Write a 3-5 page (double spaced, 1 inch margins, 12 point font) paper in Google Docs on one of the following topics. The questions have several parts and you are not expected to answer every part. You are expected to show knowledge of the book Apollo and display critical thinking skills. You are not expected to do any research outside of Apollo. Be sure to also look at the characteristics of an A paper. If a large portion of your paper is not about the book, Apollo, then by definition, it is not a good paper. You should pick the topic that you believe gives you the best chance to show your knowledge of the book and to show your analytical skills. Your paper will be graded not just on the clarity of your argument, but also on your insight and creativity. Anne Lamott says the secret of good writing is what she calls “Shitty First Drafts.“Also look at the writing resources available in the About tab.
This paper is due on September 20. Please please name your file Lastname_Firstname_Apollo and upload it to Moodle. – You do not need a works cited pages, however, if you quote from book, be sure to identify the source of your quotation by putting the page number (or location or chapter no) in parenthesis after the quotation. “’That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.’” (356) Also every paper should have a thesis statement. I want you to underline your thesis statement for your paper.
1. Harvard economist John Kenneth Galbraith made the following statement:
The real accomplishment of modern science and technology consists in taking quite ordinary men, informing them narrowly and deeply and then, through appropriate organization, arranging to have their knowledge combined with that of other specialized but equally ordinary men. This dispenses with the need for genius. The resulting performance, though less inspiring, is far more predictable. No individual genius arranged the flights to the moon. It was the work of organization–bureaucracy. John Kenneth Galbraith, The New Industrial State1st Princeton ed. (Princeton, 2007). See also this excerpt from Galbraith.
John Kenneth Galbraith says that the organization is more important than the individual. Do you think Apollo supports this position or not? Do you think the evidence given in Apollo tends to support Galbraith’s position regarding the Apollo program? Explain.
2. The social construction of technology says that any technology is shaped by the interaction of a variety of social groups. Based on the book Apollo, what social groups were particularly important in shaping the Apollo program? What was the source of their ability to shape the program? What groups were less successful in shaping the program? (Note that “shaping the Apollo program is not the same thing as “building the Apollo spacecraft.” A group may have done no building, but still been important in shaping, while a group that did major building may be judged to have done little shaping.)
3. We have talked about communities of practice. Another term for it might be engineering cultures. Take an engineering culture described in Apollo and show how it shaped the Apollo program and/or how it was changed by the Apollo program.
4. We have talked about socio-technical systems. Does that concept provide important insight in understanding the Apollo program as described in Apollo? Note: This essay should pay significant attention to the “social” part of socio-technical systems. I don’t want an essay that simply goes through the technical systems (propulsion, guidance, etc.)
5. Murray and Cox write of the Apollo program “It had come and gone too fast. John Aaron, that philosopher of the MOCR, would say later that it was like gulping good wine. IT would have been nice to have had more time to savor it, but “we drank the wine at the pace they handed it to us.” Chapter 30, p. 458. What does Aaron mean? What were the advantages of that approach? What were the limitations of that approach?
6. You may write on a topic of your choice as long as the topic allows you to write an analytical essay with a thesis based on the book Apollo. If you would like to write on another topic, please contact me.