Media, Mind, and Black Mirror

Short Assignments

Class Prep Papers 

(post on Canvas by 10am on MW before each class)

After reading the relevant research article (do this first) and watching the relevant Black Mirror episode, please submit a short paper (300 - 500 words, NOT including the abstract) before each class with the following: 

1. Scene-to-Theme Connections

   1. Choose a scene from the relevant BM episode that relates to a substantive theme from the relevant research article.
   2. Summarize the BM episode scene and the theme (1-2 sentences each). (E.g., “In San Junipero (15:26-17:55), Yorkie is ____. This relates to the Proteus effect, the phenomenon that people tend to ….”)

2. Describe how the scene relates to the theme

   1. e.g., “When Yorkie is ____, she acts in a way that ____. This reflects the Proteus effect because …”
   2. Synthesis for IRL
      1. Synthesize your scene-to-theme connection (Scene-them-size!) for modern or foreseeable-future media use, explaining implications for people psychologically or socially. (E.g., “As people increasingly use VR to ____, their avatars will likely ___.”)
      2. Briefly describe what type of research would be valuable in this area. (E.g., “Researchers should examine if people who ____ are more ____.”)

3. Research idea

   1. Propose a creative research study inspired by your previous answers. Try to propose an idea that is novel, feasible, and relevant. Explain (at a high-level) the following elements of your idea:
      1. Proposed Study Title
      2. Main research question
      3. Hypotheses or general expectations of what your study might find.
      4. Explanation of why you have those expectations
      5. Proposed method
         1. Qual (interviews, ethnography, etc.) or Quant (surveys, experiment)
         2. Sample (context, community, types of participants)
         3. Procedure (how you will collect data)

4. Abstract/summaries

   1. Use an AI/LLM tool (e.g., ChatGPT; Stanford’s AI Playground) to generate THREE separate ~50 word summaries of each section above (the abstract is NOT included in the 300-500 word limit)
      1. Connections
      2. Synthesis
      3. Research idea
   2. Edit the GenAI summaries to your liking, and paste them at the top of your document under the heading "Abstract." 

Note

Please be prepared to discuss your idea in detail during class meetings. This will be the PRIMARY activity in our class, so please take it seriously and make sure you can support your claims with evidence.