Assignment: Synthesis Essay

Atheists are increasingly visible in 21st century American society

How would you characterize 2011 America's view of atheists? Do you believe they receive fair representation in the media? Is our society generally accepting of their perspectives? Do we reserve a space for non-believers in our national discussions? In a concise essay, synthesize the following diverse texts into a "snapshot" of contemporary America's view of atheists:

• Interview with Dave Silverman from The O’Reilly Factor (FoxNews)
• “Fox News Facebook Page Gets 8,000 Death Threats” (All Facebook)
• “Reading the Bible (or the Koran, or the Torah) Will Make You an Atheist” (BigThink)
• “Culture War Update—The Dividening of America—American Atheists vs. Ground Zero Cross” from The Daily Show (Comedy Central)
• “Lisa the Skeptic” from The Simpsons (FOX)
• “Coming Out of the (Atheist) Closet” (The Harvard Crimson)
• “Atheism Billboard Greets O.C. Drivers (Los Angeles Times)
• “In US, Atheists Know Religion Better than Believers. Is that Bad?” (Christian Science Monitor)
• Scene from Bill Maher: But I’m Not Wrong (HBO)

Requirements:

• MLA format, including parenthetical citation
• 3-page minimum 

The best papers will:

• Stay within the parameters of the prompt
• Have a concise thesis
• Find "common threads" amongst a diverse group of texts and combine them to create a "snapshot" of America's view of atheists
• Properly cite evidence using MLA's parenthetical citation method
• Conclude with a summation of your points
• Be in MLA Style

Due: Mo 10.17 (Bring three copies)