Day: August 24, 2020

This is Not a research paper but a compare and contrast essay

I looked at your outline. You’ll need to revise that too. I am also concerned about what material you will use for Sanders movement. This is Not a research paper but a compare and contrast essay

It is important to read the directions on the assignment page carefully.

The skeleton or outline should contain the main points (thesis & topic sentences) that is the map of your paper. It should NOT simply be a list of quotes- that’s not your main points.

Please read and revise

1) Essay 2: basic requirements and writing topics
2) How to organize this compare/contrast essay
3) Review of assigned readings (chapters 3- 8)

Apply reading concepts to writing: In Essay 2, you will use a few (~4) key analytic concepts from Twitter and Tear Gas, such as signaling capacity, to discuss key characteristics of networked social movements. What are analytic concepts from the assigned chapters that you can potentially use in your essay? (do not select so many)

1.    public sphere and imagined communities
2.    social institution: traditional mass media
3.    digital technology impact -> public sphere and information
4.    strong & weak ties
5.    citizen journalism (or, documentation by citizens)
6.    collective knowledge
7.    norms of traditional journalism vs internet/social media
8.    gatekeepers, hierarchies, curators
9.    horizontalism
10.    mass media censorship
11.    attention
12.    movements infrastructure
13.    adhocracy
14.    organization, logistics
15.    network internalities
16.    tactical freeze
17.    narrative capacity
18.    disruptive capacity
19.    electoral or institutional capacity

This table is how you can start organizing information (select several from above list) for essay:

    Old social movement
(Civil Rights movement)    Modern networked movement. (your choice from task list)
Similarities (compare)    Insert your choice of analytic concept
(e.g., weak ties)
    Insert your choice of analytic concept
(e.g., weak ties)

Differences (contrast)    Insert your choice of analytic concept (e.g., gatekeepers/hierarchies)
    Insert your choice of analytic concept (e.g., open/horizontal)

How to convert above organizing table into essay outline form? Lets take a look at the form again.

Point by point structure* means each body paragraph is organized by a main point about the old or new social movement, using one analytic concept as an anchor.

Block structure means each essay section is organized by the old or new social movement. Heres a visual:

BLOCK                    POINT-BY-POINT

Introduction                    Introduction

    Civil Rights Movement- Point 1        Point 1: Civil Rights & Modern Movement
    Civil Rights Movement- Point 2       
    Civil Rights Movement- Point 3        Point 2: Civil Rights & Modern Movement
   
Modern Movement- Point 1            Point 3: Civil Rights & Modern Movement   
    Modern Movement- Point 2           
    Modern Movement- Point 3            Point 4: Civil Rights & Modern Movement           
    Conclusion                    Conclusion   
                           
For the block structure, all of the information about one movementthe American Civil Rights Movement of the 1950-60s or a modern networked movementis given first, and all of the information about the other movement is given afterwards. The right-hand diagram represents a different organization of information: each similarity (or difference) for one movement is followed immediately by the similarity (or difference) for the other.

Example: Point 1 can be about how social movements obtain participants and attention. The first body paragraph would focus on the similarities between the American Civil Rights Movement and a modern movement of your choice, in this area (participation and attention). The second body paragraph could focus on the differences between the two movements on this point. (Or you can combine similarities and differences about point 1 in one paragraph.)

Example 2: Point 2 can be about how the old and modern movement compare & contrast around the point of leadership. The second body paragraph would focus on the hierarchical leadership structure of the American Civil Rights Movement, and contrast it with the open or horizontal structure of a modern movement.

*I strongly suggest you use the point-by-point organizational structure.

For this assignment, I’d like you to do 2 things: Make an organizing table AND write a skeleton of your essay. (Please read 5/26 Zoom meeting notes for more instruction.) First, here’s an organizing table template: Organizing_table.docPreview the document Second, the skeleton or outline should contain the main points (thesis & topic sentences) that is the map of your paper. It should NOT simply be a list of quotes- that’s not your main points.  You can use this form to write your outline:

Essay COMPARE AND CONTRAST #2: Networked social movements                                                       

Background:

In the second unit of the quarter, we focus on Zeynep Tufekcis Twitter and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protests. Our writing goal is to effectively organize information for a compare/contrast paper, in support of a line of argument. Our reading goal is to investigate and learn the characteristics of modern social movements. What are the differences between older social movements and current ones? What should we know about the capabilities and vulnerabilities of modern protests? How does this knowledge help us build a movement to support a social issue we care about?

Task:

Write a 4+ page essay in which you identify and analyze characteristics of ONE networked protest by comparing and contrasting it with an older social movement, the American Civil Rights movement (1950s-1960s). Focus on important characteristics in your comparison: what are cultural values of the modern networked protest? How did the social activist group draw peoples attention and recruit supporters? Who led the group and how did they make tactical decisions? How did the activist group signal power to authority? You will use key analytic concepts from Twitter and Tear Gas, such as signaling capacity, to discuss characteristics of modern networked movements. The ultimate goal is to make an argument about why these modern protests can be more powerful, but also why they are more vulnerable compared to the older social movement.

Choose 1 modern social movement to focus your paper on:

    Sidi Bouzid protests in Tunisia (2010-2011)
    Facebook event Tahrir Square, Egypt (Jan 25, 2011)
    Gezi Park protests in Turkey (2013)
    Occupy Wall Street in U.S. (2011)
    Bernie Sanders movement (2015- 2020)
    Black Lives Matter movement (2012- present)
    Tea Party movement (2009-2016)

Writing Process:

In writing this essay, you should draw on the cumulative pre-writing steps:

— discussion forum & reading/Cornell notes

— prior short writing assignments

— my feedback on your prior writing

Make sure you: 

— understand the core concepts of social movements (from assigned chapters only)

— understand how to organize information in a compare/contrast structure

Due Dates:

Outline and 1 paragraph: Saturday May 30th 

Rough draft for peer review: Monday, June 1st   

   

Evaluation Criteria: I will look for the following while I grade your essay:

    An introduction that effectively leads up to the topic and text
    A clear, specific, arguable thesis that responds to the assignment task (above), especially last sentence

    Each body paragraph organized around 1 main point (i.e., one core concept listed in 5/21  meeting notes)

    Detailed support for your claims through analysis and examples, including paraphrased quotations where appropriate

    A clear organizational plan using the point-by-point or block structure
    A conclusion that connects to the larger conversation on the topic
    Correct citation of your sources using MLA style
    Clear and focused sentences. Variety in sentence structure.
    Essay should be (minimum) 1,450 words