In this assignment, you will compose a letter to the editor concerning a contemporary example of the government’s use of information technology that you support or oppose. A letter to the editor should assertively state your opinion while embodying a professional demeanor. Your letter should articulate how you came to your conclusion, thus demonstrating your problem-solving and/or decision-making process.
Directions: For this assignment, you will write a 300-word letter on the topic of technology, history, and society. Your essay should have a clearly established and sustained viewpoint and purpose. In addition, your writing should be well ordered, logical, and unified, as well as original and insightful. Following are the content requirements of the letter:
Pick an example of when the government used information technology to affect domestic or foreign policy.
In your example, how did the government use information technology to affect the court of public opinion?
Did this concern a domestic or foreign matter?
What information technologies were utilized?
Were they successful/unsuccessful?
Was the use of this technology innovative?
In your opinion, was there anything deceptive about the government’s message? Why or why not?
Do you support or oppose this use of information technology? Why or why not?
Your letter should also meet the following guidelines:
Support your example with information from the text and at least two, additional academic sources.
300 words (not including the title page or reference page)
Correct grammar and syntax
APA format
text:
● Winston, M. E., & Edelbach, R. (2014). Society, ethics, and technology (5th ed.).
Axelrod, A. (Ed.) (2000). The quotable historian. McGraw-Hill.
Holzer, H. (2014). Lincoln and the power of the press: The war for public opinion. Simon & Schuster.
Jowett, G., & O’Donnell, V. (2019). Propaganda & persuasion. SAGE Publications.
Keane, J. (1995). Tom Paine: A political life. Grove Atlantic.
KQED Food. (2012, October 11). F.D.R’s Fireside Chat. [Video] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCP-9ZnWIwA
Levine, L. W., & Levine, C. R. (2002). The People and the President: America’s Conversation with FDR. Beacon Press.
Rollins, P. C. (1996, Winter). Frank Capra’s Why We Fight film series and our American Dream. Journal of American Culture, 19(4).
Rudel, A. (2008). Hello, everybody!: The dawn of American radio. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Thompson, R. J. (2019, July 1). Television in the United States. In Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/art/television-in-the-United-States/News-and-politics
US National Archives. (2015, January 23). Why We Fight: Prelude to War [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcAsIWfk_z4&list=PLugwVCjzrJsXwAiWBipTE9mTlFQC7H2rU
Writing an Effective Letter to the Editor. (n.d.). https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/writing-effective-letter-editor
