Communication Technology and Culture, Final Project
Choose a communication technology to research. Focus your research on a moment when that communication technology was undergoing controversy, trial, or challenges. Perhaps it was a time when a social group was resistant to the technology, or where another communication technology threatened to make it seem unnecessary.

In a paper of roughly 3500 words or more, explore
*The social and technical ingredients/forces that tried to hold that technology together in face of the controversy; and
*The social and technical forces that tried to make that technology fail.

In the conclusion, offer an assessment of whether the communication technology you focused on succeeded or failed this trial or challenge, as well as an argument explaining what ingredients/forces were the most important contributors to that result.

Key questions you might seek to answer:

*What social groups are gathered around this technology?
*What are they debating about it?
*What meanings are they ascribing to it?
*What non-social factors have to be brought together to constitute the technology?

Sources

Give preference to high quality, reliable sources. These can be academic articles and books, news reports, or online sources written by experts.

As for citation style, you may use whatever style you prefer (e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago) so long as you are consistent and I can find your sources if I want to follow up on your work.

Grading Rubric
A) An A paper demonstrates superior knowledge of the ways in which society and technology affect one another. It explores the material and social conditions which gave rise to the technology, including people who don't often get noticed in typical histories of the technology. It considers the ways in which possible uses of the technology were shaped by social factors and how social practices are shaped by the technology. The paper relies on high-quality secondary sources such as academic books and articles and relevant primary sources (newspaper articles, interviews, systematic observations, magazine articles, television or radio broadcasts, all of which provide social context). The paper is well organized, lively, and conveys a main argument about the technology. It is also completely clean of grammatical and spelling issues.

B) A B paper is above average. It demonstrates the ways in which society affects and is affected by technology, but it might lean a bit in one direction or another. It explores how social factors shaped technological uses, but could do more in this regard. It shows knowledge of the people involved in technological change, but it may not be quite as well researched as it could be. The sources are above average quality, but the paper is deficient in either primary or secondary sources. The organization is solid, and the language works, but is not particularly lively. The paper is mostly clean of grammatical and spelling errors.

C) A C paper is average. It does the job. It conveys good knowledge of the social impact of technology, or it demonstrates how society/culture can shape technology, but it leans too far in one direction. It attempts to show how society shapes technological uses. It relies on "great-man" narratives to explain technological change, rather than considering social complexity. Its sources are average quality, but is lacking in primary or secondary sources. The organization is choppy in places. There are several identifiable grammatical or spelling issues.
D) A D paper is below average. It is severely deficient in one or more of the above described areas.

E) An E paper fails to address the assignment altogether.