Assignment: Artifact-Comparison Essay
Mike Peterson, Ph.D.
Utah Tech University
Mike Peterson, Ph.D.
Utah Tech University
ESSAY ONE: ARTIFACT COMPARISON
Assignment Objective:
Write an essay in which you compare a current pop-culture artifact with a similar artifact from the year you were born.
Length: 1000+ Words
Student Writing Samples:
Click here for student writing samples. Scroll down to "Intermediate Writing," subcategory "Artifact Comparison." There's some good reading there.
Instructions:
Select a pop-culture artifact that interests you (the list below is only to give you an idea of what a cultural artifact is, but you don’t need to select from the list). In a short essay (at least 1000 words), compare that pop-culture artifact with a similar artifact from the year you were born. You might look at such things as how the artifact is/was produced, how it is/was marketed (advertised), who uses/used the artifact, why they use/used it, why it is/was popular, how it has changed over time, and what we can learn about society in general by studying the artifact.
As you compare the two, remember that you’re really trying to understand what the artifact says about us as a society. Your comparison, therefore, shouldn’t just be superficial. For example, if you were comparing two movies—say, Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) and Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (1999), you wouldn’t simply point out the plot differences and leave it at that; instead, you would tell us what those differences mean—why they are significant to understanding our society and culture. In this case, you would probably show how obsessed with CGI we were in 1999, whereas now we’re more interested in story development and mythology.
Examples of pop-culture artifacts:
A type of magazine (fashion, teen, news, home and garden, auto, hunting, golf, sports, etc.)
Example: compare a 2019 issue of Cosmo with a 1998 issue of Cosmo
A type of video game (online, FPS, RPG, strategy, etc.)
Example: compare Medal of Honor (1999) with Star Wars Battlefront II (2017)
Video-game components (console, cartridges, controllers, hand-held, graphics, etc.)
Example: compare a PS4 controller with a Super Nintendo controller
Computers (keyboard, mouse, monitor, tower, printer, tablets, modems, Internet, etc.)
Example: compare texting on cellphones in 2001 with texting on smart phones in 2019
A type of music device (iPod, Walkman, Discman, Transistor Radio, MP3 Player, Cassette, CD)
Example: compare listening to music on an iPhone X with a Sony Walkman
A type of movie (Zombie, Rom-com, Horror, Raunch-com, Indy, Documentary, Disney)
Example: compare Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) with Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (1999)
A type of communication device (cell phones, tablets, etc.)
Example: compare the iPhone X with an old Nokia
Advertisement for something
Example: compare stop-smoking ads from 2019 and 1980
A type of TV show (reality TV, sit-com, procedural drama, cartoon)
Example: compare the pilot of “Cheers” (1982) to the pilot of “Miracle Workers” (2019).
A type of song (top forty, rap, country, folk)
Example: compare the top five songs of 2019 with the top five songs of 1990
A type of toy or game (Kendama, Rubik’s cube, handheld video games)
Example: compare an iPad Pro with a Nintendo Gameboy
Additional Advice to Help You Write Your Paper: