World is a Text, The: The Writing, Reading, and Thinking About Culture and Its Contexts, 2nd Edition

Introduction.

The World Is a Text: Writing.

The World Is a Text: Reading.

1. Reading and Writing about Poetry.

    Worksheet

    Pablo Neruda, Ode to My Socks

    Naomi Shihab Nye, Blood

    James Tate, Goodtime Jesus

    William Shakespeare, My Mistress’ Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun (Sonnet 130)

    Wanda Coleman, American Sonnet

    Shel Silverstein, Bear in There.

    Carolyn Forche, The Colonel

    Langston Hughes, Harlem

    Donald Rumsfeld, (and Hart Seely), the Unknown

    Campbell McGrath, Capitalist Poem #5

    Emily Dickinson, Because I Could Not Stop For Death

    Billy Collins, Taking Off Emily Dickinson’s Clothes

    Edward Hirsch, How to Read a Poem (from How to Read a Poem and Fall in Love With Poetry)

    James Longenbach, The Resistance to Poetry (from The Resistance to Poetry).

    Student Essay:  Ginny Zeppa, The Socks of Life

   The “Is It Poetry?” Suite

    Reading Outside the Lines

        Classroom Activities

        Essay Ideas

 2. Reading and Writing about Television  

   Worksheet

    Ariel Gore, “TV Can Be a Good Parent"

    Harry Waters, “Life According to TV"

    Michelle Cottle, “How Soaps are Integrating TV"

    Katherine Gantz, “Not That There’s Anything Wrong with That":  Reading the Queer in Seinfeld

    Student essay: Archana Mehta, “Society’s Need For A Queer Solution: The Media’s Reinforcement of Homophobia Through Traditional Gender Roles"

    Peter Parisi, “‘Black Bart’ Simpson: Appropriation and Revitalization in Commodity Culture"

   The Reality TV Suite

    Henry Goldblatt and Ken Tucker, “Reality TV Bites—Or Does it: The New Soap Opera or the End of Civilization. A Point-Counterpoint"

    Justin T. P. Ryan, “Reality Dating"

    Francine Prose, “Voting Democracy off the Island: Reality TV and the Republican Ethos"   

    Student Essay: Hillary West, Media Journal: The Rosie O’Donnell Show.

    Reading Outside the Lines

        Classroom Activities

        Essay Ideas

        Media Journal

 3. Reading and Writing about Public and Private Space

    Worksheet

    Daphne Spain, Spatial Segregation and Gender Stratification in the Workplace

    Kenneth Meeks, “Shopping in a Mall While Black: A Coach’s Story"

    Robert Bednar, “Caught Looking:  Problems with Taking Pictures of People Taking Pictures at an Exhibition"

    David Chuenyann Lai, “The Visual Character of Chinatowns"

    Student Essay: Matt King, “Reading the Nautical Star"

  Space: The Suburban Suite

    William L. Hamilton, “How Suburban Design is Failing Teenagers"

    William Booth, "A White Migration North from Miami"

    Sarah Boxer, “A Remedy for the Rootlessness of Modern Suburban Life"

    Whitney Gould, “New Urbanism Needs to Keep Racial Issues in Mind"

    Reading Outside the Lines

        Classroom Activities

        Essay Ideas

        The Common Element

 4. Reading and Writing about Race and Ethnicity

    Worksheet

    Tamar Lewin, "Growing Up, Growing Apart"

    Michael Omi, "In Living Color: Race and American Culture"

    Amy Tan, "Mother Tongue"

    Jim Mahfood, "True Tales of Amerikkkan History Part II: The True Thanksgiving"

    Beverly Daniel Tatum, “Why Are All the Blacks Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?”

    Malcolm Gladwell, "The Sports Taboo"

    Zebedee Nungak, “Qallunaat 101: Inuits Study White Folks in this New Academic Field"

    Teja Arboleda, "Race is a Four-Letter Word"

    Betty Shameih: Censoring Myself.

  The Native American Mascot Suite

    Ward Churchill, “Let’s Spread the Fun Around"

    C. Richard King and Charles Fruehling Springwood, “Imagined Indians Social Identities and Activism"

    S. L, Price, “The Indian Wars.”

  A Suite of Cartoons

    "Which One Is the Mascot?"

    "But I'm Honoring You, Dude!"

    "Pow Wow"

    Reading Outside the Lines

        Classroom Activities

        Essay Ideas 

 

5. Reading and Writing about Movies

 

    Roger Ebert, “Great Movies: The First 100"

    Michael Parenti, “Class and Virtue.”

    bell hooks, "Mock Feminism"

    Freya Johnson, “Holy Homosexuality Batman!: Camp and Corporate Capitalism in Batman Forever"

    Louise Erdrich, "Dear John Wayne"

    Sherman Alexie, "My Heroes Have Never Been Cowboys"

    Jason Silverman, “Deciphering I: Robot- Random Thoughts from an Evolving Film Critic”

    Student Essay: Whitney Black, Star Wars and America

  The Passion of the Christ Suite.

    Roger Ebert, “The Passion of the Christ"

    David Denby, “Nailed"

    Charity Dell, “An African-American Christian’s View of Passion"

    David Edelstein, “Jesus H. Christ:  The Passion, Mel Gibson's Bloody Mess"

 

Interchapter: Reading and Writing about Images

America, Cowboys, The West, and Race

Two Images of Gender

The Semiotics of Architecture

Flags

Laundry

Neighborhoods

Cars

Signs

Two Photos by Diane Arbus

Private Symbol/Public Space:  The Virgin of Guadalupe

Two Murals by Rigo

Diners

Postcards from Texas

The American Signs on Route 66 Suite

Worksheet

 6. Reading and Writing about Gender

    Worksheet

    Deborah Tannen, "Marked Women, Unmarked Men"

    Holly Devor, “Gender Role Behaviors and Attitudes"

    Paul Theroux, "Being a Man"

    Alfonsina Storni, “You Would Have Me White"

    Alice Rutkowski, “Why Chicks Dig Vampires: Sex, Blood and Buffy"

    Student Essay: Elizabeth Greenwood, “Unreal City: Gender and War"

  The Myths of Gender Suite

    Jill Birnie Henke, Diane Zimmerman Umble, and Nancy J. Smith, “Construction of the Female Self: Feminist Reading and Writing about of the Disney Heroine"

    Jane Yolen, "America's Cinderella"

    Maxine Kingston, “No Name Woman"

    Reading Outside the Lines

        Classroom Activities

        Essay Ideas

 7. Reading and Writing about Art

    Worksheet

    John Berger, “Ways of Seeing"

    Alan Pratt, “Andy Warhol: The Most Controversial Artist of the Century?”

    “Which Art Will Top the Chartes?: Four Curators Share Their Top 10 Picks and Reasoning behind the Most Influential Visual Artworks of the Past 1,000 Years”

    E. G. Chrichton, “Is the NAMES Quilt Art?”

    Scott McCloud, "Sequential Art"

    Diana Mack, "It Isn't Pretty But Is It Art?"

    Student essay: Anne Darby, “#27: Reading and Writing about Cindy Sherman and Gender"

  The Censorship Suite

    Andres Serrano, Piss Christ

    Dread Scott, What Is the Proper Way to Display a US Flag?

    Avalus, Hock and Sisco, Welcome to America’s Finest Tourist Plantation

    Serrano, Klanswoman

    Grany Fury, Kissing Doesn’t Kill

    Andres Andy Cox, Citybank posters

    Chris Ofili, The Holy Virgin

    Alma Lopez, Our Lady

    Renee Cox, Yo Mama’s last supper

    “A Boondocks Cartoon”

    Reading Outside the Lines

        Classroom Activities

        Essay Ideas

 8. Reading and Writing about Advertising, Journalism, and the Media

    Worksheet

    Malcolm Gladwell, “The Coolhunt"

    Clint C. Wilson and Felix Gutierrez, "Advertising and People of Color"

    David McGowan, “The America the Media Don't Want You to See"

    Student Essay: Brittany Gray, “Hanes Her Way"

    William Lutz, "Weasel Words"

    Student Essay: Arianne Galino, “Sister Act: A Destructive Form of Writing"

  The Baylor University Journalism Suite.

    The Baylor Question

    Reading Outside the Lines

        Classroom Activities

        Essay Ideas

        Assignment:  The Rhetorical Analysis

 9. Reading and Writing about Relationships

    Worksheet    

    Margaret Atwood, “Happy Endings"

    Philip Levine, “You Can Have It"

    David Sedaris, “To Make a Friend, Be A Friend"

    Tracy Seeley, "My Mother's Hands"

  The College Relationship Suite

    Student Essay: Emily Littlewood, “Can You Handle the Commitment?: Three Types of College Relationships"

    Libby Copeland, “Boy Friend; Between those Two Words, A Guy Can Get Crushed"

    Laura Kipnis, “Off Limits: Should Students Be Allowed to Hook Up with Professors?”

    Kathleen Dean More and Lani Roberts, “Case Study:  Harmful Hug?”

    Deni Elliot and Paul Martin Lester, “When Is It OK to Invite a Student to Dinner?”

    Reading Outside the Lines

        Classroom Activities

        Essay Ideas

 10. Reading and Writing about Music.

    Worksheet

    Kevin J.H. Dettmar and William Richey, "Musical Cheese: The Appropriation of Seventies Music in Nineties Movies"

    Student Essay:Fouzia Baber, “Is Tupac Really Dead?”

    Student Essay:Sarah Hawkins, "Right on Target: Revisiting Elvis Costello’s My Aim is True."

   The Song Suite

    Dave Marsh, “Johnny B. Goode,” by Chuck Berry

    Robert Shelton, "Like a Rolling Stone" by Bob Dylan

    Michael Azerrad, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana

    Student Essay:  Matt Compton, "Smells Like Teen Spirit"

    Alessandro Portelli, "Coal Miner's Daughter by Loretta Lynn"

    Christopher Sieving, "Cop Out?  The Media, 'Cop Killer,' and the Deracialization of Black Rage (Constructing [Mis]Representations) by Ice-T

    Reading Between the Lines

        Classroom Activities

        Essay Ideas

 11. Reading and Writing about Technology

    Worksheet

    Donald A. Norman, "Infuriating By Design: Everyday Things Need Not Wreak Havoc On Our Lives"

    Steven Johnson, “How the Computer Changed My Writing” 

    Heidi Pollock, “Confessions of an Online Journalist"

    John Leo, “Kill-for-Kicks Video Games Desensitizing Our Children"

    Student Essay: Dan Walsh, “Hungry for a Scapegoat: A Rebuttal to John Leo’s ‘Kill-for-Kicks Video Games Desensitizing our Children"

    Lisa Nakamura, "Where Do You Want to Go Today?  Cybernetic Tourism, the Internet, and Transnationality"

  Technology and Communication Suite

    Deborah Tannen, “Connections"

    Camille Sweeny, “In A Chat Room you can be NE1” in "In a Chat Room, You Can Be NE1: Constructing a Teenage Life On Line"

    Student Essay:Virginia Colwell, “Mail-Order Brides:  The Content of Internet Courtship"

    Reading Outside the Lines

        Classroom Activities

        Essay Ideas

 

Credits

Index