Assignment 1
Write a four page paper (double-spaced) that makes a structured, multi-part critical argument which refers closely to one cyberpunk text. In addition to four pages of writing, the paper should include a separate Works Cited page appended to the end of the document.
The paper should begin with a short introductory paragraph containing your thesis statement. That is, a statement of the argument you will make in this paper. You should also indicate clearly in this first paragraph which question you are answering.
The paper should present evidence from the text in the form of quotations. Try to integrate these excerpts into the flow of your discussion, rather than simply setting them on their own and then talking about them.
The paper should provide some analysis of what you think each quotation means, and explain how this reading supports your thesis argument. At minimum, you should be expecting to present at least three pieces of evidence from the text.
This paper should conclude with a short paragraph that recaps the argument you have made in support of your thesis statement. A conclusion might include observations that emerged in the course of your argument.
The paper should be submitted in 11 point Calibri or similar font, and formatted accorded to MLA guidelines, using MLA citation style and with a Works Cited list on a separate page at the end of the document.
Assignments: (choose one)
” How is cyberpunk’s central tension around questions of the body reflected in either Neuromancer or Snow Crash? Make a critical argument, using evidence from the text, that addresses the embodiment of two specific characters, in each case arguing for why the embodiment of that character is of particular critical interest.
” How is narrative exposition handled in either Neuromancer or Snow Crash? Present at least three quotations showing exposition and provide analysis that connects them to a critical argument about how the book delivers background information to the reader.
” How are representations of masculinity and femininity constructed in cyberpunk works? – Focus on one character from either Neuromancer or Snow Crash. Form a strong and specific thesis about how that character’s gender is constructed in the novel, then give evidence and argument to support your thesis. Although your argument should be centered on one specific character, you may also wish to discuss other characters in the course of your paper, in terms of how the representation of their gender relates to that of the character you are focused on.
” Make a critical argument about the representation of one of the following themes in Neuromancer or Snow Crash. Your argument should include evidence and analysis, and argue for a specific critical reading of how the book explores this theme. Note: You must tie your discussion to how the theme is explored in this particular text. You can discuss other relevant texts in relation to this theme if you wish but keep it brief.
Themes:
Mind, Body and Identity – what does it mean to be a person?
High Technology / Low Society – how has technological change affected people of different social groups? How does tech contribute to alienation and marginalization, or to liberation?
Utopia and Dystopia – what might perfect worlds or perfectly awful worlds look like?
The Nature of Heroism – what makes a character a hero, or not?
Language and Memory – why is memory important? What is language’s role in memory?
” Hybridity – Focus on one character from either Neuromancer or Snow Crash. Form a strong and specific thesis about how that character is constructed as a hybrid, then give evidence and argument to support it. You may wish to consider different kinds of hybridity in this context but the main focus of your discussion should be on how this hybridity is constructed as the character’s social identity. That is, how it impacts their relations with other characters.
” Power – Focus on one character from either Neuromancer or Snow Crash. Form a strong and specific thesis about this character’s relation to issues of social and political power, then give evidence and argument to support it. You may wish to consider different kinds of social and political power in this context and your evidence and argument should focus on analyzing instances where the character interacts with the these structures of power in their world.