UNIT+3

Unit Description
The activities in this unit build on existing experiences that students have in other courses. While the theme in the content is on advertising, the focus on language development and communication skills is maintained.


 * Assignment 12**

Watch The Merchants of Cool

media type="custom" key="28514139"

Answer three (3) of the following 5 questions in separate blog posts ( each a minimum of 3 paragraphs in length)
 * 1) **//"The paradox of "cool hunting" is that it kills what it finds." - Douglas Rushkoff//** What are the implications of cool hunting for the development of new ideas, new music, new art forms, etc.
 * 2) **//"In much the same way that the British Empire tried to take over Africa and profit from its wealth, corporations look at [teens] like this massive empire they are colonizingäAnd their weapons are films, music, books, CDs, Internet access, clothing, amusement parks, sports teams." - Robert McChesney//** Are "cool hunters" and those who use the information they supply similar to colonial powers? Do they exploit teens or are they providing desired benefits and services?
 * 3) **//"They don't call it "human" research or "people" research, they call it "market" research." - Douglas Rushkoff//** Did the marketers in "The Merchants of Cool" get it right? Do they really know you? If MTV was really based on understanding you as a person, what would it look like?
 * 4) **//"The MTV machine doesn't listen to the young so it can make the young happier. The MTV machine tunes in so it can figure out how to pitch what Viacom has to sell." - Mark Crispin Miller//** Are marketers concerned with the well-being of the consumer? Do they answer to consumers? If not, who do they answer to? Is marketing to teens different from marketing to adults?
 * 5) "Quite simply, every company with a powerful brand is attempting to develop a relationship with consumers that resonates so completely with their sense of self that they will aspire, or at least consent, to be serfs under these feudal brandlords." - Naomi Klein* //**Has seeing "The Merchants of Cool" led you to think about how you express your identity? What questions do you have?**//

**Assignment 13**
Read the following presentation and complete the 2 tasks located on the last 2 slides:

Activity 14 - Logical Fallacies
Research one of the following fallacies:
 * Topic || Student ||
 * Ad Hominem || xxxx ||
 * Ad Hominem Tu Quoque ||  ||
 * Appeal to Tradition ||  ||
 * Appeal to Fear || Michaela ||
 * Appeal to Popularity || Will ||
 * Begging the Question || Nathan ||
 * Biased Sample || Natasha ||
 * Burden of Proof || Noah ||
 * Composition || Nick ||
 * Confusing Cause and Effect || Spencer ||
 * False Dilemma || Rayjean ||
 * Gambler's Fallacy || Billy ||
 * Genetic Fallacy || Chloe ||
 * Guilt By Association || Pierce ||
 * Hasty Generalization ||  ||
 * Ignoring A Common Cause || Taylor ||
 * Middle Ground || Haley ||
 * Misleading Vividness || Jenny ||
 * Poisoning the Well || Corbin ||
 * Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc || Blake ||
 * Questionable Cause || Jake ||
 * Red Herring || Connor ||
 * Relativist Fallacy ||  ||
 * Slippery Slope || Hunter ||
 * Spotlight || Brittany ||
 * Straw Man || Liam ||
 * Two Wrongs Make A Right || Bailie ||
 * False Analogy || Gena ||

You will create a one page cheat sheet outlining the particulars of your fallacies. The handout must include:
 * the syllogism
 * state the latin name (for some this is really obvious, for some not so much)
 * an explanation of why the logic is fallacious, and why you might want to use it anyway
 * two new examples you've created
 * one example from the media (either taken from a newspaper or magazine or a transcript from radio or television)
 * again, you can get creative here, there are all sorts of Web Apps that can bring this to life


 * 1) **Post the hand out on the Fallacies page of this wiki**
 * 2) **Conduct a 3 - 5 minute presentation in which you cover the same material as your cheat sheet**