{"id":10699,"date":"2024-02-12T19:28:52","date_gmt":"2024-02-13T00:28:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/?page_id=10699"},"modified":"2024-02-13T11:40:11","modified_gmt":"2024-02-13T16:40:11","slug":"rhetoftechfebruary13","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/rhetorictechnologyspring2024\/rhetoftechfebruary13\/","title":{"rendered":"February 13th: Religion of Technology Part 3 of 3"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong><font color=\"#491B78\">Mardi<\/font><font color=\"#1B8229\"> Gras:<\/font> <font color=\"#C59000\"><em>laissez<\/em><\/font><em> <font color=\"#491B78\">les<\/font> <font color=\"#1B8229\">bons<\/font> <font color=\"#C59000\">temps<\/font> <font color=\"#491B78\">rouler<\/font><\/em><font color=\"#1B8229\">!<\/font><font color=\"#C59000\">!<\/font><font color=\"#491B78\">!<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Plan for the Day<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>We have some catching up to do&#8230;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Back to Noble&#8217;s <em>Religion of Technology<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Thursday&#8217;s (2\/15) Readings<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Is love a technology?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Valentine&#8217;s Day is a holiday, but are holidays technologies?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>David Noble&#8217;s&nbsp;<em>The Religion of Technology<\/em>&nbsp;(pp. 172-228)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Technology and Yourself Essays<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>David Noble&#8217;s&nbsp;<em>The Religion of Technology<\/em>&nbsp;(pp. 172-228)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Let&#8217;s discuss Noble&#8217;s take on the <em>Religion of Technology<\/em> in more Modern times. We&#8217;ll ask questions about his conclusion and spend time on the Appendix before ending class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the previous two classes, we started with the following question: How are we &#8220;actively involved in the daily creation and recreation, production and reproduction of the world in which [we] live\u201d (Winner, p. 15). While that&#8217;s still important for the rest of Noble&#8217;s book, I want you to think about the specific historical (and contemporary&#8230;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nih.gov\/about\/director\/\">Francis Collins<\/a>) figures in science and technology. <strong><font color=\"red\">Not forgetting the important term hegemony, reflect during our discussion on who these people are. Where do you find them in society? From what walks of life do they emerge? Are there generalizations we can make about them?<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/genderdigital\/religiontech\/\"><strong>Let&#8217;s go to a webpage devoted to Noble&#8217;s book.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Technology and Yourself Essays<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>I got a little behind this weekend, but I hope to have feedback for you by the end of this week. If not, I&#8217;ll adjust the due date for the revision. I have some general observation on the drafts below, so please review that, but do know that not everything applies to all drafts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Observations for Technology and Yourself Essay<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Remember, there\u2019s no such thing as finished writing\u2014just deadlines. These essays are starting points for reflecting on technology. <strong><font color=\"red\">Your revisions need to show serious reflection by incorporating the suggestions I\u2019ve made and\/or changing your topic.<\/font><\/strong> Many of you tried to bite off more than you could chew. A general revision guideline would be to set boundaries for your essay. Make sure you offer personal insight or examples along with other proof for the assertions you make.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The goal of reflection on writing isn\u2019t just to get a better grade or write a better essay. Reflection is being aware of how your writing conveys meaning for the reader. When revising, keep going back to audience and purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>General feedback on the essays for revision:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Always avoid absolute statements: Of course, I&#8217;ve just stated a paradox, but it&#8217;s extremely difficult to defend statements that use the following:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>always, never, forever, all the time, indefinitely, etc.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Be more precise and explain the limits of what you&#8217;re defining.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;This changed our lives\/our world\/the universe forever&#8221;\u2026not the best assertion. It\u2019s bombastic prose and fine for sound-bite media, but it\u2019s not appropriate for an essay that DEMANDS you offer proof to back up such bold statements.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Technology isn\u2019t just electronic. Humans have used technology for millennia and not just since 2000. Focus on a particular technology, and make sure you define technology for your reader (me). I don\u2019t just see technology as computer-based products of the last 20-30 years.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Aim for Reader-Based Prose and not Writer-Based Prose. Reader-based prose keeps the reader in mind and doesn\u2019t make them make the same leaps to conclusions that you make. Remember, the reader isn\u2019t in your head, so you can\u2019t expect them to just agree with your assertions. This essay needs proof for all assertions you make. What may seem obvious to you (e.g., we\u2019re too reliant on technology) isn\u2019t universally accepted. You have to explain the foundations of your assumptions and show how you get to the conclusions you make.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It\u2019s ok not to know everything and to point that out in your essays. <strong><font color=\"red\">Your assumptions are based on your experiences, and this essay is a place to analyze those assumptions.<\/font><\/strong> One thing many of you will read on your papers is that you aren\u2019t explaining your assumptions (or showing how you get to conclusions) fully. If you don\u2019t have <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"empirical evidence (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.livescience.com\/21456-empirical-evidence-a-definition.html\" target=\"_blank\">empirical evidence<\/a> (which you won\u2019t) for your beliefs, that\u2019s ok. Discuss why you have the belief. For instance, there\u2019s a belief that reliance on technology leads to lack of creativity, dependence, mental atrophy, etc. As far as I know, there haven\u2019t been any studies on that link, but I hear this \u201cout there.\u201d Instead of just restating an assumption you\u2019ve heard somewhere, state it\u2019s a belief, and then discuss why you think it\u2019s valid.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>For example:<br><em>Kids just don\u2019t have social skills because of video games.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>There\u2019s no real evidence to corroborate that (just like there\u2019s no sound evidence that video games lead to violence\u2026read &#8220;The Specious Link Surrounding Video Games and Violence&#8221; in <em>Video Games and American Culture<\/em>). Just because there isn\u2019t evidence doesn\u2019t mean you have to drop the assumption completely. Explain where your understanding of the topic comes from. Maybe you\u2019ve observed kids who don\u2019t interact socially and know they play a lot of video games. Well, that\u2019s evidence. I wouldn\u2019t base a dissertation on it, but it\u2019s enough for this essay. Maybe it\u2019s more of a fear of yours, so you make a logical argument:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Video games cause kids to play by themselves. Kids playing by themselves will have fewer opportunities to interact with others. Therefore, video games contribute to kids missing social activities.*<br>{*Of course, what about online games\u2026}<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Also, you could link this to obesity issues because kids aren\u2019t as physically active when playing video games. <strong>Whatever you do, explain how you reach a conclusion. <\/strong>Just remember that you will have to unpack your assumptions in order to explain to your reader how you got to that conclusion\u2014what did you base your reasons on?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, don&#8217;t be overwhelmed by the comments on your essays. These are guides or questions for you to consider to help your revision. All writing can be stronger, and we all get feedback from others. Let&#8217;s just hope it&#8217;s more constructive feedback&#8230; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Preview for Next Class<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Unless we didn&#8217;t get through all of Noble, you&#8217;ll have four short readings for class on Wednesday. They are all on <strong>Thursday&#8217;s (2\/15) webpage<\/strong>, so go check them out.  At a minimum, we&#8217;ll definitely have the article &#8220;Marriage: It&#8217;s Only going to Get Worse&#8221;&#8230;Happy Valentine&#8217;s Day!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mardi Gras: laissez les bons temps rouler!!! Plan for the Day David Noble&#8217;s&nbsp;The Religion of Technology&nbsp;(pp. 172-228) Let&#8217;s discuss Noble&#8217;s take on the Religion of Technology in more Modern times. We&#8217;ll ask questions about his conclusion and spend time on the Appendix before ending class. In the previous two classes, we started with the following [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":598,"featured_media":0,"parent":10556,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-10699","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P2HAOx-2Mz","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/598"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10699"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10699\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10708,"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10699\/revisions\/10708"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}