ENGH 202 Paper #3, Spring 2017
Is the Internet Different, OR Risk Management in Sherlock Holmes or Frankenstein film(s)

In paper #3 you will build on your group work (blog posts 12a or 12b) and write on one of the following  questions: 

  1. Whether the internet is different from earlier information technologies and therefore exempt from what Tim Wu calls the cycle--and why this might matter; OR
  2. How Wu's theories or risk management in the entertainment industry bear on the Robert Downey/Jude Law Sherlock Holmes film(s) or other recent adaptations of Doyle or Shelley and what this might mean for the value of the film(s).  Make sure to include examples from the film(s) as well as cover Wu’s theories.     

The paper should be 3 pages typed and double spaced.  You should bring a print copy to our regular classroom during our scheduled exam time--Thurs May 11th anytime between 1:30 and 4:15pm--or to my office in Robinson A 253 by Friday May 12th from 10am to 5pm.  If you want me to go over a draft, you can bring it to the scheduled exam (Thurs May 11th 1:30-4:15) and then hand the paper in Fri May 12th.  Finally, include a typed statement on your tutoring and group work for the paper; make sure to include who you saw, when, what you went over and what you changed as a result.   

Include in-text citations (MLA or APA) and a Works Cited (MLA) or References (APA) page or Chicago style footnotes/endnotes. You can see sample papers and check your citations by studying your ENGH101 writing handbook. Note that video talks like Wu's at Harvard are more akin to a Lecture or Public Address in terms of MLA categories than they are like an Online video clip. But such hybrid or blurry cases are inevitable when new technologies of communication (disruptive or sustaining) are regularly introduced. APA is slower to adjust to such technologies than MLA, most likely because of its focus on social science research, but it does have rules for Lecture, speech or address and Online audio or video file.     

If you write on question 1, begin with a brief account of what Wu means by the cycle and how it may or may not apply to the Internet.  Then make an argument, drawing on Wu's account--and other sources, if you would like to add to what he says--for why the Internet will be subject to the same forces as information industries like telecommunications and entertainment, or will escape consolidation and central control and remain open.  Your paper should have detailed explanations and at least two quotes from Wu.  You should also cite where you found any other ideas.  You should at least mention technical points like packet vs. centralized switching and/or TCP/IP (pp. 172-4 & 197-199) but can emphasize business issues more than technical explanations if you feel better equipped to work on that level.  See the end of his Harvard talk (before he takes questions) for a fuller account of the business side of the issue.  If you write on question 2, begin with Wu's account of risk management in modern entertainment conglomerates.  Then make an argument, drawing on Wu's account--and other sources, if you would like to add to what he says--for how certain elements of the film(s) are or are not related to the risk management strategies he discusses and what this might mean for the value of the film(s).   Your paper should have detailed explanations and at least two quotes from Wu.  You should also cite where you found any other ideas. 

Our LLC tutors (David and John) are ready to help you by either discussing the issues and going over options and/or working on printed drafts with you.  You are expected to have at least one session with them as you work on paper #3 and required to have three sessions over the course of the semester.   Include a typed statement with your paper about what you went over and what you changed.   

Below is a listing of the reading in Wu for this semester and the ancillary materials we went over in class you should  use in writing your paper: