The first step: You will be using some of the information found in the first 4 chapters of the virtual syllabus in the link I will provide for you.
link: https://spip.teluq.ca/com3020/spip.php?article75
The log in information is: nyagahene.****************.ca
The password: Ilovedylanobrien123
Step 2: The essay instructions will be the following
This first assignment aims to demonstrate your understanding of the content covered in the first four chapters of the course. It requires analytical skills. The task involves writing an essay inspired by the following statement:
“From the mid-19th century onwards, regardless of location in Europe or America, image and sound recording technologies, along with the early telecommunication networks that emerged, evolved according to social, political, and economic factors. Their introduction into the daily lives of people of that era transformed their perceptions of time and space, which, in the medium term, shaped their habits and mentalities.”
Pedagogical Instructions:
The statement provides the framework for your work. The exercise requires you to verify the foundations of this statement. Essentially, you’re asked to make it your own by dissecting it and demonstrating the bases upon which it relies.
Each element is important, as it essentially outlines the material for your essay.
To help you get started, by reflecting on each element of the statement and referring to your readings (course material and other external references), formulate all the ideas, questions, and reflections that this statement raises. Then, in a second step, sort through these ideas, keeping only the most interesting and relevant ones. This process will help you structure your text.
To give you an example of the questions that could be raised, let’s take the first sentence of the statement and formulate some questions you can use:
What happens in terms of technical discoveries in the mid-19th century, and why is this period referred to in the statement?
What innovations are associated with this date?
Is it a pivotal stage?
Do the researches start at this moment or do they stem from the long term, from a long evolution?
What is happening in Europe? In the United States? In Canada? Elsewhere in the world?
Does everything happen in the same place at the same time?
Does the result of the research seem to spread easily from one country to another? Quickly?
What are the main innovations related to image recording, sound recording and transmission, and telecommunications from the mid-19th century to the early 20th century?
What are the driving forces behind their evolution?
Which social, political, economic factors influence this evolution?
Which social groups appropriate these technologies?
This assignment requires thorough reading and rereading of the contents of the first four chapters of the course to demonstrate a good overall understanding in your work. However, it also allows room for originality in form and treatment as well as in the use of examples supporting your arguments.
Thus, in addition to demonstrating your overall understanding of the material covered in these first four chapters, you could focus on one or a few of the following topics:
The evolution of broadcasting technologies.
The development of broadcasting networks.
Industrial players and the evolution of broadcasting.
Telecommunication networks and the transformation of notions and perceptions of time and space.
Your work must be between 1000 to 1500 words.
