English 314J
Fall 2006
Jim Brown

Due Dates
10/19: Description of artifact (post to forum)
10/24: Paper Proposal (post to forum)
10/31: Paper 2-1 Due
11/9: Paper 2-2 Due

Paper 2: Subcultural artifacts

Our mechanism text for this unit was Dick Hebdige's discussion of subculture in Subculture: The Meaning of Style. In that book, Hebdige reads punk subculture by looking closely at its artifacts - punk music, zines, clothing, etc. He also discusses how subculture appropriates certain artifacts (to use them in different ways than they were intended) and how culture at-large appropriates subcultural artifacts via the "commodity form" and "ideological form" of appropriation (see the reading again for a more detailed discussion of these terms).

In this unit, we've been looking at Neuromancer. This text was taken up by a certain segment of the hacker community as an important (some might say canonical) text. It has also been studied by literary critics and has received some acclaim outside of the hacker community. In this way, we can see how the book moved between a subculture and culture at-large - and how the meanings of the novel may have shifted as it moved between communities.

In this paper, you'll be choosing an artifact to study in ways similar to Hebdige and Sarah Brouillette (in her article "Corporate Publishing and Canonization.") By tracing the various meanings and histories of your artifact, you'll tell us how it was taken up in different communities. You'll also explain the various meanings your artifact had to different groups of people.

Paper Format
Your paper should be 4-6 pages and in MLA format. Consult an MLA style guide and ensure that your heading, margins, and citations are in MLA style.

Goals of the Assignment
While I will not be grading papers, I will be making comments on both your first and second submissions, and as I make these comments I will be focusing on whether or not you have addressed the goals of the assignment:

-Choosing an appropriate artifact - one that tells us something about a hacker subculture and about culture at-large
-Application of the theories of culture and subculture discussed in class
-Close analysis of your artifact from multiple angles
-An answer to the "So what?" question - what does such analysis tell us about subcultures and culture at-large?