Part I: Arrange a Meal or Tour. Reserve a meal or tour through the Illinois Amish Interpretive Center.
Choose one Option:
Either option requires a group of people -- feel free to arrange this with friends or other students from class. However, if you do not have a group you can contact the Interpretive Center and they will try to match you with a group.
To schedule, call the Illinois Amish Interpretive Center at 1-888-45-AMISH. or email amishcenter@consolidated.net. More information is also available at their web site: http://www.amishcenter.com/.
Part II. Ask about communication technology. Complete the meal or tour. You must arrange for your own transportation and any other arrangements that are required.
During your meal or tour please be respectful at all times and act as a responsible representative of the university so that this assignment can continue in the future. (public education among the Amish may stop at grade 8, so it is unlikely that you will find UIUC alumni among your Amish hosts.)
During the meal or tour, ask questions about communication technologies we have discussed in this class. (The Illinois Amish Interpretive Center has already agreed that it is appropriate to ask questions about communication technologies on these occasions, as they are designed to answer questions about Amish culture.
If you receive permission, take a picture documenting your experience. Do not take pictures without asking for permission first. The Amish people do not wish to be photographed, but it may be possible to take a picture of their homes, of other students, of yourself, etc.
Part III. Write a blog post documenting the experience. In your post please relate the experience to one concept or quotation from your assigned readings. Please be sure to reference C&T Ch. 1, 5, or 6.
Feel free to arrange this event as a group, but your write up must be your own work. You may want to refer to your notes from the lecture on 4/1 as well.Deadline: As an Extra Credit assignment there is no particular deadline -- except that you must post your response to your blog before the class ends. However, these tours take time to arrange: you may want to start right away.
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DEADLINE: 8:00 a.m. Thursday, 5/8 (Before the final exam.)]]>
Part I. Dystopian Technology. For Part I of this assignment, choose a communication technology that currently exists. You might consider an example from earlier in the course (e.g., from the communication infrastructure treasure hunt). For instance:
RFID microchips
Peer-to-peer file-sharing
Social networking sites (facebook, myspace, etc.)
Facial recognition technology
Surveillance satellites
Cryptography / encryption techniques
Digital rights management (DRM) technology
Text messaging (SMS)
Internet radio stations (LastFM)
Internet-based applications (Gmail)
(...or some other modern technology of your choice.)
State which technology you chose and explain the possible negative or dystopian consequences of the technology. Particularly creative or unexpected choices of a communication technology (or a possible negative consequence) are especially encouraged!
Part II. 1984 vs. today. Next, relate your technology to a technology discussed in 1984. You might consider the surveillance camera, surveillance microphone, speakwrite, telescreen, versificator, novel-writing machines, memory holes, or another technological system. For instance, you could analyze a passage, a scene, a chapter, a character, or a sub-plot that relates to your particular technology. In what ways is the dystopian usage of the technology you chose similar to (or different from) the way technology is used by the state in 1984, or Orwell's use of technology in the plot?
To receive full credit for this assignment, you must demonstrate that you have read the text. Citing a short passage from the first few pages or discussing only plot details listed on the back cover of the book (or in the Spark Notes) will not count as "in depth."
Part III. The Big Picture. Finally, using your examples, answer the larger question: Are there communication technologies that are essentially dystopian or dangerous? (Or: communication technologies that have some inherently negative consequences?) Use your examples or other evidence to justify your answer.
To improve your answer, please reflect on some of the material covered this semester. The lecture on dystopia may be helpful, and for instance, the chapter on "progress" in the Culture & Technology book relates very well to this topic.
Post an answer of at least 300 words to your blog. DEADLINE: your blog post should be online at 11 a.m. -- one hour before class begins.
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