English 76-101, Section X

Interpretation and Argument Geeks: The Culture, and Cult, of Intelligence Wean Hall 5304 Tuesdays and Thursdays: 1:30 2:50 PM Instructor: Sheila Liming Office: Wean Hall, 1309 E-mail: sliming@andrew.cmu.edu Box: Baker Hall 245, English Faculty Offices Office Hours: by appointment Course Description Geeks: The Culture, and Cult, of Intelligence Geeks. Nerds. Dorks. We have, as a culture, developed a range of labels for this type of smart, introverted, and sometimes socially awkward person. In addition to these largely mocking or derogatory labels, though, we have others, including scholar, intellectual, and expert. How do we get from poindexter to prodigy, then? Whats the relationship between trekkies, techies, and the so-called intelligentsia? This section of 76-101 addresses the social legacy of the geek, and charts the evolution of geek culture. We will examine a number of texts some historical, some critical, and some drawn from popular culture, even in order to assess the cult and culture of the geek in contemporary society. We will examine, for instance, symbolic geeks in popular culture, and attempt to explain the mass appeal and significance of these figures, including fictional geeks (like characters from TVs The Big Bang Theory) and real-world geeks (like Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and self-professed politics geek Rachel Maddow). Students will hone critical thinking and communication skills in this context, analyzing and synthesizing arguments about geek and intellectual culture while developing their own ideas and opinions on the subject. Course Goals and Objectives Interpretation and Argument is structured by the following overarching goals: To introduce students to fundamental practices of critical reading and academic argument, including summary, synthesis, analysis, and contribution. To model a process of concept grouping for reasoning through multiple perspectives about an issue. To demonstrate a rhetorical model of academic contribution that is socially responsible to an ongoing, academic conversation. To help students understand and begin to meet the requirements of college-level argumentation and composition. Becoming a competent writer in this way requires that students be reflective and strategic with their composing processes, particularly with planning, writing, reading, detecting and diagnosing problems within their own work, and finally with revising their own texts

Overview and Major Assignments The course employs personal narrative, film, music, critical essays and journalistic opinion pieces to develop students critical reading and writing practices. The major writing assignments are organized in a cumulative sequence of three essays: 1. Argument Summary Requires students to explain, in their own words, another writers argumentative stance on an issue. Engages students in the act of critical interpretation, requiring them to reenact the argumentative moves of a given text. 2. Argument Synthesis Helps students synthesize and analyzeor tie togethera number of distinct sources into one coherent description of a problem. Shows students how to combine and criticize a number of distinct perspectives while highlighting their own argumentative position in the debate. 3. Contribution Allows students to enter into a specific debate, choosing and arguing for their position. Provides students the opportunity to hone research skills and draw from additional sources outside of our class readings. Requires students to also prepare and give a brief oral presentation on their chosen contribution topic. 4. Geek-of-the-Day: Each student will be responsible for one Geek-of-the-Day presentation. The schedule for these presentations will be determined in the first week of the course. Presentations should be 3-5 minutes long and must include one visual representation of something or someone that is a geek. Students should be prepared to offer an argument for why their chosen person or object is, indeed, geek, and what makes them so. Students should be prepared to respond to questions from the class. Texts (available in campus bookstore) Graff, Gerald and Cathy Birkenstein. They Say, I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing. New York: W. W. Norton, 2005. Additional Required Readings (available through Blackboard: https://blackboard.andrew.cmu.edu) Blume, Harvey. Geek Studies. The Atlantic, 13 July 2000. 17 July 2012 <http://www.the atlantic.com/past/docs/unbound/crosscurrents/cc2000-07-13.htm> Carr, Nicholas. Is Google Making Us Stupid? The Atlantic, July 2008. 17 July 2008 <http:// www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/07/is-google-making-us-stupid/6868/>

Henderson, Mark. The Geek Manifesto: Why Science Matters. London: Bantam Publishers, 2012. Jenkins, Henry. Fans, Bloggers, and Gamers: Exploring Participatory Culture. New York University Press, New York (2006): 187 197. Katz, Jon. Selections from Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho. New York: Villard, 2000. Martell, Dan. The Evolution of the Geek. Flowtown.com, 19 October 2010. 17 July 2012 <http://www.flowtown.com/blog/the-evolution-of-the-geek> Oswalt, Patton. Wake Up, Geek Culture: Time to Die. Wired, 27 December 2010. 4 May 2011. <http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/12/ff_angrynerd_geekculture/all/1> Raja, Tasneem. Gangbang Interviews and Bikini Shots: Silicon Valleys Brogrammer Problem. Mother Jones, 26 April 2012. 17 July 2012 <http://www.motherjones.com /media/2012/04/silicon-valley-brogrammer-culture-sexist-sxsw> Robbins, Alexandra. In the Shadow of the Freak Tree, from The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth. New York, Hyperion (2011): 105-135. Sanger, Larry. Is There a New Geek Anti-Intellectualism? LarrySanger.org, 6 June 2011. 29 June 2011. < http://larrysanger.org/2011/06/is-there-a-new-geek-anti-intellectualism/> Silberman, Steve. The Geek Syndrome. Wired, 9.12 (December 2001). 18 August 2011 < http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aspergers.html> Schmeiser, Lisa. Do Geeks Need to Go to College? Salon.com, 12 April 1999. 17 July 2011 <http://www.salon.com/1999/04/12/college/> Required Film/Television: Fincher, David, dir. The Social Network. Sony Pictures, 2010. Feig, Paul. Freaks and Geeks. 1999. Linehan, Graham. Yesterdays Jam. The IT Crowd. 2006. Recommended Texts A good college dictionary. Carnegie Mellon also grants access to the Oxford English Dictionarys online database for on-campus users. Access at www.oed.com. Course Policies and Procedures Attendance Since this is a small discussion class, attendance is mandatory. You are allowed three absences without penalty following your fifth absence, your grade in the class will begin to drop by a half-a-letter grade per absence (5% of your total grade). Plan ahead if you think you might miss class for religious holidays, or for other scheduled events. I do not distinguish between excused and unexcused absences. You are allowed four absences be they excused or unexcused before your grade begins to decrease, unless other special arrangements have been made with

me ahead of time. If you have extenuating circumstances significantly affecting your attendance throughout the semester (such as an illness, or a family emergency), it is your responsibility to notify me about your situation and obtain authoritative documentation to excuse your absences (either from a Dean or from your advisor). If you miss more than the allotted days due to your situation, we will discuss whether its prudent for you to continue in the course. If you miss class, you are responsible to contact your peers for materials and information youve missed. Thus, it is your responsibility to keep on top of the homework. Do not email me asking whether or not there was a daily assignment. Missing a class is no excuse for not completing the homework. Likewise, I expect you to have read the assigned readings and to be ready to discuss them, even if you were absent the class before. Finally, you are responsible for keeping track of your own absences. A sign-in sheet will be used daily and absences will be thus recorded. Please be conscientious of your class participation make sure you get the sign-in sheet, and please dont expect me to do this for you! Late Arrival Arrive on time. You will not receive an A in this class if you do not arrive on time. Lateness not only disrupts the class but also demonstrates disrespect for your peers and for your instructor. For every two times you are late to class, you will be marked for one absence. If you are more than 15 minutes late to class, you will be marked absent for that day. Class Participation Since 76-101 is a discussion course, its important that you participate in class. Participation which includes both classroom involvement and physically being in class makes up roughly 15% of your total grade. While your class participation grade falls to my discretion, there are several steps you can take to ensure you achieve a satisfactory grade: Come to class prepared, with a hard copy of the required reading. Since laptop use is prohibited in class, it is essential that you print out and bring a copy of the required reading to class every day (or, in the case of Graff, bring your book with you to class). Failure to do so will result in the loss participation points; additionally, failure to do so may affect any in-class writing assignments, quizzes, or exercises that require the text in question. Be prepared to participate; plan to participate. You should anticipate contributing to course discussions on a regular basis. This means that you must both be prepared (having done the required assignment or reading) and must formulate and offer contributions to the discussion on a regular basis (at least once a week). Be courteous toward your peers. When you raise disagreement in class either with the instructor or with your peers try to do so respectfully. Articulate your reasons and grounds for disagreement with an idea rather than a person. Failure to show adequate respect towards your peers or towards your instructor result in your being asked to leave the classroom. Such a request will, in affect my assessment of your class participation.

may turn,

Using Sources Properly

In this course, we will review the difference between plagiarizing material and misusing sources. Both are serious offenses which carry serious consequences, but differ in terms of those consequences. If you have a question about how to properly account for borrowed source material, please ask me rather than submitting a paper (rough or final draft) without proper documentation. All papers submitted in this class including short, type-written homework responses must comply with Modern Language Association (MLA) guidelines and citation rules. This means that you must provide MLA compliant documentation for the use of additional sources, including: a Works Cited page, providing correct bibliographic information for each source cited, quoted, or consulted in your paper correct in-text citations for each source cited, quoted, or consulted in your paper

If you are unsure of MLA guidelines, I suggest you either consult or purchase a current MLA Style Guide, or consult the following online source: The Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University: 2009 MLA Style Guide http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/ Academic Integrity, Plagiarism, and Cheating At Carnegie Mellon, we believe in the excellence of our students and in the integrity of our academic programs. We also believe that your good ideas become better when you test them against the ideas of others. So for this course, feel free to discuss your ideas about the major writing assignments with other students. Collaborating on question/answer homework assignments or open-book quizzes, however, is not acceptable; these types of assignments are designed for me, your instructor, to monitor how you are handling specific parts of the course materials. Blatantly taking someone elses words, ideas or concepts, and using them without citing your source is plagiarism. So is using another students essay, or part of his or her essay, as your own. In the world of writing (academic writing especially), this is a serious crime, and is treated as such. Anyone who uses non-documented material from another source, including online sources, will receive a failing grade for the entire course and will be referred to the Deans office for possible further disciplinary action. All final versions of essay assignments will be submitted to SafeAssign, a function of Blackboard, which runs digital comparisons of submitted assignments in order to identify possible cases of plagiarism. For this reason, you must submit final versions of papers to SafeAssign. You may additionally submit versions of your assignment through other electronic means (to Digital Dropbox, or via email), but if you fail to submit your paper to SafeAssign, it will be treated as late, and lateness penalties will apply. General Guidelines on Submitting Assignments

Please note that to receive a passing grade, you must hand in all drafts (rough and final) of all three major papers, and complete the presentation component of the final assignment. All papers, including short response assignments, must be typed, double-spaced, with 1 margins.

Rough drafts of all three main papers must be submitted both in electronic and paper forms. Electronic format means that papers are submitted through Blackboard. Rough Drafts must be submitted through Digital Dropbox; final drafts must be submitted through SafeAssign. Paper copies of all essays must be stapled, paper clipped, or otherwise affixed; if you expect me to be your secretary and do this for you, you will forfeit five points on the paper in question. Include page numbers on all assignments longer than one page. Carefully edit and proofread all texts to eliminate problems in grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Digital copies of all final papers must be cleanly edited and readable. This means that you must remove all digital comments/suggestions, including highlighted or underlined text, and including all comment balloons. Spell-check your documents. Any time you cite an essay, film, book, article, song anything, in fact, that constitutes previously published material in your writing, you will need to include a Works Cited section of your essay that provides complete and accurate bibliographic information for any cited material mentioned. If youre not sure how to cite sources, please consult a citation manual or online resource (see Using Sources Properly, above).

Documents that do not meet these and other assignment-specific requirements will not be graded. They will be returned to you and, when resubmitted, will be treated as late submissions. Deadlines All written assignments must be submitted on the due date, and missing the class when the assignment is due doesnt mean your assignment isnt late. Turning in an assignment on time is part of doing the assignment, and late work will be graded down, regardless of how well its executed. Lateness penalties are as follows: Rough drafts and Peer Reviews. For every day that is, every day of the week, and not every class period that a rough draft or revision statement is late, your final draft will lose two points. If you do not hand in a peer review or a rough draft, I will not grade a final draft.

Final drafts. For every day that a final draft is late, you will lose five points. Daily assignments. All late assignments may receive a maximum of half-credit (50%), regardless of how late they are.

Cell Phones, Laptops, etc. Students are expected to participate and be engaged in class discussion. Therefore, students are

required to silence or turn off cell phones before coming to class (there is, quite obviously, to be no text messaging during class). All laptops must remain closed unless you have made prior arrangements with me and have demonstrated that using a laptop is necessary for your learning. Religious Observances If you have a conflict between a religious holiday and a graded assignment, please contact me in advance so that we can make appropriate arrangements. Learning Disabilities If you have a learning disability that could impair your progress in this course, please contact Equal Opportunity Services on campus (http://hr.web.cmu.edu/dsrg/students.htm). We can arrange to accommodate your learning style based on EOS recommendations. Please notify me at the semesters beginning of your learning needsdo not wait until the semester becomes overwhelming to acknowledge the problem. On-Campus Writing Resources International students and non-native English speakers are encouraged to take advantage of Carnegie Mellons Intercultural Communications Center to receive help in preparing assignments. ICC web address: http://www.cmu.edu/icc/index.shtml All students are welcome and encouraged to take advantage of the peer tutoring service provided through the office of Academic Development. Academic Development web address: http://www.cmu.edu/academic-development/ Communications You can reach me via e-mail, office phone, or a note in my mailbox in the Baker 245 Faculty Office. The best way to reach me, of course, is through email I check it frequently and, while I cannot guarantee an immediate reply, it is certainly the fastest way to reach me. If you have questions about the policies of this class, review the syllabus first, and then come to see me.

Course Schedule
Unit I: Whats a Geek? The History and Evolution of Geek Culture Tuesday, August 28 Introduction; course overview, syllabus Thursday, August 30 Martell, Evolution of the Geek (infographic) DUE: 1-page, typed response paper which answers the following questions: 1) How does Martells infographic define the term geek? (i.e. what do all the various geeks depicted have in is the essence of geek-ness?) 2) How does this compare to your definition of a geek? Graff, chapters 1 and 2 from They Say, I Say Discuss summarizing strategies for response papers DUE: final response paper Schmeiser: Do Geeks Need to Go to College? Blume, Geek Studies Katz, from Geeks Graff, chapter 3 from They Say, I Say In-class work using summarizing strategies, quotations, sandwiches, etc. Henderson, from The Geek Manifesto

common? What Tuesday, September 4 Thursday, September 6 Tuesday, September 11 Thursday, September 13 Tuesday, September 18

Thursday, September 20

Unit II: Intellectuals and Geeks: Intelligentsia and Introversion Tuesday, September 25 DUE: 3 quote sandwiches (1-2 sentence blocks of text which include the following: a) a quotation from the text which, to you, constitutes Hendersons main claim in this essay, and b) an interpretation of that quote and which also includes an argumentative claim about the significance or meaning of Hendersons claim Introduce and discuss Argument Summary Essay Thursday, September 27 Tuesday, October 2 Plagiarism Handout: read before coming to class Screen: Freaks and Geeks DUE: Rough Draft, Argument Summary Essay

In-Class Peer Review: please bring one hard copy of your essay to class with you AND submit an electronic version to Blackboard under Assignments Thursday, October 4 Tuesday, October 9 Thursday, October 11 NO CLASS: mandatory one-on-one conferences Robbins, from The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth DUE: Final Draft, Argument Summary Essay Please submit essay in electronic format only using SafeAssign on Blackboard Jenkins, Professor Jenkins Goes to Washington Tuesday, October 16 Silberman, The Geek Syndrome and Graff, Chapter 8 from They Say, I Say In-class: metacommentary and cause and effect transitions Thursday, October 18 NO CLASS: enjoy your Midsemester Break!

Unit III: Brogrammers and Otakus: The Hypocrisy of Geek Culture Tuesday, October 23 Oswalt, Wake Up, Geek Culture: Time to Die In-class: mapping opinion and response Introduce Argument Synthesis Essay Thursday, October 25 Raja, Gang-bang Interviews and Bikini Shots: Silicon Valleys Brogrammer Problem DUE: Commentary Response Map At the end of Rajas Brogrammer article, there are 8+ pages of user commentary originally posted to the site where appeared (MotherJones.com). Read through the user commentary and prepare a detailed map which the opinions of at least 8 commentators, just in class on Tuesday. Examples of these Blackboard, for your reference, and according to common claims, In-class: sample Argument Synthesis Essays Tuesday, October 30 DUE: Rough Draft, Argument Synthesis Essay In-Class Peer Review: please bring one hard copy of your essay to class with you AND submit an electronic version to Blackboard under Assignments and HALLOWEEN EXTRA-CREDIT Dress like a geek! Score mad points!

the article groups and charts like we reviewed maps will be posted to should group commentators grounds, and/or warrants.

Thursday, November 1 Tuesday, November 6 Thursday, November 8 watching it Tuesday, November 13

Sanger, Is There a New Geek Anti-Intellectualism? Screen: The Social Network DUE: finish watching The Social Network (note: a copy of The Social Network will be held at the Hunt Library A/V Materials Collection; you may finish there if you do not have access to another copy) Discuss film in class Carr, Is Google Making Us Stupid? Introduce final Contribution Essay

Thursday, November 15

DUE: Contribution Paper topic proposal: Prepare a 2-pp. (minimum) typed proposal which includes: 1) 1 paragraph explaining your topic 2) 1 paragraph explaining your argument 3) A preliminary Works Cited page listing at least four sources to be used in your final paper Contribution Paper proposals should be submitted electronically through Digital Dropbox; if you choose to take advantage of the opportunity for a one-on-one meeting with me, please bring a paper copy of your proposal to the meeting Discuss presentation guidelines and arrange groups.

November 20-23 Tuesday, November 27 Thursday, November 29 Tuesday, December 4 Thursday, December 6

No class: Thanksgiving Break! Enjoy your Tofurky! Review sample contribution essays, evaluation guidelines, etc. Screen: The I.T. Crowd Presentations: Groups A & B Presentations: Groups C & D Course evaluations; course overview; edibles; hooray!

Argument Summary Assignment

76-101: Interpretation and Argument Carnegie Mellon University

The Assignment
Prepare a 3-4 page paper that summarizes Mark Hendersons argument in his The Geeks Manifesto. You have, Im sure, had assignments in the past where youve been required to summarize material; this is different. In this paper, you will be required to analyze, summarize, and reconstruct Hendersons argument, not just the content of his writing. There are three main points to this process: CLAIMS: identify Hendersons main thesis; then, identify minor arguments he makes along the way (subclaims) which help him to establish and prove his main point Your thesis should state both Hendersons main point in writing this essay and make a claim about the significance or stakes of that point. In other words, your thesis should answer both questions of what and why: What is Hendersons claim? Why is that claim important? GROUNDS: identify Hendersons evidence in his writing. What kinds of information quotations from other writers, facts, statistics, examples taken from culture or the world around him does he use to support his argument? How do these various pieces of evidence either help him prove his otherwise inhibit his ability to do so? WARRANTS: identify Hendersons objectives and stakes. Why is he writing? To whom is he writing? What is his main purpose in writing? What does he want to accomplish? What is at stake (or what does he believe is at stake)? Why is this issue so important to him? Does he succeed in convincing reader, of its importance? An academic summary is really an argument analysisit is the first step toward entering an academic conversation because it requires us to rearticulate another authors point of view. The key to this assignment is not trying to account for every point Hendersons makes but, rather, focusing on isolating the main point of his argument and the main argumentative moves he makes in order to get there. Supporting your argument. It is important to provide textual evidence from the article to support your argument. Use direct quotes or paraphrased material to support your opinions of Hendersons text. Be selective in this regard and, as you incorporate textual material, ask yourself: Is this material important to my argument? Is it important to Hendersons argument? If it isnt (or if it feels like you might be

point, or

you, his

stretching things), try to find more solid textual support. NOTE: See the syllabus if you have questions about citation and style, or come see me. Considering your audience. Your immediate audience is, of course, myself. All academic writing, however, is generated with the idea of a hypothetical audience, which usually includes a community of academics. In summarizing Hendersons argument, try to position yourself as speaking to an audience of educated people who know nothing about your specific topic, but who are otherwise very intelligent, culture-savvy folks in other words, scholars like me. You never know exactly who may end up reading your work. Common Mistakes/Misconceptions (a.k.a The Top Six Most Common Ways to Not Get an A on this Paper) (Erroneously) believing that an argument summary does not require you to make an argument. Every time you articulate an opinion however unconsciously or casually you are making an argument. Take responsibility for your opinion of Hendersons writing; be persuasive, be thorough, and remember that your objective is to convince me that you have read him thoroughly, correctly, and intelligently. Writing an argument summary about intellectuals, intellectualism, geeks, geek culture, or culture, and not about Hendersons opinions on these topics! In other words, I dont care what you think about intellectuals (or geeks, or geek culture), I care what you think Mark Henderson thinks about intellectuals (or geeks, or geek culture). That is your bottom line.

Organizing your essay chronologically. Thats not a summary, thats just boring! If I see a paper that includes phrases like In paragraph number one, Henderson says On the second page, Henderson claims or Next, Henderson goes on to argue I will be, as the British say, most annoyed. Assuming that there is only one correct thesis in Hendersons argument, and picking that one just to go along with popular opinion. As already mentioned, this paper demands that you craft an argument of your own. Try to consider Hendersons writing from all angles, and pursue the one that interests you the most. Unpopular or strange readings are often the most important. Also, the thesis you identify ought to encompass the whats at stake component of Hendersons writing that is to say, it must appear to be significant to a set of given problems/issues. Forgetting to talk about warrants. The assumptions an author makes are the easiest, and most available, way to critique and understand their argument. What does Henderson assume in this piece? What does he take for granted? How does this help or harm his argument?

Forgetting your works cited! Automatic five points (and ten if you also forget the in-text citations)! Dont be silly!

Important Details Rough Draft: two papers copy to class, one electronic copy submitted to Assignments. Final Draft: one electronic copy, submitted to SafeAssign.

Argument Synthesis Essay

76-101: Interpretation and Argument Carnegie Mellon University The Assignment Write a 4-5 page paper that interrogates a central issue presented by our course readings so far. This issue is itself to be first generated by an Argument Synthesis Question. For your analysis question, you may create your own (so long as you run it by me first!), or you may choose from the following list: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. What is the role of intellectuals in our culture? What is the relationship between intellectuals and geeks? What is the role of geeks in our culture? How does being a geek constitute social or cultural resistance? How does being an intellectual constitute social or cultural resistance? What are the politics of intellectualism and/or geek culture? How do geeks and intellectuals compare and/or differ? How does our society view geeks and/or intellectuals?

The goal of this paper is to explore a topic related to intellectualism, geek culture, or any combination of these two ideas, which is commonly debated or discussed among the authors weve read so far this semester. In answer to this question, you must develop your own thesis and then use the authors from our course syllabus to defend this thesis. Not all of the authors will agree with your thesis; indeed, thats the challenge of the paper. You must comprehend and reconstruct authors argument to show either a) how the agree with/ support your thesis, or b) where they disagree/ diverge, and how those disagreements/ divergences may be refuted. The perspective you offer on the debate will naturally reflect your own opinion, but the main purpose of this paper is not to argue your own opinion. Rather, the purpose of this paper is to convince others of one correct opinion in this debate, and to use a variety of authors to substantiate that point of view. If we refer to Kenneth Burkes model of the cocktail party, this process represents the synthesizing stage of entering the conversation. The Procedure 1. Select a research question that interests you. As previously stated, this may either come from the list of questions provided, or you may create your own. NOTE: if you do draft your own research question, please bear in mind that is must begin with either a how or a what, and that it must be broad enough to encompass all the authors weve read so far (in some manner). 2. Develop a thesis statement. Your thesis serves, in effect, as the answer to the research question you originally posed, and it is towards this end that you will group your authors

into camps which offer different interpretations of the issue. 3. Create camps. You ought to find, after completing steps 1 and 2, that your authors fall into 2-4 major groups; these groups will be characterized by a common opinion on in the issue. For example, if you choose to pose an answer to research question #2 (What is the relationship between geeks and intellectuals?) you may create three groups thus: a. A group who might argue that geek and intellectual are related, similar terms. b. A group who might argue that geek and intellectual are actually very different ideas, and have little in common. c. A group who might argue that intellectuals no longer exist in our culture, and thus geeks cannot possibly be intellectuals in accordance with traditional definitions of intellectualism. Create a synthesis map. This step will be discussed in-class, but basically requires you to visually chart, through whichever means you prefer, the way your groups diverge in relation to your chosen question/thesis. Find a paradigm case. This is an example that you will position at the beginning of your paper to show or illustrate the issue (research question)at the heart of your argument. This may come from the popular media (newspapers, television, movies, etc.), from music (song lyrics, albums, bands or performers), from history (a historical event or fact), statistics, or anything else you can think of!

4.

5.

NOTE: Do not be surprised if you find that you must reshape your question(s) as you begin to work through the different arguments youve read. Likewise, expect to spend some time rereading material as you think through this project. This is not an easy paper to write; you will need to carefully consider the topic you choose and the way you understand each authors argument in relation to that topic. Important details Rough Draft: two papers copy to class, one electronic copy submitted to Assignments. Final Draft: one electronic copy, submitted to SafeAssign. You know the drill.

Contribution Essay
76-101: Interpretation and Argument Carnegie Mellon University ________ The Assignment Prepare a 6-9 page paper devoted to an original topic which relates to the broader topics of intellectualism, geeks and/or geek culture, or anything similarly concerned. So far you have summarized, synthesized and analyzed perspectives in a debate. By now, you surely know enough about culture, subculture, and punk to begin to craft a topic, and argument, of your own. This is the point (to recall Burke) where you enter the academic conversation with your own, original contribution. Your contribution, however, does not stand alone: you must devise a list of sources (6 min.) who help you to accomplish, or explain, your argument. Two of these sources must come from class readings; the others may come from anywhere you choose, but must present a debate or argument which can be incorporated into your own academic essay (that is to say, they must be somewhat scholarly in nature, and you must be the judge of that condition). Assignment Options You have two different options for writing your contribution essay. Read through both options and, if you are still stuck for ideas, consult the list of sample topics provided below. 1. Case Study Analysis. Choose one text that, to you, represents a particular aspect of geek-ness that has been central to our discussion of the topic this semester. You could, for instance, extend our analysis of the movie The Social Network and show how it presents geek culture or intellectualism. You could also choose another movie, show, musical work, video game, novel, or short story, and perform a similar analysis. Also,you could select another subculture that, in your opinion, operates in a way that is similar to geek / intellectual culture, or fulfills a similarly interesting niche in mainstream culture. 2. Theoretical Argument. Here you may choose to either a) argue for a perspective you feel has been missing from the authors we have reviewed/studied, or b) attempt to answer a large, significant question about culture/subculture/geek-ness/intellectualism that may have been posed by some of our authors, but for which you must do additional outside research. For instance, you could respond to Oswalts idea that geek culture has abandoned its ethics and effectively died. You could argue a response to this claim drawing from a variety of scholarly sources. Your argument must, however, include examples to ground itself, so you will find yourself incorporating case studies, but they will not be the focus of your paper.

Things to keep in mind Mapping your argument. Practice the process of writing the Argument Synthesis Essay

to identify opinion groups, arguments, etc. Dont forget to include alternative opinions. The best arguments pay attention to their naysayers (instead of ignoring them). What are the plausable/popular arguments against your argument? Why are they wrong?

Important details Hand in two copies of the rough draft for Peer Review. Dont forget to staple. Submit the final draft to SafeAssign. Sample Contribution Paper Topics: Case Study Analysis FILM: The Social Network A Beautiful Mind Revenge of the Nerds Animal House The Nutty Professor The Squid and the Whale The Wonderboys The Royal Tenenbaums Rushmore MUSIC: Math Rock intellectual (high-brow) vs. pop (low-brow) music band nerd stereotypes Indie music/culture and intellectualism Nintendocore Classical, Opera, or intellectual music any self-described intellectual or nerd musicians, bands, composers, etc.

BOOKS and LITERATURE: CULTURE in general: Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings convention culture (Cosplay; Comicon; Star Trek and/or Tolkien fan culture conventions, etc.) Rowling, Harry Potter nerd culture at Carnegie Mellon and/or Harry Potter fan culture famous nerds or intellectuals (Bill Gates; Mark Science Fiction Zuckerberg; Steve Jobs; etc.) and/or specific sci/fi writers: nerd internet culture (blogs like BoingBoing) Neil Stephenson William Gibson Philip K. Dick Fan Fiction Spin-off fiction (like the Star Wars or Magic: The Gathering novel series) Comic Books / Graphic Novels and/or comic book culture any self-described intellectual or nerd authors, novels, stories, or writers