Students should select a new media technology/platform/practice and construct an academic argument around it. It needs to be a specific argument, that tells the reader something about the relationship between this new media technology/platform/practice and society more generally. Don’t just give a technological description or history. For example the argument: ‘Facebook has facilitated new forms of protest’ would be a good topic, whereas a broad history of Facebook’s technological development would fail.
The essay should do the following (it does not have to be in this order):
Briefly describe the historical development of your new media technology/platform/practice in relation to your overall argument (Do not go into unnecessary detail, 1 paragraph should be enough for most technologies)
Articulate a sophisticated academic argument about this new media technology/platform/practice
Critically analyse the cultures that surround the technology/platform/practice and explain why they are important or significant
Examine any conflicts and tensions that surround the technology/platform/practice
State why it is important to understand this new media technology/platform/practice in this way
Essays must use at least one article from the readings, and at least two from your own research.
Essays must use media studies and/or cultural studies academic texts, and develop an argument in line with these approaches. If you are unsure what this means please ask your tutor.
Essays will be submitted, marked and returned electronically via iLearn.
Assessment Criteria
Understanding of new media technology: Do you demonstrate a sophisticated academic understanding of key contexts of, and cultures surrounding, chosen new media technology
Argument: Was all academic work used directly relevant and appropriate to argument and engaged with in a sophisticated manner.
Engagement with appropriate academic material: Do you present a sophisticated integration of the case-study with relevant theory. Have you identified and made use of appropriate resources beyond those provided in the unit readings? (You must use at least one article from the readings, and at least two from your own research)
Referencing: Do you correctly reference appropriate academic sources with no formatting errors; have you built on enough sources
Style and presentation: Is your essay clearly written and presented
Use this source plus 3 other
relating sources
https://gawker.com/5950981/unmasking-reddits-violentacrez-the-biggest-troll-on-the-web
Argument/Thesis:
Outcry over
Violentacrez doxing shows many internet users value notion of free speech
over freedom from sexual harassment or right to privacy (for women/children
whose images he posted)
The
anonymity causes people to feel their actions online are more discrete from
(perception), and less consequential than real world actions
Violentacrez
actions and Reddits response reflect how normalised rape culture is
online
Expanding/defining
points of interest:
Normalisation: Making an idea accepted within wider society, making behaviour
excusable, upholding a status quo
Rape culture: Normalising making passes at women online + irl, the
normalisation of jokes about this behaviour, not caring about the repercussions
of making such jokes, anonymity of rape culture and its effects/what it grants
the one making the jokes
1. How a
space for anonymity allows for objectification of women
2. How jokes normalise this behaviour
3. Effect of normalisation
1. Anonymity removes the ability of a community to self police through naming
and shaming, where if someone were to make a comment that objectifies women
then it can be reasonable to assume that there would be social backlash and an
enforcement of consequence, for example social exclusion thus nipping the
behaviour in the bud, however anonymity removes this consequence.
2. Jokes made in bad faith, if accepted and not rebuffed, reinforce the idea
that if such jokes can be made in the first place then the behaviour depicted
within is also acceptable, creating a cycle of unwanted behaviour. In allowing
something as small as a simple, off colour joke to become acceptable, there is
the risk of behaviour escalating further into dangerous territory as the one
saying the jokes may perceive that there will be no consequence or that their
behaviour will in fact be defended.
3. (Already tied effect into previous sentences but uh, thats what drafts and
revisions are for)
Furthermore, platforms like reddit that normalise this kind of behaviour
provide a dangerous potential breach of the victim’s privacy while
simultaneously protecting those who participate in the posting of the victims
by discarding the consequences that would typically follow in an everyday
social setting.–> talk about “real world” effects with case
studies