in the course
  • speculate how this text might influence how its audience approaches technologies. What commonplaces does it reify or challenge?
  • you are encouraged to include visuals in your paper if they will enhance the point you are making

While the instructor anticipates that the students will compose traditional papers for this assignment, you are encouraged to use other media if you desire. Such alterations need to be approved by the instructor at least one week before the assignment is due.

Instructions-Presentation

On the day the assignment is due we will spend a the first hour presenting our Metaphor Analysis. For these presentations, each student will have five minutes to present a brief, informal summary of their work. These presentation will not be evaluated; their purpose is to share what you have done with your peers.


Criteria

Logistics:

In addition to the general evaluation criteria, the instructor will be looking for evidence of...

  • a well-supported analysis that is supported by appropriate details and engages the academic conversations of cybercultures and/or digital writing
  • a sense of audience–the Metaphor Analysis should be written to an audience of scholars in Cyberculture studies or Digital Writing/Rhetoric
  • an document that is "original," at least in the context in which it is being applied
  • reasonable speculation about the cultural impact of the metaphor
  • an ability to articulate your knowledge of the course material
  • appropriate use of conventions, including MLA or APA citation formatting