Final Paper
this paper is worth 100 points

ch-ch-ch-changes - David Bowie

One of the roles of futurists (those who explore possible/likely futures) and science-fiction writers is to speculate (based on past and current trends) on the nature of the future. For the final paper choose one of the topic areas below. All topics require you to do research (see individual topics for exact requirements), and all will speculate on future possibilities based on present trends.

this next short bit will basically re-state what is in the pinkish sidebar box on the right

At just four full pages (five counting the Works Cited page), this is a short research paper. Any paper less than three full pages (with an additional page for the Works Cited page) will not earn a passing score. Papers trying for a "B" or an "A" must be at least four full pages (with an additional page for the Works Cited page).

You will not turn in a proposal or an outline. You must, however, turn in your annotated sources (just as you did with the earlier research paper. I need to see your sources and your notes on those sources.

NOTE: the Final Paper may not be turned in late. It is due before midnight the last Friday of the semester, and grades will go in that weekend. Any paper turned in late will earn a 0 (zero), so consider getting this one in early.

the topics (choose one)

1. The Handmaid's Tale

Just how believable is the future that Margaret Atwood imagines in The Handmaid's Tale? What material is actually based on the past and the present? Reviewing the Historical Notes will help you with this question.

Your task is to write a research paper in which you analyze The Handmaid's Tale . For this analysis focus on one narrow issue developed in the novel that is based a on a real-life issue. Describe the situation in the novel (be sure to quote passages and use standard MLA format); compare what's happening in the book to what you discover in your research sources. You might, for example, concentrate on the forbidding of reading which is shown throughout the book. Explain why the "powers" of Gilead feel reading is a threat. You could compare this to the forbidding of reading or access to internet information for the general population in certain countries.

There are many other topics that will work with this assignment:

• religion as a tool that has been used to control people (this subject might have you look at a specific cult, for example)
• infertility related to unchecked toxic wastes (the references in the novel are oblique, but you could easily tie this to real-world chemical spills, radiation contamination, etc.)
• television as a propaganda tool or, really, any propaganda used in a time of war (this compares neatly to the scenes where Offred is watching television or is being brainwashed)
• the lack of freedom for women in a specific (you need to name the time/place) monotheocracy
• political or religious leaders guilty of hypocrisy

Do not limit your thinking or your imagination. There are lots of issues in Atwood's novel. Do make sure you have a narrow, specific topic. "Women's rights" is far too huge a topic and would demand you write a very long book. "Women losing their careers during a political takeover in _______," for example, is a much more manageable subject.

For this short research paper you will need to use a minimum of three sources-- one will be The Handmaid's Tale (you must find examples of your subject in the book which you quote and document); the other two (or more) will be recent (within the past five years) secondary sources (newspaper, magazine, textbook, internet, etc.) which illustrate that the issue you are drawing from the novel is relevant, is a significant current real life issue. You must draw evidence (documented quotations) from all of the three or more (including Atwood's novel) sources listed on your Works Cited page. You will also need to turn in your annotated sources (again, these may be scanned or downloaded or transcripted from non-print sources, then saved as .doc or .rtf files and submitted that way).

Why must the sources be so current? First, the goal is to see the relevance of the book to the world you live in (not some bygone days), but also because there are many "for sale" essays on these topics on the internet; most use older sources. There is a huge risk of plagiarism here, and I do not want any of you to fail this assignment. The fact that you must turn in actual copies of your sources with your notes on them will also make sure this doesn't happen.

2. Google Projects

Do some research on Google Projects (there are various sites that you can easily search with specifics about many key projects funded, or at least encouraged, by Google. You will find the much-talked-about driverless cars and recently-re-considered broadcast glasses, of course, but there are literally thousands of different projects (small and large-scale) dealing with technology, ecology, social interaction, warfare, the arts, and so on.

Then write a paper on one of the following:

Choose ONE Google Project and explain why Google should, or should not, continue to fund and develop it. This should not just be a personal opinion (such as, "I don't believe in warfare"). Instead, consider the actual implications of the project; imagine (and logically describe) what one of the positive or negative consequences might be and the impact it might have (plus or minus). Here is one instance (you may NOT use this particular example; it is just to show you the kind of thing you want to do; there are other ways of supporting/attacking driverless cars, though):

• If the driverless car is successfully developed, one of the logical applications would be to eliminate the need for drivers of long-haul trucks. This would potentially eliminate accidents and the need for trucks to be out of service as drivers rest, but it would also eliminate hundreds or thousands of jobs. The effect to the economy might be...

Your paper will have at least two research sources, though it will likely have more. For the topic above, you would want a minimum of two sources that do the following:

• one source explaining the Google project and its goal; it would explore the need, the feasability (is the science available?), the cost(s), etc.

• one source explaining a clear benefit or potential danger of supporting this project (for the topic above, the source would discuss the potential elimination of truck drivers and the effect to the economy.

I actually strongly recommend you have more than two sources; after all, one or two sources are not especially satisfying, and having just the project source and one other will require you to do a lot of thinking and speculating and explaining on your own.

2a. Google Projects

As with the topic above, you will need to do some research on Google Projects to see what they are like, what has been proposed, what is being actively worked on.

Instead of writing about an existing project, propose a Google Project of your own, and explain why Google should fund and develop it. Again, you will want to research (find at least two credible sources) the problem/need it fulfills and speculate on just what the scope of the change might be if the project were developed. You will want to balance risks/costs with potential rewards in your pitch.

Whichever approach you take for this topic (examining an existing project or proposing one of your own), include a Works Cited page of either the Google project you are researching or of the problem your own project will address. Be sure to submit annotated (marked-up, showing your notes) copies (scanned print sources, downloaded and saved online sources, transcripts you write of any non-print sources) that you use.