Summary
The intent of this assignment is to assess your ability as a media professional to cri2cally contextualize ideas, informa2on, and principles from two sec2ons of the text Biopoli:cal Screens to a hypothe2cal world that is defined by its rela2onship to the produc2on and consump2on of digital content. That world is the world of the The Circle.
The intent of the assignment is not to criDque the text. Any cri2cism of the text will be ignored and will adversely effect your grade. Note that the book is very different from the movie. This assignment requires that you read the book not that you watch the movie.
The assignment will be reviewed and graded based on (1) depth not breath, (2) your ability and willingness to link material from The Circle to material from The Biopoli:cal Apparatus (pages 11-16) and Neoliberal Brainhood (pages 16-25) in crea2ve, intelligent, and legi2mate ways that demonstrate comprehension and understanding, and (3) your ability and willingness to write from a feeling place rather than from simply an intellectual one.

The Assignment
Comple2ng the assignment requires that you: (1) grasp the principles from The Biopoli:cal Apparatus (pages 11-16) and Neoliberal Brainhood (pages 16-25), (2) perceive them at work in The Circle, and then (3) reflect on their conscious and unconscious effects personally and culturally on (a) some characters within The Circle, (b) The Circle itself as an organiza2on, and (c) the larger world within which The Circle exists.
Approximately half the paper should concentrate on The Biopoli:cal Apparatus (pages 11-16) and the second half on Neoliberal Brainhood (pages 16-25). No introduc:on and no conclusion. One, but not the only way, to complete the assignment is using a repe22ve three step process: (1) Take an observa2on, principle, phrase (etc…) from The Biopoli:cal Apparatus (pages 11-16) or Neoliberal Brainhood (pages 16-25), (2) then perceive the world of The Circle through it, and then (3) interpret/reflect in a feeling-toned way a bit about what you perceive the effect to be when you add 1 to 2. Repeat this process the number of 2mes you need to in order to complete the assignment.
A minimum of 3 interpreta/on/reflec/ons per sec/on from The Biopoli/cal Apparatus and Neoliberal Brainhood is required. Thats 6 minimum at 1 full page each (450-500 words). Keep any quota:ons to a minimum. A sure way to lose points is to quote heavily.

Examples
For instance, on page 13 within the The Biopoli:cal Apparatus sec2on of the text the author states, Capture is essen2ally a process of using content to bring together bodies and persons into specific arrangements or assemblages to capilazi2ze on their produc2vity. Contextualized to The Circle there are many ways that this observa2on can be applied. For instance, in general the idea behind an all-inclusive campus, or more specifically the rooms that staffers can rent but many end up living in. Likewise many of the technologies that are introduced in The Circle seem to be designed for this func2on. Any one of a number of characters seem to believe this sort of ideology – consciously or unconsciously.
Similarly, on page 19 within the Neoliberal Brainhood sec2on of the text the author states, In neoliberalism, the ideals of economic compe22on, efficiency, profitability, sa2sfac2on, benefit, and success are fundamentally generalized into the domain of life itself. In the book The Circle the whole idea of Comple2on, which is defined by content, could be interpreted in terms of this observa2on as could specific technologies, or the ideology of individual characters that are for or against it.
A`er making a connec2on between a principle from the text and the world of The Circle, reflect on it, and write a bit about how it makes you feel and what it makes you think of as a media professional. If you need it a list of feeling words is available here: hap://www.psychpage.com/ learning/library/assess/feelings.html).

Many of this semesters readings involve narratives–and moral arguments– concerning all or many aspects of these five (interrelated) topics:
1) Our ethical responsibilities to our fellow men and women–and to ourselves;
2) The nature of justice;
3) The tension between the law and the administration of justice;
4) Ideas about the moral law and the expansion of human rights;
5) The purpose of education.
You must write an essay response about one (1) of these five topics of your choice. Whatever topic you choose, your essay must explore the topic through the examples of three (3) authors spanning the semester, drawn from the following list:
The philosopher Plato (The Apology Euthyphro, and/or Crito; The Allegory of the Cave, from The Republic),
The father of modern political theory and political science, Machiavelli (the assigned extracts from The Prince),
The director Sidney Lumet and screenwriter Reginald Rose [counting as one] (12 Angry Men),
The moralist, satirist, and Anglican clergyman Jonathan Swift (“A Modest Proposal”),
The Abolitionist and Womens Rights Advocate Elizabeth Cady Stanton (Declaration of Sentiments, The Solitude of Self),
The great Orator, Abolitionist and Advocate of Human Rights Frederick Douglass (Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, and/or “What to a Slave is the Fourth of July’?),
The 20th Century civil rights leader, moralist and Nobel Prize Laureate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (“Letter from Birmingham Jail”), and/or
The feminist and Xicanisma scholar Ana Castillo (In the Beginning there was Eva.)
In other words, this essay question asks you to present your in-depth understanding of a recurrent moral/ethical/political preoccupation across the three authors you select.
Frame your discussion with a brief statement about your approach to the topic. Examine the perspectives and explain the reasoning of the authors you select with regard to your choice of topic. Identify where the authors’ views concur or differ, and be sure to point out whether (or not) you see important complementarities among them.

Of course it can be useful to reference more than three authors–but keep your focus on no more than three.
Your essay should be written as an interpretive argument–you’re presenting your understanding of the issue as seen through the works. The evidence in your reasoning must incorporate references to the texts, which you should be able to cite (or paraphrase) accurately. (Be aware that quotations may be necessarybut they are excluded from the minimum word count.)
In sum: In a 500-750-word essay, select one recurrent preoccupation within the works you read this semester, and synthesize the views of three authors on that topic. Be as clear and precise as possible.
Your response will be evaluated for your insights and understanding of the topic and the authors you citebut not judged for the quality of your prose.