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Essay Instructions: This is an argumentative style paper. It is based on Neil Postmans book "Amusing Ourselves to Death". The specific argument is to defend Postmans claim regarding the influence of celebrity endorsements for products and/or political agendas.
The paper requires 6 sources; 1 can be the book itself, which should be cited throughout the paper (followed by a paranthetical citation for reference). 1 of the sources must be from a professional journal or other source that professionals in any given field refer to for their references. It requires a "works cited" page at the end. The teacher tends to prefer papers that focus on one narrow but specific argument, which you analyze from many different angles. Also include atleast one point "against" your position, which you can then rebute in the paper.

Essay Instructions: 2-5 pages on Amusing Ourselves to Death
1. In Chapter 7 entitled, Now...This," Postman explains how and why television news works as it does. What the T.V. news for several days. See if what he says is accurate, and report your findings, using specific examples for support.
There are faxes for this order.

Essay Instructions: Research Paper of 8 pages
Amusing Ourselves to Death
(question):
When Postman wrote his book, people spent a great deal of time in front of the television. Although they still do, many spend as much time now in front of a computer. Is the computer a "visual" medium, in the same way as television? Or is it different? What might its long-term effects be?

Essay Instructions: Choose one of the theoretical chapters that explains postman's argument and pair it with on the illustrative chapters. Use the illustration in order to explain the more theoretical argument. Augment the illustration of Postman's argument with examples of your own, but those examples must be taken from the particular sphere of life the illustration chapter you have chosen is dealing with. In other words, if you choose chapter 8, which is about religion, and pair it with chapter 6, which makes the argument that public discourse has been shaped by the logic of entertainment then the examples you add must be about religion. However, if you pair chapter 10, which focuses on the educational system, with chapter 6, then your illustrations must be about the educational system
In the Book Amusing Ourselves to death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business by Neil Postman the Theorectical chapters are 5,6, 7 and the illustration chapters are 8,9,10, and 11