Specifics:

Part I. Plato’s Republic

1. Read the excerpts from Plato’s Republic and answer the following questions:
   1. What are Socrates rules for poetry?
   2. What does he want to edit out of Homer’s poetry?
   3. What kinds of things does he want to include in the poetry that young people should listen to?
2. For each rule, explain:
   1. Why Socrates wants to make this rule.
   2. What effects does he think unedited or bad poetry will have on people who read it?
3. For this analysis, you should include either quotes or citations from the text as evidence of what you are arguing. This is very important. It effects your grade. Example.

Part II. Investigation

1. Choose a form of contemporary media. Some suggestions are:
   1. Television (Hulu, Netflix).
   2. Twitter.
   3. Tik Tok.
   4. Instagram (including Instagram influencers like the Kardashians).
   5. Facebook.
   6. Advertisement.
   7. Youtubers.
   8. Please note, these should all be public accounts. Do not post from private social media accounts, unless they are your account(s).
2. Using the internet, research this type of media influence.
   1. Is the media you have chosen successful at influencing people?
   2. Are there studies/documented research indicating whether or not it is successful?
   3. What kind of influence does the media you have chosen have? (For example, do they get people to buy things, to behave in certain ways, to think certain things/have certain beliefs).
3. Reflect on the influence of media. This should include:
   1. Your personal experience with media influence. Are there times when you have been influenced by media and, if so, when?
   2. Reflection on whether or not media influence is a good or a bad thing. Is it helpful to people? Damaging? Why/why not?

Part II. Presentation

1. Compose your findings into a presentation that can be analyzed by the class, in a .pdf document. The presentation should be set up as follows:

Example of Analysis

This is an example of how you use textual citations to prove your assertions about Plato. This is just an example, but this is what I expect from you. This is the kind of thing that will get you good grades:

“At 383a, Plato says that when it comes to portraying the gods, “they are not sorcerers who change themselves nor do they mislead us by falsehoods in words or deeds.” The second rule, then, is that poetry should portray the gods as truth-telling and true in every way. Since Plato believes people will use the behavior of gods and heroes to justify their own (391e) this suggests that one of Plato’s intentions is that guardians should only have models of forthright honesty, and have no excuse for dishonesty.”

This is an example of what not to do:

“Plato had a robust idea that what one really needed to know was the eternal forms and one could only gain this knowledge through dialectics, that is, philosophy. This is why Plato banished the poets from his ideal Republic. ”

This is cut-and-pasted from a place called enotes.com (Links to an external site.). It is garbage and says nothing of any importance. There are no citations (no evidence that shows how the person arrived at their conclusions). This kind of thing receives a lower grade.