World is a Text, The

List of contents

Contents 
Alternative Table of Contents  
Preface 
Acknowledgments
 
INTRODUCTION     
Reading, Writing, Culture, and Texts: An Introduction to the Introduction   
Semiotics: The Study of Signs (and Texts)    
Systems of Reading: Making Sense of Cultural Texts    
The “Semiotic Situation” (or the “Moving Text”)    
Texts, the World, You, and Your Papers    
Rhetoric: Writing's Soundtrack    
From Rhetoric to Writing    
Reading the World as a Text: Writing's Overture. Three Case Studies    
Case Study 1-Reading Public Space: Starbucks    
Case Study 2-Reading Fonts: How Type Can Say a Lot About Type    
Case Study 3-Can We Laugh?: Reading Art and Humor in Geico Commercials    
 Reading This Text as a Text: Tips on Using this Book    
The World Is a Text: Writing    
The World Is a Text: Reading    
 
SECTION ONE- THE WORLD IS A TEXT: WRITING      
             A Short Guide to The World Is a Text: Writing    
Part I.          
"How Do I Write a Text for College? Making the Transition from High School Writing " by Patty Strong     
 
Part II.         
"From Semiotics to Lenses: Finding an Approach for Your Essays"  by Dean Rader and Jonathan Silverman    
Lenses, Microscopes, and Windows    
Language and Elements of Literary Interpretation    
Context, Historical and Otherwise    
Race, Class, Gender, Sexual Orientation, Region, Age-and More    
Academic Disciplines    
Landing on an Approach: An Entrée to the Essay Itself    
 
Part III.       
How Do I Write About Popular and Visual Culture Texts? A Tour Through the Writing Process    
Understanding the Assignment    
Freewriting and Brainstorming    
Outlining    
Constructing a Good Thesis    
Building an Opening Paragraph: A Case Study    
Building Good Paragraphs    
Drafting the Whole Essay    
Editing and Revising, Editing and Revising, Editing and Revising    
Turning in the Finished Product    
 
Part IV.       
How Do I Argue About Popular Culture Texts? A Guide for Building Good Arguments    
Knowing Your Arguments    
Making Claims    
Using Claims and Support to Make Arguments: Some Helpful Tips    
Synthesis: Pulling It All Together    
Know Your Audience    
Use Common Sense    
 
Part V.        
How Do I Get Info on Songs? Researching Popular Culture Texts    
Researching Nontraditional Texts: One Method    
Nuts and Bolts Research    
Guerilla Research    
 
Part VI.       
How Do I Know What a Good Paper Looks Like? An Annotated Student Essay    
 
 Part VII.      
How Do I Cite This Car? Guidelines for Citing Popular Culture Texts    
Using Parenthetical References    
Building the Works Cited Page    
Plagiarism    
Works Cited Examples    
 
Part VIII.     
How Am I a Text? On Writing Personal Essays    
 
 SECTION TWO-THE WORLD IS A TEXT: READING 
1. Reading and Writing About the World Around You    
  
 Elisabeth Piedmont-Marton , "Reading and Writing About Fashion"    
    *How I Wrote This Essay
 Jonathan Hunt , "Reading and Writing About a Bicycle"    
 Peter Hartlaub , "Reading and Writing About Video Games"    
 Cristina DeLuca , "Reading and Writing About Social Networking Sites: Making Friends and Getting “Poked”"    
    *How I Wrote This Essay
 Lee Transue , "Reading and Writing About  Family Guy : The Semiotics of Stream of Consciousness"    
    *How I Wrote This Essay
 Brandon Brown , "Reading and Writing About a Laboratory"    
    *How I Wrote This Essay*
 Jonathan Silverman , "Reading and Writing About the Road"   
 Catherine Zimmer , "Reading and Writing About YouTube: The You in YouTube"    
 Dean Rader and Jonathan Silverman , "Reading and Writing About Advertising: Two Case Studies"    
 *Phil West, "Reading the Puffy Taco"  
 Reading Between the Lines    
 Classroom Activities    
 Essay Ideas    
 
2. Reading and Writing About Television    
  Worksheet    
 Katherine Gantz , "'Not That There's Anything Wrong with That': Reading the Queer in  Seinfeld "    
    *How I Wrote My Essay-reader annotated.
Garance Franke-Ruta , "Beyond Fear:  Heroes vs.24"    Student Essay:   Dave Rinehart, "Sex Sells: A Marxist Criticism of  Sex and the City "   
Student Essay: Dave Rinehart, "Sex Sells: A Marxist Criticism of Sex and the City"
Student Essay:   Hillary West , "Media Journal:  The Rosie O'Donnell Show "   
 
The Reality TV Suite
Laurie Ouelette and Susan Murray, "Reality TV: Remaking Television Culture" 
Student Essay:   Maribeth Theroux, "The NEXT Plague: MTV's Sexual Objectification of Girls and Why It Must Be Stopped"    
*Thea Lim, "The Bachelor/Bachelorette's White Elephant"
 Reading Between the Lines    
 Classroom Activities    
 Essay Ideas    
 
3.  Reading and Writing About Public and Private Space    
Worksheet    
 *Liz Swanson, "Architecture, Experience and Meaning"
 *Dean Rader, "Reading the Rural" 
 Daphne Spain , "Spatial Segregation and Gender Stratification in the Workplace"    
 Bob Bednar , "Making Space on the Side of the Road: Towards a Cultural Study of Roadside Car Crash
    Memorials"    
   *How I Wrote This Article       
 
The Campus Suite
Dean Rader , Reading and Writing About Your Campus    
*Frances Halsband , "Campuses in Place"    
Student Essay:   Matthew King , "Reading the Nautical Star"    
*PHOTO ESSAY: Campuses
 
4. Reading and Writing About Race and Ethnicity    
 Worksheet    
 Beverly Daniel Tatum , "Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?"    
 Amy Tan , "Mother Tongue"    
 Jim Mahfood , "True Tales of Amerikkkan History Part II: The True Thanksgiving"    
 Zebedee Nungak , "Qallunaat 101: Inuits Study White Folks in This New Academic Field"    
 Teja Arboleda , "Race Is a Four-Letter Word"    
 Betty Shamieh, "Censoring Myself"    
 Student Essay:   Amy Truong , "Gender Expectations and Familial Roles Within Asian American Culture"    
 
Mini Suite: The Native American Mascot Issue
A Suite of Mascot Poems  by Leanne Howe    
A Suite of Cartoons 
 “Which One Is the Mascot?”    
 “But I'm Honoring You, Dude!”    
 “Pow Wow”    
 
*The Obama Suite
*James Taylor,"Target: Obama"
*Katia Bachko, "Professor Obama"
*Dean Rader, "Obama, CA"
 *Jonathan Silverman, "Obama and Fantasy Football"
Reading Between the Lines    
Classroom Activities    
Essay Ideas    
 
 
5. Reading and Writing About Movies    
Worksheet    
 Roger Ebert , "Great Movies and Being a Great Moviegoer"    
 Jason Silverman , "Deciphering I,  Robot : Random Thoughts from an Evolving Film Reviewer"    
    *How I Wrote This Essay:*
 *Film as Cultural Commentary: Two Reviews from The Weekly Rader
        *Greg Barnhisel, "The Dark Knight"
        *Scott Andrews, "Smells Like Teen Superheroes" 
 Student Essay:   Whitney Black, "Star Wars  and America"    
 
*The Avatar Suite
*Stephanie Zacharek, "Avatar: Dances with Aliens"
*Slavoj }i~ek, "Return of the Natives"
*Mikhail Lyubansky, "The Racial Politics of Avatar"
*Ari Y Kelman, "Avatar and the Gluttony of Technology"
Reading Between the Lines    
 Classroom Activities    
 Essay Ideas    
 
Interchapter: Reading and Writing About Images     
*Photo Essay: Signs 
The American Signs on Route 66 Suite 
 Worksheet    
 
6. Reading and Writing About Gender    
Worksheet    
Deborah Tannen, "Marked Women, Unmarked Men"    
Annette Fuentes ,"Out of Style Thinking: Female Politicians and Fashion"    
*Ariel Levy, "Girls Gone Wild: Girls Get Wild for T-Shirts and Trucker Hats"    
*STUDENT ESSAY: Pjeter Dushku, ¡”Vaya, Vaya, Machismo!:Almodóvar and Spanish Masculinity”
*PHOTO ESSAY: Judith Taylor,"Mannequins and Dolls"
 
 The Third Wave Feminism Suite 
 Patricia Pender, 'Kicking Ass Is Comfort Food': Buffy as Third Wave Feminist Icon    
Student Essay :  Catherine Kirifides,"Classically Different: Sofia Coppola's  Marie Antoinette  Takes a New Look at
    What It Means to Be a Girl"    
    *How I Wrote This Essay
Student Essay:   Lara Hayhurst , "Putting the “Me” Back in Medical Drama:  Grey's Anatomy's  Adventures in
    McFeminism"    
    *How I Wrote This Essay
Student Essay:   Gwendolyn Limbach, “'La Femme  Veronica': Intelligence as Power in  Veronica Mars"     
    *How I Wrote This Essay
 Reading Between the Lines    
 Classroom Activities    
 Essay Ideas    
 
7. Reading and Writing About Visual Art    
Worksheet    
The “Is It Art?” Suite
*Eric Hongisto, "Reading a Mural: Diego Rivera's Man at the Crossroads" 
Diana Mack , "It Isn't Pretty¼But Is It Art?"    
Steve Grody, "Graffiti: The Anatomy of a Piece"    
Student Essay: Theresa George , "The Multifaceted Nature of Street Art"    
*Student Essay: Anna Rose Tull, "No Sense of Absolute Corruption: Damien Hirst and the Art Question"
Scott McCloud , Sequential Art:  “Art”    
 
*PHOTO ESSAY: Public "Art?"
 
 The Reading a Photograph Suite
 Cheryl Aaron, "Reading a Photograph"
 Frank Rich, "Whatever Happened to the America of 9/12?"    
 David Plotz , "Frank Rich Is Wrong About That 9/11 Photograph: Those New Yorkers Weren't Relaxing"    
 *Thomas Hoepker, I Took That 9/11 photo
 Gert Van Langendonck, "Award-Winning Photo Puts Subjects On Defensive"    
 Errol Morris , "Liar, Liar Pants on Fire"    
 *Student Essay:   Anne Darby, "Reading Cindy Sherman and Gender      
 Reading Between the Lines    
 Classroom Activities    
 Essay Ideas    
 
8. Reading and Writing About Music    
Worksheet  
Alessandro Portelli, “Coal Miner's Daughter”    
*David Byrne, "David Byrne's Survival Strategies for Emerging Artists - and Megastars"
Daniel Nester , "We Are the Champions, Another One Bites the Dust"    
    *How I Wrote my Poems
Student Essay:   Sarah Hawkins, "Right on Target: Revisiting Elvis Costello's  My Aim Is True"     
 
    *How I Wrote My Essay
 
The Authenticity Suite
David Sanjek, "All the Memories Money Can Buy: Marketing Authenticity and Manufacturing Authorship"    
Carrie Brownstein, "More Rock, Less Talk: Live Music Turns Off the Voices in Our Heads"      
Stephen Metcalf, "Faux Americana: Why I Still Love Bruce Springsteen"    
 Reading Between the Lines    
 Classroom Activities    
 Essay Ideas    
 
 
9. Writing About the Media    
Worksheet    
Robert Love, "Before Jon Stewart: The Growth of Fake News. Believe It"   
Chris Anderson, "The Long Tail" 
Clint C. Wilson and Felix Gutierrez, "Advertising and People of Color"    
Student Essay: Brittany Gray, "Hanes Her Way"    
William Lutz, "Weasel Words"    
Mark Glaser, "Techno-Optimism: 10 Reasons There's a Bright Future for Journalism"    
 
*THE GOOGLE SUITE
*Virginia Heffernan,"The Google Alphabet: Googlealphabet"
*Nicholas Carr, "Is Google Making Us Stupid"
*Siva Vaidhyanathan, "No, Google Is Not Making Us Stupid"
 Reading Between the Lines    
 Classroom Activities    
 Essay Ideas    
 Assignment: The Rhetorical Analysis    
 
             10. Reading and Writing About Technology
 
            Credits
            Index
 

Summary

This full-color popular culture reader helps students see the world as a text and equips them with the analytical and composing tools to become strong academic writers.
 
This full-color, richly illustrated cultural studies reader directly engages the process of reading and writing about the “texts” one sees in everyday life. Using the lenses of rhetoric, semiotics and cultural studies, students are encouraged to become effective academic writers while gaining deeper insights into such popular culture categories as movies, technology, race, music, ethnicity, television, media, public space, and more.  Just as important, the book teaches students the usefulness of actively reading their surroundings.  

Product details

• Authors: Dean Rader, Jonathan Silverman
• Publisher: Pearson Academic
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 01.01.2011
• EAN: 9780205834464
• ISBN: 978-0-205-83446-4
• No. of pages: 656
• Series: Longman; Longman
• Subject: Guides > Law, job, finance > Training, job, career