Research Requirement:
For this essay, you should use at least three sources (not counting Nichols’s book), though the type may depend on the topic you choose. For instance, for some topics, recent newspaper/magazine/internet articles may provide your best sources; for others, more scholarly works (perhaps journal articles) may be most convincing.
These three sources are in addition to Nichols’s book. (You should also have at least three quotations from The Death of Expertise.)
The Topics:
Write an essay of at least 1000 words (4 typewritten pages) on the following topic. Remember that you need a thesis that takes a stand; you will not simply be summarizing information.
- Nichols believes that celebrities who pretend to expertise do a great deal of damage. Look at one celebrity “expert” (like Jim Carrey, Jenny McCarthy, or Gwenyth Paltrow) and at the arguments he/she makes (perhaps about vaccines or female reproductive health). How much does the celebrity “expert” draw on the expertise of real experts? What does the celebrity “expert” found his/her beliefs on? How does he/she attempt to establish credibility?
(Topic 4), keep the focus on the celebrity and what he/she says about the issue (like vaccines) and what evidence he/she provides (or doesn’t provide). Don’t just use the celebrity as a minor example in an argument about, say, the safety of vaccines. Instead, examine the ways in which the celebrity does/does not create credibility as an expert.
Sample Solution