Assignment for Paper One: Positioning Paper

Prompt

Before you go out to start researching your chosen tech/group, you first need to reflect upon your previous knowledge about it – what do you already know (or think you know) about the technology and how people use it? For this assignment, please write a paper in which you position yourself as a researcher with respect to the technology you will be studying this semester. Being reflective about your own subjectivity will help you position yourself fairly with respect to the people you will observe this semester.

This paper is somewhat personal in nature because you are writing about your own experiences and preconceptions, but you will mostly be writing about yourself in relation to something else that you do not know very well yet – your technology and its various uses. You will need to do some careful thinking about what you know and what you think you know. The idea here is not to become a detached, “objective” researcher (since there is no such thing), but rather to understand how your own perceptions might affect what you see during your research.

Important Considerations

Basically, you will write about what you know about your technology (and yourself in relation to the technology) before you make your first visit. Here are some things to consider:

• Be sure to clearly identify the technology you plan to study this semester.
• Describe any myths or stereotypes you know about your technology. What do people tend to think about it and what do they tend to do with it?
• What do you already know (or think you know) about the technology? Do you know any people that seem especially connected with this technology?
• Discuss how your own experiences might be similar to or different from others that might use the technology. You will need to consider things like your class, race, ethnicity, gender, age, socio-economic status, and your own cultural affiliations, and how they compare and/or contrast to other people you might observe.
• What kind of connection do you already have to the technology? What do you use it for? What are your opinions about it?
• Anticipate any difficulties you might have in coming to understand your technology. What will be hard about studying this technology?
• Write about why you have chosen this particular technology. What about it interests, fascinates, or disturbs you?
• What do you think you might learn from doing this research?

Please do not treat this as a list of questions to answer, one-by-one, in your paper. Instead, your paper should have a coherent thesis (or main idea) that organizes what you say.

Format Requirements

• This paper must be at least three, double-spaced pages long, and not much more than four.
• A “page” is a sheet of paper with at least 250 words on it. Set your documents to have one-inch margins all around, and use the Times New Roman (12 point) font.
• Your name, my name, the course section, and the date should appear in the upper-left corner of the first page (do not use a cover sheet). Your last name and the page number should appear in the upper-right corner of every page (use “header” function).

Important Dates

• Sept 7: Copies of draft due to Derek and group members
• Sept 14: Final copy due in class.