Assignment Question
Course title: The Anthropology of Digital Media and Visual Representation For this essay, you need to combine what you learned about Tom Boellstorff’s ideas and fieldwork experiences and what it means to be an anthropologist working on digital ethnography on Second Life; with your own independent research about Second Life on YouTube or other videos online. Hundreds of people have made long and short videos about their experiences in SL. Choose 1 topic and then 3 arguments/subpoints Potential topic: Gender Potential arguments: Exploring genders/identity/ self expression Physical appearance through avatars Defying conventional gender roles – building etc Earning equal to men/ income disparity/ more opportunities Gain independence if underdeveloped/developing countries Community building / confidence Recommended Reading: Coming of Second Life (2008) by Tom Boellstorff Min. 2200 words Introduction & Thesis – State the thesis (main point or argument) in 1-2 sentences – Outline key evidence and/or approach to the essay to give the reader a roadmap of what to expect – Ex. of a thesis statement in a research essay: “In this essay, I will explore the relationship between photography and identity online. Specifically, I will argue that [state the main argument about the relationship]. I will show this relationship by examining how [briefly list your concepts and key ethnographic examples]. Body (Discussion) – Relate each of the points you plan to use to build your argument to relate to the focus (thesis) of your essay – Explain each supporting point in 2-4 paragraphs – Each point should be: o In 1-3 sentences, what is the contribution of the point? o Explained the significance and relevance of the contribution to your overarching thesis: why is this important (to whom, in what ways, etc.)? Show how it helps you make your argument. o Supported by an analytical discussion of relevant ethnographic examples from the material. Conclusion – Reiterate your argument and how your evidence supports your thesis statement, but also: o Discuss anything else you may think is important to understand the topic o Propose questions or areas for further anthropological research on this issue – Formal essay, NOT an opinion piece – Rely on course texts, not webcasts for key concepts – Citing style – Chicago; Author-Date style with in-text citations https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide/citation-guide-2.html Author-date in text format looks like this (Mannik 2016: 3) (author year: page#) Your bibliography needs to have a minimum of 8 sources; 4 scholarly, anthropology sources from outside the course that focus on Boellstorff’s work and 4 videos made by people who have experience SL as avatars. (Try to find videos that are current) You can also include other sources over the 4 minimum that are outside Boellstorff’s writing if needed in order to support your thesis. Minimum of 4 sources from Boellstroff’s work and 4 videos you found; and 8 sources overall. Needs to be properly formatted. All 4 minimum scholarly sources need to be anthropological.