*new to this edition
Preface for Instructors
Introduction for Students
Rhetorical Table of Contents
1. Active, Involved Reading and the Writing Process: Establishing the Connection
Reading with a Difference
Getting into Reading
Thinking Ahead
Reading a Sample Essay
*Bruce David Forbes, “Mickey Mouse as Icon: Taking Popular Culture Seriously” (excerpt)
Thinking about the Reading
Writing with a Difference
Getting into Writing
Considering Purpose, Audience, and Attitude
Hooking the Reader
Identifying a Thesis
Supporting the Thesis
Organizing the Content
Connecting the Pieces
Arriving at a Conclusion
Titling the Paper and Other Final Steps
Revising the Paper
Editing the Paper
Peer Editing
Gaining from the Effort
A Sample Student Essay
*Marie J. Finch, “From Dirty Nikes to Profit Spikes: Mark Zuckerberg Redesigns Our Nation’s Communications” (Student Essay)
2. Deconstructing Media: Analyzing an Image
The Message of Media
Asking the Right Questions
Taking the Image Apart
Reading Visual Images
To Have and To Hold (Photograph)
*Pearls Before Swine (Comic Strip)
Writing about an Image
*Unmask Your Child’s Online Identity (Advertisement)
*Robert Yates, “You’ve Got Betrayal: Deconstructing an Advertisement for Online
Spyware” (Student Essay)
Gearing Up to Read Images
Collaborating
3. Define “American”: Reflections on Cultural Identity
Analyzing the Image: Like Mother—Not Likely! (Photograph)
Gearing Up
Collaborating
Lorraine Ali, “Do I Look Like Public Enemy Number One?”
Susan Brady Konig, “They’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught”
Paired Selections
David Brooks, “People Like Us”
Michael Jonas, “The Downside of Diversity”
Andrew Lam, “Globalization vs. Americanization”
*Dinaw Mengestu, “Home at Last”
*Leonard Pitts, Jr., “History Tells Hard Stories of Ethnic Clashes"
*Daniel Akst, “America: Land of Loners?” (“Take the Next Step” Essay)
*David Gergen, “A Smart Exception”
Wrapping Up Chapter 3
Connecting to the Culture
*Focusing on Yesterday: Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor (Illustration)
*Focusing on Today: Caution! (Photograph)
4. You Are What You Eat: American Food Culture and Traditions from Around the World
*Analyzing the Image: Vertumnus (Painting)
Gearing Up
Collaborating
*Michael Pollan, “The Cooking Animal”
*Frank Bruni, “An Expert’s Theory of Food Television’s Appeal”
*Connie Schultz, “Heat, Tray, Love”
Tara Parker-Pope, “Custom-Made”
*Seanon Wong, “Noodles vs. Sesame Seed Buns” (“Take the Next Step” Essay)
*Bill McKibben, “The Only Way to Have a Cow”
Analyzing the Image: Pooch Café (Comic Strip)
*Bonny Wolf, “Food Traditions: The Thread That Links Generations”
*Julie Dash, “Rice Culture”
*Julia Alvarez, “Picky Eater”
Analyzing the Image: Norman Rockwell, Freedom from Want (Painting)
Wrapping Up Chapter 4
Connecting to the Culture
*Focusing on Yesterday: Let's All Meet at Rosie's Diner (Photograph)
*Focusing on Today: Fine Dining a la Airstream (Photograph)
5. “How Do I Look?”: How Culture Shapes Self-Image
Analyzing the Image: Body Mod of Boston (Advertisement)
Gearing Up
Collaborating
John Leo, “The ‘Modern Primitives’”
Garry Trudeau, “My Inner Shrimp”
Patricia McLaughlin, “Venus Envy”
Tanzila Ahmed, “100% Indian Hair”
Michelle Jana Chan, “Identity in a Virtual World”
Analyzing the Image: Robbie Cooper, Me and My Avatar (Photograph)
Dan Barden, “My New Nose”
Analyzing the Image: Losing the Trauma: The Author Before and After Surgery (Photographs)
Paired Selections
Grace Suh, “The Eye of the Beholder”
Alice Walker, “Beauty: When the Other Dancer is the Self” (“Take the Next Step”
Essay)
*Claire Suddath, “An Open Letter to the Totally Impractical Size Chart for Women’s Clothing”
*Analyzing the Image: Cathy (Comic)
Wrapping Up Chapter 5
Connecting to the Culture
*Focusing on Yesterday: Even Ladies Can Wear Levi’s! (Advertisement)
*Focusing on Today: Everybody’s Work Is Equally Important (Advertisement)
6. What Are You Trying to Say?: How Language Works
*Analyzing the Image: Kryptos (Comic Strip)
Gearing Up
Collaborating
*Lera Boroditsky, “Lost in Translation”
Adam Jacot de Boinod, “Global Wording”
Geneva White, “Corporate Names and Products Creep into Everyday Language”
Read Mercer Schuchardt, “Swoosh!”
Nicholas Wade, “Deciphering the Chatter of Monkeys and Chimps”
Paired Selections
John J. Miller, “How Do You Say ‘Extinct?’”
Mindy Cameron, “In the Language of Our Ancestors”
*Ben Sargent, “A Genius in Four Frames” (“Take the Next Step” Essay)
*Analyzing the Image: Gary Trudeau, Doonesbury (Comic)
*Alex Pham and David Sarno, “Digital Information and the Future of Reading”
Wrapping Up Chapter 6
*Focusing on Yesterday: Benjamin Franklin at His Printing Press (Photograph)
*Focusing on Today: A Novel Idea (Advertisement)
7. Fantasies for Sale: Marketing American Culture Here and Abroad
Analyzing the Image: America: Land of the Logos, Home of the Branded (Photograph)
Gearing Up
Collaborating
*Damien Cave, “On Sale at Old Navy: Cool Clothes for Identical Zombies”
*Newsweek, “Sewn in Secret: Iranian Designers”
Delia Cleveland, “Champagne Taste, Beer Budget”
Paired Selections
*Michael Learmonth, “The Pants That Stalked Me on the Web”
*Miguel Helft and Tanzina Vega, “Retargeting Ads Follow Surfers to Other Sites”
Daniel Alarcon, “Grand Mall Seizure”
*Hector Gonzales, “What Is Independent Hip Hop?” (“Take the Next Step” Essay)
*Abe Sauer, “Why Apple Deserves an Oscar Too”
Craig Simons, “Hooters Translates in China”
Wrapping Up Chapter 7
Connecting to the Culture
*Focusing on Yesterday: Thunderbird Motel: Queen Size Beds and Pizza! (Photograph)
*Focusing on Today: Residence Inn (Advertisement)
8. Picture This: Reflecting Culture Onscreen
*Analyzing the Image: Thriller (Photograph)
Gearing Up
Collaborating
Paired Selections
Stephen King, “Why We Crave Horror Movies”
*Daniel DeVise, “Exploring the Undead”
*Stefan Hall, “Fade In, Fade Out: Addiction, Recovery, in American Film”
Anupama Chopra, “Bollywood Princess, Hollywood Hopeful: Aishwarya’s Quest for Global Stardom”
Analyzing the Image: The Bollywood Princess Waiting for Her Prince to Come (Photograph)
Eugene Robinson, “Tyler Perry’s Money Machine”
Jennie Yabroff, “Drag Hags”
Kelly Tyler-Lewis, “Virtual Humans”
Analyzing the Image: An Unlikely Commuter (Photograph)
*Jake Coyle, “Left for Dead by MTV, Music Videos Rebound on the Web”
Analyzing the Image: Lady Gaga (Photograph)
*The Economist Editors, “Here, There and Everywhere” (“Take the Next Step” Essay)
Wrapping Up Chapter 8
Connecting to the Culture
*Focusing on Yesterday: Dracula (Movie Poster)
*Focusing on Today: Twilight (Movie Poster)
Evaluating and Documenting Sources
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