Media & Popular Culture/Literature and the Arts

Media & Popular Culture/Literature and the Arts

Each week there will be two prompts requiring your response.  Responses may be posted in one blog entry or two, but each response should be clearly titled.  While blogging is more relaxed than formal essay writing, it requires a minimum word count (see individual instructions), good grammar and correct spelling.  It also requires APA documentation of sources when quoting or citing from a website or using any online source.

Prompt #1: Media & Popular Culture

In “A Nation of Vidiots” (pp. 441-443) Jeffrey Sachs asserts that television “Is bad for one’s physical and mental health.”  The same argument could be made about social media.  Both television and social media also contribute to “social fragmentation” (442). Further, Sachs states, “Media can be useful as a provider for information, education, entertainment, and even political awareness.”  In 300 words, share your view of either (A) television or (B) social media as positive or negative.  Using specific examples, including your own habits of either television viewing or social media usage, make an argument for or against.

Include a link or graphic to an example of the media you choose.  Be sure to include an APA reference for the source.

Prompt #2: Literature and the Arts: Why do they matter?

After reading the introduction to Chapter 10 (p. 486), visit one of the following museum sites.  Choose a work of art from any on-line collections and write a short essay about the importance of art.  Perhaps you are writing to a young person who may not understand the nature of art.  Be sure to describe the specific piece you have chosen, and include the image if possible.  Cite as follows:

Basic Format for an Electronic Image

Author/Artist. (Year image or art was created). Title of work [Type of work], Retrieved from URL (address of website)