Deadline: Saturday, May 7, at 4:30. Exams must be handed in to my office by 4:30 on May 7. Exams must be typed, double-spaced, with citations and page numbers; they must be stapled in the top left corner. I will not accept late exams.
You may use your books and consult with others in the class. As a preface or introduction to your exam, explain how you went about answering the questions. Did you work with others? With whom did you work? How did you organize yourselves? What was the process? Be as specific as possible. Failure to provide this account will result in a ten point penalty (that is, ten points deducted from your total exam points).
Note: Your self-assessment will be due on Monday, May 9, at 5:00 in my office. I will accept early papers. I will not accept late papers.
There are 10 ten point questions and 1 twenty point question.
Ten point questions. Be sure to cite and engage the readings that inform your answer.
1. Eric Raymond contrasts the cathedral and the bazaar. What point is he trying to make with this contrast? Is his argument consistent with his title? Why or why not?
2. Siva Vaidhyanathan argues that Google has capitalized on public failure. What does he mean when says this? How is this argument connected to the question of regulation?
3. What drives social media? The best answers will think in terms of both the users and the features of social media. They will also refer to the "The Viral Me."
4. In what ways does an eighties "hacker culture" shape Wikileaks? How does this differentiate Wikileaks from more traditional journalism? What are the benefits of these differences? What are the drawbacks?
5. What does Mark Andrejevic mean by "digital enclosure"?
6. Does interactivity entail democratization? Use Mark Andrejevic to answer this question. What are the repercussions of your answer for analyzing movements.org?
7. What is the connection between technology and refusal of work according to Franco Berardi?
8. According to Franco Berardi, why do problems like panic disorder, ADHD, and depression increase under semio-capitalism?
9. According to Nicholas Carr, what does the internet do to our brains? How does he use the idea of brain plasticity in his argument? Is it persuasive? Why or why not?
10. Why is it in Google's interest to get us to click on more and more links? What are the repercussions of this for Google? What are the repercussions for people? Does it make sense to use the notion of efficiency to think about thinking? Why or why not?
Twenty point question. Be sure to engage and cite material from the course in your answer. You may use texts assigned during the first half of the course (chapter two of Terranova may be important here).
Students had the option of changing the way their work in the course would be assessed. You could change the requirements as well as the way these requirements would be weighted. Why didn't you do this? In answering the question, consider what you personally did or did not do as well as what your fellow students did or did not do (I'm asking you here whether you think your own reasons/motivations were the same or different from those that you attribute to others). The best answers will thematize the effect of the media terrain. For example, digital networks are supposed to facilitate communication; they are supposed to enable people to connect with one another easily; is this the same as enabling/inciting people to come together to evaluate problems, formulate options, and make decisions? Might the same technologies that reduce friction also displace action?
