Essay 1: Virtual Identity

Topics

Choose from any of the following topics. You can develop your own topic if you like, but please run it by me first. All papers should somehow deal with the concept of virtual identity and address at least some of the issues raised in our readings.

Find a personal homepage or website and analyze it in detail. How is the author constructing him-/herself? Who is the audience? What do the author’s choices about included materials, images, and links say about him or her? What information does the author leave out or avoid about him-/herself?
Based on your own experiences, how does virtual interaction differ from face-to-face communication? Describe in detail how you interact with people both online and in real life, and speculate as to why differences occur (Is your audience different online? Are you different online?). You might want to refer to logs or transcripts of MOO/chat sessions or to email exchanges you have had with people.
Several of the authors we’ve read make reference to the famous New Yorker cartoon, “On the Internet, no one knows you’re a dog.” How true is this idea? Does virtual communication really erase markers of difference (race, gender, age, etc.), or do these marks find ways of resurfacing online? Is it a good thing that online identities can/cannot be hidden or changed?
Allucquère Rosanne Stone ends her article with the question, “Is it personae all the way down?” Is it? Are our identities merely a series of masks or roles, or is there some “real self” deep down that remains constant? How does the identity play enabled by online technologies support your argument. Is identity play a healthy thing (as suggested by Sherry Turkle) or is it a dangerous deception (as perhaps suggested by Stone).

Guidelines

Length: 1000-1500 words (4-6 pages). Keep in mind that these numbers are guidelines. The real test of adequate length is whether you have completely developed the issues you set out to explore.
Organization: You will be expected to have a central focus for your response, to write in unified, well-developed paragraphs, and to provide a provocative title, introduction, and conclusion.
Style: You should aim for formal, clear academic prose. Good style is often a matter of balance and variety. Colloquialisms and slang should be avoided, but so too should needlessly obscure or “elevated” diction and syntax. You should use language within which you feel comfortable and in control with the aim of clearly expressing your meaning.
Mechanics: Don’t obsess over mechanics in the early drafts of this paper. Your ultimate goal will be a grammatically and mechanically perfect essay, but there is time to polish these relatively superficial features. For now, delve into making an interesting response and expressing it clearly.
Documentation: Use MLA style documentation, including a Works Cited list, for any sources (including web pages and online conversations) you use in the paper. We will review MLA style in class on April 12.

Dates

4/17 Bring an initial (rough) draft to class for peer response session. Bring essays in electronic format: i.e., on disk saved as a Word document (.doc) or in Rich Text Format (.rtf).
4/19 Turn in second draft, also electronic format, to me in class. I will return these with comments (but no grade) within a week. You may continue to submit revised drafts for additional feedback throughout the quarter. Final drafts will be due at the end of the quarter as part of the final writing portfolio.

Essay 2: Virtual Community

Topics

Choose from any of the following topics. You can develop your own topic if you like, but please run it by me first. All papers should somehow deal with the concept of virtual community and address at least some of the issues raised in our readings.

Find a community or organizational website and analyze it in detail. Possible sites for analysis include “fan” or “shrine” sites, social and cultural groups, political organizations and “issue” sites – any site that attempts to represent or serve a particular group. Questions to consider: How does site build a sense of community for the group it represents or serves? What concepts, ideologies, or beliefs draw the group together? In defining their own community, does the group exclude or marginalize others? Does the site encourage or welcome “outsiders” or is it only for the “in-crowd”? Be particularly alert for hidden agendas. Does the site send a message or serve a purpose that is not overtly acknowledged (e.g., a “fan” site sponsored by the makers of a show or product and used as a marketing and sales tool).
Explore at greater length an active MOO (such as a the ones we examined in class) and discuss how (and whether) it serves as a virtual community. Some things to look for include the use and enforcement of a central theme, presence of codes of conduct or “netiquette,” and sponsorship or encouragement of communal events or collaboration. Talk to several of the residents of the MOO about why they participate in it and how it functions on an ongoing basis. (If you do interview people in this way, make sure you explain why you are inquiring and ask for their consent to be quoted before starting).
A central question in many of our readings is how (and whether) to extend the legal and ethical structures of Real Life into the virtual arena. Using evidence and examples from those readings, discuss the difficulties involved with “governing” virtual communities and argue for a way to solve these problems. Is it possible to have a society (virtual or otherwise) without rules and laws?
Tannen, Nicholson, and Herring all argue, to varying degrees, for a significant difference in styles and expectations among male and female participants in online discussions. Tannen goes so far as to say they belong to “different cultures” (198). Is such a “gender gap” still present in virtual communities, and what are the consequences if it is? Would you agree with Herring’s proposals for ways to correct the gender imbalance in cyberspace?

Guidelines

Much as before. Papers should be 1000-1500 words (4-6 pages) and present an organized, well developed, and properly supported analysis or argument on the topic chosen. Provide a provocative title, introduction, and conclusion, and document the paper using MLA style.

Dates

5/3 Bring an initial (rough) draft to class for peer response session. Bring essays in electronic format: i.e., on disk saved as a Word document (.doc) or in Rich Text Format (.rtf).
5/8 Turn in second draft, also electronic format, to me in class (or via email). I will return these with comments (but no grade) within a week. You may continue to submit revised drafts for additional feedback throughout the quarter. Final drafts will be due at the end of the quarter as part of the final writing portfolio.

Essay 3

Final Portfolio

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