COM 101: Influence and Moral Systems

· [minimum of 1500 words]

· [use complete sentences (thoughts) and paragraphs (ideas)]

· [use MLA format (Links to an external site.) ]

· [write with patience]

· Use course readings, recommended readings, discussions, and additional, outside research, to compose an essay that critiques/explores/unconceals conditions within a system (in this case, the moral, political, and technological landscape of the modern world).

· Concepts & Ideas: the rift between feelings felt and displayed; the compulsive and repetitive need to destroy; media as ‘pacifier’; the ecstasy of impact; empathy vs. compassion; HyperNormalisation; belief and reason; the death of imagination; blame and moral responsibility; filter bubbles; ‘the real world’

· Attempt multiple sections that function on their own, as well as, in relation to each other (as exemplified by DeMott and Curtis). Consider making-into-your-own the section titles from either DeMott’s “Battling the Hard Man,” or Curtis’s HyperNormalisation [listed below]. Use these (or your own) to write from one to the next.

· 1975; THE HUMAN BOMB; ALTERED STATES; ACID FLASHBACK; THE COLONEL; THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE; MANAGED OUTCOMES; A CAUTIONARY TALE; A WORLD WITHOUT POWER (Curtis)

· INTRO; WAITING FOR CASUALTY REPORTS; A LOVED ONE PROTESTS AT HORROR AND MEANNESS; WHAT HAPPENED IN THE UMWELT; THE HARD MAN’S PHYSICALITY: EVER ‘IN THE MIDST OF POWER;’ HORSEPOWER FASCISM; PSYCHOPATHOLOGY OF REPLAY; INTERVAL OF DECENCY; MEMORIAL AS REPLAY; ON PROPOSITION X, WHICH I LIKE: I’M THE RESULT OF IMPERSONAL INELUCTABLE DECLINE; THE NURSES’ STATION; TRACING THE ‘DECLINE’: WALTER REED HOSPITAL; CONTEMPT FOR ONE’S OWN PRETENSE OF SERIOUSNESS; THE PORNIFICATION OF MOHAMMED ATTA; THEATERGOER AT SIXTEEN; LATER, PALGRAVE IN MY PACK; REPLAY: I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR MY DECLINE; MY BETTER DAYS: THE REPLAY; MORE EXCULPATION; NOR IS IT TRUE THAT I AM ALONE, THAT NOBODY ELSE IS BEWILDERED, ASHAMED, NEUTRALIZED; OUR LEADERS’ DREAM OF COURAGE; LINES I LOVED AS I LOVED ‘WONDERFUL ONE;’ ‘HUMANIZING’ EXPERIENCES OR MEMORIES LOSE VIBRANCY. THE MIND WITHIN THE MIND BLUSTERS THAT THE TRUTH IS YOU HAVE NO CAPITAL—ARE NO LONGER EVEN CAPABLE OF MISSING IT. HOW I LOST THE POET.; MAKE THE BALLOONS HAPPEN: THE HARD MAN IS AMUSED; ONCE MORE: THE LOOK OF THE IMPACT HUNTER (DeMott)

Readings & Media

· Antonioni, Michelangelo. Zabriskie Point. (Links to an external site.) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1970. (Links to an external site.)

· Baudrillard, Jean. The Transparency of Evil. (Links to an external site.) Verso, 1990. (Links to an external site.)

· Bloom, Paul. “The Baby in the Well.” New Yorker. (Links to an external site.) 2013. (Links to an external site.)

· Coen, Ethan and Joel. No Country for Old Men. Miramax Films, 2007. [on Swank]Links to an external site.

· Curtis, Adam. HyperNormalisation. (Links to an external site.) BBC, 2016. (Links to an external site.)

· Dawkins, Richard. “Good and Bad Reasons for Believing…” A Devil’s Chaplain: Reflections on Hope, Lies, Science, and Love. (Links to an external site.) Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 2003. (Links to an external site.)

· DeMott, Benjamin. “Battling the Hard Man.” Harper’s. (Links to an external site.) 2007. (Links to an external site.)

· Frank, Thomas. “Blood Sport.” Harper’s. (Links to an external site.) 2013. (Links to an external site.)

· Harris, Sam. “The Truth About Violence.” samharris.org/the-truth-about-violence (Links to an external site.) .

· Oppenheimer, Joshua. The Act of Killing. Final Cut for Real, 2012. [on Hoopla]Links to an external site.

· Slouka, Mark. “Dehumanized.” Harper’s. (Links to an external site.) 2009. (Links to an external site.)

· Strawson, Galen. “The Impossibility of Moral Responsibility.” Philosophical Studies: An International Journal for Philosophy in the Analytic Tradition. (Links to an external site.) Kluwer, 1994. (Links to an external site.)

FOR THE FINAL: adherence to this Revision Checklist is required for a grade of “A”

Revision Checklist—Work with ‘fractions’ of text—parts, sentences, complete ideas.

Sentence Level (all)

? Concrete Detail. Add senses.

? Define all uses of “-/thing,” “stuff,” and “it.”

? Eradicate worthless words: -ly words, being words, adverbial “just.”

? Revise sentences to eliminate “is,” “was,” and “would.”

? Revise sentences to be statements instead of questions.

? Revise sentences for better word choice (eliminate “get/got,” etc.)

Elements of Good Writing (all)

? Logos: functions through logic—flows from one sentence to the next.

? Pathos: evokes emotional response; appeals to the senses.

? Ethos: contains cultural presence; a ‘here and now’ quality; honesty; authenticity.

Completion (all)

? Spelling checked.

? Format (MLA) checked—font/size; margins; spacing issues; alignment; citation.

? Typos corrected—spacing issues (sentence-level); capitalization and punctuation.