Langdon Winner’s core argument is easy to discern. His title asks “Do Artifacts Have Politics?”. To this question his essay plainly answers “Yes.” This assignment therefore invites you to go beyond identifying an argument and to instead critically analyze and assess it.

Perform a close reading and analysis of Winner’s essay in which you address, in 1000 words, some or all of the following:
The question of what is at stake in the essay. Why does Winner pose the question of his title and answer it in the way he does? Put another way: why did he write this essay, who did he write it for, and why did it become one of the most influential essays about technology of the last 40 years? (Hint: do not answer these questions with facile statements like “because it is an interesting question” or “he wrote it for communication students.” There is much more at stake here.)
Such questions invite you to consider the essay’s theoretical and disciplinary interventions.