|Thank You for a Great Class

I had a lot of fun, and I hope you did, too.

Enjoy your break.

Don't be a stranger.

-D

|Week 17: Wed. 12.13

Week 17: Wed. 12.13
Finals Week: 12.13 (Meet at Flames, across from MLK Library, at 8 AM)
Class: RESEARCH PAPER (HARD COPY FINAL DRAFT) OR emailed no later than Thu 12.14 by noon

Due Fri 12.15: Self-Reflection ePortfolios (upload to Canvas by midnight)

|Future News 12.7

• Here is how you can support Net Neutrality (The Daily Dot)
• Here are the 100 most anticipated films of 2018 (ThePlaylist)
• Scientists: Playing video games is better for your brain than playing piano (Inverse)
• Legal cannabis industry poised to explode in the very near future (Inquisitor)
• San Jose moves forward on plan for tiny homes for the homeless (San Jose Mercury News)
• Paco Rabanne's forward-looking fashion ... from 1967 (British Pathé)

 

|Week 16: 12.8

Week 16: 12.8*
Class: Multimedia presentations; Writers workshop; Course overview
Due: RESEARCH PAPER (UP TO PG. 6)

Upcoming:

Week 17: Wed. 12.13
Finals Week: 12.13 (Meet at Flames, across from MLK Library, at 8 AM)
Class: RESEARCH PAPER (HARD COPY FINAL DRAFT) or emailed no later than Thu 12.14 by noon

Due Fri 12.15: Self-Reflection ePortfolios (upload to Canvas by midnight)

*Last day for presentations

|Future News 12.1

• Is Algorave the future of dance music? (Guardian)
• Are psychedelic mushrooms going to be the next recreational drug to be legalized? (Newsweek)
• Truckee, California becomes 50th US city to adopt 100% renewable energy goal (Solar Industry Magazine)
• Does Netflix deserve a shot at the Oscars? (Vanity Fair)
• The angular Snøhetta to rise in NYC's Upper West Side (Inhabitat) 
• Video game industry value falls after EA Battlefront II debacle (CNBC)

 

|Week 15: 12.1

Week 15: 12.1
Class: Multimedia presentations; Writers workshop
Due: RESEARCH PAPER (UP TO PG. 3); REFLECTION 6

Upcoming:

Week 16: 12.8
Class: Multimedia presentations; Writers workshop; Course overview
Due: RESEARCH PAPER (UP TO PG. 6)

Week 17: Wed. 12.13*
Finals Week: 12.13 (8 AM – 9:30 AM; Location TBD)
Class: RESEARCH PAPER (FINAL DRAFT)

*Student ePortfolios due 12.15—Mandatory; See Canvas for details

|Future News: 11.24

• Hillary Clinton warns that AI is "not our friend" (Business Inside)
• Chic curtains transform your windows into instant nighttime cityscapes (Inhabitat)
• Mars candy company pledges to go carbon neutral by 2040 (PRI)
• Can Chinese surveillance apparatus identify you simply by your walk? (Quartz)
• BMW proposes a series of urban elevated bicycle paths (Wired)
• Maui is home to a low-impact small home which emphasizes outside living (Inhabitat)

|Reflection 6: Who Wants to Live Forever?—The Science of Whole Brain Emulation

What if the end wasn't really the end? What if science and technology could promise us life after death via the digital transference of your mind? That is the premise of Whole Brain Emulation (WBE) or "mind uploading." Specifically, WBE is the hypothetical copying of a person's consciousness, including personality and memories, into an artificial digital device (including an android body) or wireless network. Coupled with Transhumanism, a movement which aims to transform the human body through technological augmentation, WBE is an increasingly relevant (and controversial) field of scientific study. Proponents argue that within our lifetime we will have the capability of electronically transferring our minds beyond a physical body. If this indeed becomes a reality (and there are many who say it is not), how would it affect how we define our own humanity? Is a human still a human when he or she is no longer contained in a flesh and blood vessel? Does WBE redefine human concepts of a soul? Would death have the same meaning for us if we knew we had an electronic out? Finally, if WBE were available today, would you opt to transfer your consciousness into a machine at the time of your "death"?

Include at least two of the following in your discussion:

• "How to Live Forever: Here are the Ways Silicon Valley Plans to Conquer Death" (National Post)
• "God in the Machine: My Strange Journey into Transhumanism" (Guardian)
• "Mind Uploading' and Digital Immortality May be Reality by 2045, Futurists Say" (Huffington Post)
• "Immortal, but Damned to Hell on Earth" (Atlantic)
• "'Your Animal Life is Over. Machine Life Has Begun': The Road to Imortality" (Guardian)
• "Brain Emulations Pose Three Massive Moral Questions and a Scarily Practical One" (Inverse)

Required:

• MLA Style
• Works cited 
• ONE full pages in length

Due: Fri 12.1

|Week 14: 11.24

Week 14: 11.24
NO CLASS—HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Upcoming:

Week 15: 12.1
Class: Multimedia presentations; Writers workshop
Due: RESEARCH PAPER (UP TO PG. 3); REFLECTION 6

Week 16: 12.8
Class: Multimedia presentations; Writers workshop; Course overview
Due: RESEARCH PAPER (UP TO PG. 6)

Week 17: Wed. 12.13
Finals Week: 12.13 (8 AM – 9:30 AM; Location TBD)
Class: RESEARCH PAPER (FINAL DRAFT)

|Future News 11.17

• Boston Dynamics' Atlas tries its hand at parkour (TechCrunch)
• Tesla debuts Tesla Semi (TheVerge)
• ALSO: Tesla surprises with a $250k, record-fast roadster (CNET)
• Tianjin, China opens the "library of the future" (CGTN)
• How the FETCH Model offers insight into the workplaces of the future (Forbes)
• Heads up: Chinese doctor's claim the world's first human head transplant (Telegraph)
• Players push back on EA's Battlefront II microtransactions, forcing a temporarily halt (Kotaku)

|Week 13: 11.17

Week 13: 11.17
Class: TOULMIN METHOD; Multimedia presentations; Writers workshop; Library research session
Due: RESEARCH PAPER THESIS AND OUTLINE (BRING 2 COPIES); REFLECTION 5

Upcoming:

Week 14: 11.24
NO CLASS—HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Week 15: 12.1
Class: Multimedia presentations; Writers workshop
Due: RESEARCH PAPER (UP TO PG. 3); REFLECTION 6

Week 16: 12.8
Class: Multimedia presentations; Writers workshop; Course overview
Due: RESEARCH PAPER (UP TO PG. 6)

Week 17: Wed. 12.13
Finals Week: 12.13 (8 AM – 9:30 AM; Location TBD)
Class: RESEARCH PAPER (FINAL DRAFT)

|Future News 10.10

• Fighter jets with lasers are coming by 2021 (IEEE Spectrum)
• Are football's days numbered? Bob Costa says, "The reality is that this game destroys people’s brains" (USA Today)
• Uber's flying taxis coming to LAX by 2020 (TheVerge)
• Syria joins the Paris Climate Accord, leaving the US the only nation to oppose (BBC News)
• After purchasing LinkedIn, Microsoft bringing "Resume Assistant" to Word (Ars Technica)
• 2017 television portrays a record number of LGBTQ characters (TheVerge)

|Week 12: 11.10

Week 12: 11.10
NO CLASS—VETERANS DAY

Upcoming:

Week 13: 11.17
Class: TOULMIN METHOD; Multimedia presentations; Writers workshop; Library research session
Due: RESEARCH PAPER THESIS AND OUTLINE (BRING 2 COPIES); REFLECTION 5

Week 14: 11.24
NO CLASS—HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Week 15: 12.1
Class: Multimedia presentations; Writers workshop
Due: RESEARCH PAPER (UP TO PG. 3); REFLECTION 6

Week 16: 12.8
Class: Multimedia presentations; Writers workshop; Course overview
Due: RESEARCH PAPER (UP TO PG. 6)

Week 17: Wed. 12.13
Finals Week: 12.13 (8 AM – 9:30 AM; Location TBD)
Class: RESEARCH PAPER (FINAL DRAFT)

|Future News 11.3

• Danish apartment complex consists of 48 shipping containers (Inhabitat)
• Luminescent pajamas might help babies with jaundice (NewAtlas)
• Neuroscientist: We should be open to brain implants to keep up with AI (ScientificAmerican)
• Here are robots incredible animal-inspired robots (InterestingEngineering)
• No, Americans do not want to give Amazon access to their homes (GeekWire)
• Sex robot developer hopes to create robot babies (Inquisitor)

 

|Reflection 5: Tuned Out—The Future of Television

For most of the history of TV, if you wanted to catch an episode of your favorite show, you had no choice but to be home on the night and time it aired. Miss watching or recording the show and you had to wait until it reran or found its way to VHS (or eventually, DVD). Back then, the broadcast networks (of which there were only three: NBC, CBS, and ABC) had a far greater say in when and how you, the viewer, watched your favorite shows. But the Internet revolution and technological advancements have changed all that. The power to watch what you want—however and whenever—is now in your hands. In fact, Millennials have radically shifted the television paradigm. Not only does your peer group refuse to watch television in the ways in which previous generations did, you also watch less of it. When you do watch TV, you're as likely to watch it on a device other than a television. What does all of this mean for the future of TV? Are exciting developments in television technology enough to lure you back into traditional viewing patterns? What will TV watching look like in 10-20 years?

Include at least two of the following in your discussion:

• "The Messy, Confusing Future of TV? It's Here" (New York Times) 
• "Nearly Half of Millennials and Gen Xers Don't Watch any Traditional TV: Study" (AdAge)
• "The Future of Television is à la Carte" (Forbes)
• "The Future of Television: Cutting the Cord" (The Economist)
• "Millennials Mostly Watch TV After It’s Aired" (Recode)
• "Judging by CES, Here’s What the Future of TVs is Gonna Look Like" (New York Magazine)

Required:

• MLA Style
• Works cited 
• Two full pages in length

Due: Fri 11.17

|Week 11: 11.3

Week 11: 11.3                 

Read: ABUNDANCE—Part Six: Steering Faster; ; eR—“The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees” by E. Lily Yu, “Super-Toys Last All Summer Long” By Brian Aldiss, “The Best Christmas Ever” by James Patrick Kelly, “Forever Yours, Anna” by Kate Wilhelm

Class: Reading Discussion; Multimedia presentations; PowerPoint: “Persuasion and the Toulmin Method”

Due: THE MODES OF PERSUASION: SHORT ANSWER RESPONSES

Upcoming:

Week 12: 11.10

NO CLASS : VETERANS DAY

|Short Answer Responses: Sci-Fi Short Fiction

Directions:

Answer questions 1-3, then any two questions between 4-7.

1. Which story has a character that most embodies the characteristics of ethos?
2. Which story’s plot most embodies the characteristics of pathos?
3. Which story relies most heavily on ethos for its premise (e.g. set up)?
4. For which character did you feel the most sympathy?
5. Which character ultimately compromised his/her/its authority?
6. Which character acts most illogically?
7. Taken as a whole, did the stories rely most on logos, pathos, or ethos?

Guidelines:

• All responses should be no more than 10 sentences—open each response with your thesis, then follow leaning more heavily on evidence than commentary
• Be very specific—quote extensively to support your thesis
• Clearly indicate which question you are answering, though questions do not have to be presented in order
• Write in the present tense 
• All titles should be in title case and inside quotation marks 
• All stories can be found in the eReader (to the right of this post)

Required:

• MLA Style

Due: Fri 11.3

|Future News 10.26

• New "church" is established to worship AI (Daily Mail)
• Elon Musk is not on board with worshiping AI (Independent)
• Artist's mirrored installation lets you enter a diamond (Inhabitat)
• Here is what children came up when asked what the houses of the future should look like (Co.Design)
• Regal Theaters to test "surge pricing" scheme for blockbuster films (Dark Horizons)
• SETI astronomer: We'll find intelligent alien life within 20 years (Newsweek)

|Week 10: 10.27

Week 10: 10.27
Read: ABUNDANCE—Part Five: Peak of the Pyramid; eR—“Amaryllis” by Carrie Vaughn, “Evil Robot Monkey” by Mary Robinette Kowal, "Intro to Prom" by Genevieve Valentin, ""The Secret Life of Bots" by Suzanne Palmer

Class: Reading Discussion; Multimedia presentations; PowerPoint: “Understanding Aristotle’s Modes of Persuasion”

Upcoming:

Week 11: 11.3                 

Read: ABUNDANCE—Part Six: Steering Faster; ; eR—“The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees” by E. Lily Yu, “Super-Toys Last All Summer Long” By Brian Aldiss, “The Best Christmas Ever” by James Patrick Kelly, “Forever Yours, Anna” by Kate Wilhelm

Class: Reading Discussion; Multimedia presentations; PowerPoint: “Persuasion and the Toulmin Method”

Due: THE MODES OF PERSUASION: SHORT ANSWER RESPONSES

|Future News 10.19

• Here is the future of CGI tech in film (FastCoDesign)
• How Stockton, California is pioneering basic income in the United States (Vox)
• Google's parent company, Alphabet, to build a city of the future in Canada (BBC News)
• The best spot for a lunar base may be inside a cave (Gizmodo)
• This may the the cruise you vacation on in the near future (Express)
• NASA: Our solar system may have a ninth planet after all—it's just not Pluto (Futurism)

 

|Week 9: 10.20

Week 9: 10.20
Read: ABUNDANCE—Part Three: Building the Base of the Pyramid
Class: Reading Discussion; Multimedia presentations
Due: ROGERIAN ARGUMENT: INFOGRAPHIC (DRAFT 1; BRING 2 COPIES—B&W OKAY); REFLECTION 4

Upcoming:

Week 10: 10.27

Read: ABUNDANCE— Part Five: Peak of the Pyramid; DB—Short Story Pack 1: “Ancient Machines” by Michael Swanwick, “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” by Mike Resnick, “Amaryllis” by Carrie Vaughn, “Evil Robot Monkey” by Mary Robinette Kowal

Class: Reading Discussion; Multimedia presentations; PowerPoint: “Understanding Aristotle’s Modes of Persuasion”

 

|Reflection 4: A More Perfect Union—On a Mixed Race America

President Obama was often lauded as our first black president, but he might've been more accurately identified as our first mixed race president. That he is viewed as a black president, when is actually half white, points to our country's complicated history with race. Indeed, President Obama may very have provided America a peek at its future. It is increasingly clear that 21st century Americas will look markedly different than those that came before them. Though still relatively small in numbers, mixed race Americans are already changing the racial landscape of the country—according to a 2013 study, a record 12% of newlyweds married someone of a different race. Consider also that future mixed race Americans will be further reshaping an already increasingly less white population. But just how will mixed race Americans reshape the country we know today? Are we evolving toward "a more perfect union" or will this racial trend eventually render our country unrecognizable to Americans of today?

Include at least two of the following pieces in your discussion:

• "The Changing Face of America" (National Geographic)
• "Multiracial in America: Proud, Diverse and Growing in Numbers" (Pew Research Center)
• "Mixed Race People are Changing the Face of America" (Huffington Post) 
• "What Makes Someone Identify as Multiracial?" (FiveThirtyEight)
• "Raising a Biracial Child as a Mother of Color" (Atlantic)
• "Interracial Marriage: Who is ‘Marrying Out’?" (Pew Research Center)

Required:

• MLA Style
• Works cited 
• Two full pages in length

Due: Fri 10.20

|Future News 10.12

• RIP AIM (Ars Technica)
• NYC on the verge of a sing;e-stream recycling program (Scrapmonster)
• The key to harvesting stem cells in the future may be a root canal (UNLV)
• Here's what future Target stores will look like (Apartment Therapy) 
• Japan is raising chickens who lay eggs with cancer-fighting properties (Inhabitat)
• eSports are coming to Hulu (Engagdet)

|Rogerian Argument: Infographic

Now that you've completed a Rogerian Argument about the AI debate, it is time to "remix" that assignment into a more visual medium. To do that, you will translate your argument into an infographic, a visual representation of information. In this infographic, all six components of your Rogerian Argument (overview of the issue, summary of opposing view, statement of understanding,  stating your position, statement of contexts, and common ground solution) should be illustrated in one of three areas: proponent, opponent, and solution. Aim for some variation of THIS configuration. Also, find samples HERE and HERE.

Infographics are most easily created in PowerPoint (or a comparable program). However, you may also use programs, such as Photoshop or Illustrator.

A well-executed infographic will:

• Have a title that articulates its Rogerian Argument nature
• Have a design inspired by the subject matter (the AI debate), balancing it with sufficient content
• Visually translate perspectives and facts in a clear and enlightening manner
• Stay within the parameters of the debate about AI technology
  

Note:

• In most cases, infographics are best sent as an attachment (especially if they contain animation)
• If sent as an attachment, keep in mind that I may or may not be able see the intended fonts of your infographic on my computer
• Static infographics can be sent as screenshots or PDFs

Due: 

Fri 10.20 - Draft 1; Bring 2 copies—B&W okay

Fri 10.27 - Final draft; Email to dhdelao@gmail.com by 5 PM

|Week 8: 10.13

Week 8: 10.13
Read: ABUNDANCE—Part One: Perspective
Class: ROGERIAN ARGUMENT: ANALYSIS; Reading Discussion; Multimedia presentations; ; PowerPoint: "Infographics 101"

Upcoming:

Week 9: 10.20
Read: ABUNDANCE—Part Three: Building the Base of the Pyramid
Class: Reading Discussion; Multimedia presentations
Due: ROGERIAN ARGUMENT: INFOGRAPHIC (DRAFT 1; BRING 2 COPIES—B&W OKAY); REFLECTION 4

|Rogerian Argument: Analysis—The AI Debate (IN-CLASS)

In 2014, noted astrophysicist Dr. Stephen Hawking told the BBC, "The primitive forms of artificial intelligence we already have, have proved very useful. But I think the development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race." Hawking has since been joined in his fear of artificial intelligence (AI) by a chorus of tech luminaries, including Elon Musk and Bill Gates. These critics charge that AI is developing at such a pace that its consequences cannot be fully understood nor anticipated. On the other end of the spectrum, AI proponents argue that the technology has the potential to vastly improve life for humans. AI is not something to fear, they say, but to embrace. Can we find consensus on the development of AI? Is there common ground between those that fear AI and those that embrace it? Using a (six paragraph) Rogerian Argument, outline how their solution bridges the divide between the pro and anti-AI camps.

All evidence to support your solution should come from the following sources (use a minimum of five):

• "What Happens When Artificial Intelligence Turns on Us?" (Smithsonian)
• "Intelligent Machines: Do We Really Need to Fear AI?" (BBC News)
• "Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg are waging a war of words over the future of AI" (Business Insider)
• "Artificial Intelligence: Friendly or Frightening?" (LiveScience)
• "The Seven Deadly Sins of AI Predictions" (MIT)
• Artificial Intelligence Will Not Turn into a Frankenstein's Monster" (Guardian)
• "How Artificial Intelligence Will Revolutionize Our Lives" (National Geographic)
• "The Upside of Artificial Intelligence" (Wired)
• "Artificial Intelligence is Our Future. But Will It Save or Destroy Humanity?" (Futurism)
• "Bill Gates Joins Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking in Saying Artificial Intelligence is Scary" (Quartz)
• "Machines That Can Think Will Do More Good Than Harm" (Edge)
• "Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk Are Both Wrong About AI" (Slate)
• "The Case Against Killer Robots, From a Guy Actually Working on Artificial Intelligence" (Fusion)
• "The Case Against Out-of-Control Artificial Intelligence" (AEI)
• "Should We Be Afraid of Robots?" (Newsweek)

In-class : Fri 10.13

|Future News 10.5

• Company's sex robots are disturbingly trashed at trade show (ZDNet)
• New Google device can instantly translate up to 40 languages (CNBC)
• How would you like your phone calls beamed directly into your brain? (NewScientist)
• You're a wall thermostat in a new interactive short film (i09)
• This house was 3D printed to connect like Legos (Telegraphs) 
• The Japanese hotels are almost entirely run by robots (Business Insider)

|Week 7: 10.6

Week 7: 10.6
Read: eR—"The 100 Best Infographics" (Creative Bloq), "10 Tips for Designing Better Infographics" (DotDash), "12 Warning Signs that Your Infographic Sucks" (Visme)
Class: Reading Discussion; Multimedia presentations; PowerPoint: "Infographics 101"
Due: REFLECTION 3

Upcoming:

Week 8: 10.13
Read: ABUNDANCE—Part One: Perspective
Class: ROGERIAN ARGUMENT: ANALYSIS; Reading Discussion; Multimedia presentations; Writers workshop
Due: ROGERIAN ARGUMENT: INFOGRAPHIC (DRAFT 1; BRING 2 COPIES—B&W OKAY)

 

|Future News 9.30

• Robots coming to NYC Shake Shacks (New York Post)
• Build this tiny house in just three weeks and for $700 (Inhabitat)
• Thus far, only 260 Model 3s have been produced by Tesla (Engagdet)
• Does the Earth need a interstellar shield to protect it from solar storms (i09)
• GM promises 20 new EVs coming (Ars Technica)
• How AI is tbe future of cancer treatment (NextBigFuture)

|Reflection 3: The Truth is Out There—America in the Era of Conspiracy Theories

We live in an era in which Americans are suspicious of authority—and now, the news. A mounting distrust in our institutions, built over decades of scandals and cover-ups, has Americans weary of many of the government’s “official” positions on issues. In the absence of this civic trust has allowed conspiracy theories to fill the void. These theories arouse our paranoia and rest on the common belief that we are not being told the truth. In an era of social media, conspiracy theories have thrived in recent years. It is idea vehicle for the wide dissemination of misinformation.

For this reflection, examine two of the following conspiracy theories. In your examination, explore why the theories were born and why they persist. Finally, do either of them have any grounding in reality? Are you a believer? If so, why?

Choose two of the following:

• Ancient Alien Theories
• The Battle of Los Angeles
• The Roswell Crash 
• The Area 51 Cover-Up
• The Death of Marilyn Monroe 
• The JFK Assassination 
• The Moon Landing Hoax 
• The Bigfoot Cover-Up
• The Face on Mars 
• The Death of Elvis Presley 
• The Death of Tupac Shakur 
• The Death of Princess Diana 
• The Illuminati and the New World Order
• The 9/11 Cover-Up 
• The Global Warming Hoax 
• The Chemtrails Cover-Up 
• The Autism-Vaccination Link 
• President Obama’s Fake Birth Certificate 
• Hillary Clinton and Pizzagate

Cite any sources you use in your examination.

Required:

• MLA Style
• Works cited 
• Two full pages in length

Due: Fri10.6

|Week 6: 9.29

Week 6: 9.29
Class: Reading Discussion; Multimedia presentations; Watch: Excerpts from Her (2013); PowerPoint: “Toward a Consensus: The Rogerian Argument”
Due: REFLECTION 2

Upcoming:

Week 7: 10.6
Read: eR—"The 100 Best Infographics" (Creative Bloq), "10 Tips for Designing Better Infographics" (DotDash), "12 Warning Signs that Your Infographic Sucks" (Visme)
Class: ROGERIAN ARGUMENT: ANALYSIS; Reading Discussion; Multimedia presentations; PowerPoint: "Infographics 101"
Due: REFLECTION 3

|Research Paper: The Future of ...

As you know, your English 2 will culminate with an eight-page research paper. Below are the guidelines:

Topics:

 Explore the future development of ...

1. Privacy: The Bill of Rights broadly grants every American citizen a right to basic privacy. However, advancements in technology have drastically changed how we define and set boundaries around privacy. Whether willingly (phone apps and Facebook) or not (NSA spying), Americans have traded their privacy for convenience and security. What will privacy in America look like in the future? Will we strive to protect our individual thoughts, habits, and communications, or will the expectation of privacy eventually become an antiquated concept?
2. Religion in America: The United States is still a nation of believers. However, the religions we practice are shifting, with Protestant faiths (Lutherans, Methodists, Baptists, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, etc.) set to become minorities in the near future. Indeed, more Americans are opting out of religion altogether. According to Pew Research, "Among Americans ages 18-29, one-in-four say they are not currently affiliated with any particular religion." Will the majority of Americans still practice and celebrate religion in the future, and, if so, with which religions will we identify?
3. Endangered Foods: A byproduct of climate change has been the emergence of so-called “endangered foods.” As a result of everything from over-harvesting and depleted environments to drought and disease, foods as diverse as cocoa beans, salmon, and bananas, may be threatened in the coming decades. For example, in North America, sugar maples (a major source of maple syrup) are now considered one of many threatened native species. What would be the impact of losing some of these foods? Profile three threatened foods (plant or animal), examining both the cause for their decline, as well as efforts to save them. 
4. Warfare: From muskets and pistols to drones and Humvees, the ways in which America has engaged in conflict has changed dramatically since its founding. Today, the US has the most technologically advanced military in the world, but also spends more on defense than the next 13 biggest militaries combined. How will that money be spent in the future? How are today’s military strategies, including counterterrorism and cyberwarfare, shaping the wars of tomorrow? 
5. Masculinity: The last century saw a radical shift in America’s perceptions of what it meant to be a man. How are future concepts of masculinity being shaped? For example, how will social movements, such as stay-at-home dads, increasing female economic equality, and non-binary genderism, affect what we expect of 21st century masculinity?
6. Water: In a 2001 speech, then United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan warned that "competition for fresh water may well become a source of conflict and wars in the future." Others, including environmentalists and economists, have also warned of impending “water wars.” Others disagree, calling the prospect of future water conflicts both alarmist and fabricated. Will future wars be fought over water? 
7. Cities: What forces will shape the cities of the future? Economics? Climate change? Overpopulation? Geopolitics? Are we on the verge of burgeoning urban utopias or will megacities envelope us in pollution and congestion? How are architects, designers, and engineers laying the groundwork for the future’s cities?
8. Fashion: The future of fashion is about more than just incoming waist lengths or new silhouettes. Instead, it’s about how technology and fashion might merge to meet 21st century demands, such as textile renewability and eCommerce? For example, if our future is to be hotter and more polluted, then might 21st century fashion gives us clothes that refract harmful UV light or can read our biorhythms? What does the coming century hold for fashion? 
9. Transportation: How will we move from one place to another in the future? Hover cars? Maglev trains? Pilotless planes? How transportation meet the demanding needs of the 21st century? Which of today’s developing technologies will revolutionize transportation? And what will be the United States’ role? Will Americans help usher in a new technological era or watch from the sidelines?
10. Social Media: We live in a social media landscape dominated by a relatively few amount of players (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, etc.). But as AOL, MySpace, Vine, and Zynga can attest, social media users are nothing if not fickle. What will future social media users, particularly those born after 2000, demand from their social media sites? And are today's biggest players—many of whom will be two decades old—up for the challenge? Is the next Facebook on the horizon? If so, what might it look like? Finally, will non-American social media sites ever gain a foothold in the US? Might Brazil's Orkut or China's Renren have the opportunity to infiltrate the American market? What is the future of social media?
11. The Olympics: What was once a cut-throat competition to host the world's most prestigious athletic exhibition has turned into a cautionary tale about cities abundantly wasting precious resources with little to show for it. For example, the Summer Games of 2024 and 2028 began with intense international attention, but after the financial fiasco of the 2016 Rio Olympics, only Paris and Los Angeles were left interested. And there was so little interest in hosting a Winter Games that Beijing—a city averaging only one week of precipitation per winter—was hastily awarded the 2022 ceremony. With a price tag increasingly out of reach for anyone but the world's richest cities, is there a future for the International Olympics? 
12. The Movies: Amidst ballooning budgets and declining box office receipts, Hollywood finds itself at a crossroads. Increasingly, Americans are eschewing what was once a cherished national pastime. But why? Inconvenience? Costs? At-home options, such as Netflix or Amazon? Will theatrical technological advancements (e.g. 4D, 8K) or increased amenities (e.g. reserved seating, food and alcohol) be enough to lure back moviegoers? And how will a diminishing American clientele affect Hollywood’s global outreach? What might the future hold in store for the movies? 

Requirements:

• 2,000 words minimum—illustrations are permitted, but must be captioned
• MLA Style, including parenthetical citation
• Minimum of 6 outside sources—at least 3 from peer-reviewed academic texts
• Works cited page

Include in your research paper:

• A thesis outlining a clear argument
• An deep analysis of your chosen subject matter
• A conclusion that illustrates an understanding of your subject matter as it pertains to its future development

Timeline:

Week 13: Fri 11.17 - RESEARCH PAPER THESIS & OUTLINE (BRING 2 COPIES)

Week 15: Fri 12.1 - RESEARCH PAPER (UP TO PG. 3; BRING 2 COPIES)
Week 16: Fri 12.8 - RESEARCH PAPER (UP TO PG. 6; BRING 1 COPY)
Week 16: Wed 12.13 - RESEARCH PAPER (FINAL DRAFT)