Soc 356: Transformative Technologies
spring 2001: The Clock

Paper Requirements

The Assignment in Brief:

Choose a transformative technology other than the clock or the automobile.  Discuss the changes in social institutions that occurred in societies that adopted the technology.  Address the issue of technological determinism as it relates to your subject.  You must cite at least five sources, and no more than half of them may be world wide web pages.

A three or four page draft is due February 20.  The five page final version is due March 29.

Formatting:

Both versions must be typed, double spaced, with reasonable fonts and margins.  All references must be given in the style of the American Sociological Association (ASA style).

Grading:
 

draft	30 points	(20 content/10 mechanics)
final	70 points	(50 content/20 mechanics)

Late papers will lose 10 points per day late.

The draft should touch briefly on most or all of the ideas you will consider at greater length in the final version.  In other words, do not spend four pages writing a draft that tells only the history of the technology in question without making any mention of its social consequences.  Part of the reason for doing a draft is to let me see how you are developing your ideas; if you just fill up pages with obvious background information, you have wasted your time (and will get a low grade).

The "content" portion of your grade covers your ideas and analysis.  Is the paper well reasoned?  Is the exposition clear?  Are the references authoritative? The "mechanics" portion covers grammar, spelling, punctuation, and correct citation of references.  Students in my classes regularly lose all of the mechanical points, because they refuse to proofread.  Running Microsoft spell check is not proofreading.  If you can’t turn in five clean pages, you will not be respected in your job after you graduate.  Proofread your paper, then have your roommate proofread it.

Students will also make 15 minute oral presentations on their papers.  These presentations will account for 30 percent of the classroom participation grade.