ENGLISH 101 WEEK 2 Tuesday

Review and Announcements A Couple of Important Things to Note: On your schedule there might be a couple of places I accidently wrote The Little Penguin Handbook when I meant The Little Seagull Handbook. I used to use the Penguin but recently I switched to the Seagull. Sometimes I mix them up. Just replace Penguin with Seagull. Birds, man. BIRDS. Turnitin.com Info: 101 Class ID: Enrollment Password: lawson101

Culture, Pop Culture, and How We Define Them How do we define “culture”? cul·ture noun : the beliefs, customs, arts, etc., of a particular society, group, place, or time The word “arts” in this definition is what we are most concerned with. Now, this doesn’t just mean “art” as in drawing, painting, etc. The art of a culture is ALL of that culture’s methods of creative expression. What are some of the ways people express themselves creatively in the culture of early 21 st century America?

Remember: “Pop culture” is short for “popular culture.” This means it has a broad appeal. (A large cross section of society relates to it.) Pop culture used to be defined in opposition to “high culture”. It was often thought of as “lesser” or “trivial” in comparison. “High culture” is thought to be more accessible to the educated/elite, while “popular” cultures is thought to be the art and creative expression of the “masses.” Regarding our earlier definition of “culture”, the terms “Pop Culture” and “High Culture” both usually refer to the arts (created things) of a culture, but sometimes also refer to the customs of a culture. Sometimes these two things (arts and customs/behaviors) cross over with each other. When might this happen?

Some Other Features of Pop Culture… Pop culture is dynamic. This means it is constantly changing and in motion. This is always been true, but the speed at which pop culture shifts has increased as mobile internet technology and social media have become more and more popular. Pop culture is not monolithic. This means that while we may talk about pop culture as a whole in order to understand it, the individual pieces that make up pop culture are diverse, and sometimes contradictory.

Encouraging Effective Class Discussion Have respect for your classmates, even when you disagree with their ideas. Build our class’s understanding of the topic at hand by… – Adding an additional point or example to what someone else has said. – Connecting two ideas that have been discussed separately. – Challenging what someone else has said by countering his or her points. Ground your discussion of a text by quoting specific, relevant passages of the articles we read.

Discussion: Small Groups to Whole Class Often, when we do class discussion, I will have you brainstorm and talk about the topics in small groups before moving the discussion back to the whole class. You can elect –or volunteer– a representative of your group to share the ideas, issues, and answers to questions that your group discussed with the wider class and myself. Although not everyone will be comfortable talking in front of large groups, I do want everyone to try to contribute something. All opinions and perspectives have value! Also, if you aren’t sure what to say ask questions! Sometime the best thing a group member can do is ask a classmate to clarify or further explain their perspective or point!

Today’s Readings Considering Identities: How We Construct Our Identity and What Influences That Construction Read excerpt page 111 Kiflin Turner – “Identity Beyond Stereotypes” What problematic stereotypes does Turner discuss in his essay? Discuss the ways in which you or those you know about have been stereotyped by others based upon: your race/ethnicity, religion, age, economic class, subculture, or another other identity category. Philip J. Deloria – “I Am Not a Mascot” This essay discusses the problematic appropriation of stereotyped Native American images as team mascots. Can you think of any other examples from American popular culture where cultural stereotypes or images/traditions stolen from other cultures are used outside of their original cultural context?

Pass Out the Prompt for Project One Quick overview of Project One Check out the full Project One schedule on the blog.schedule on the blog We will discuss this more next class. Take note of due dates! These are the due dates for the major WRITTEN Project Assignments This doesn’t include the readings and the short homework questions that will also help you understand the ideas we are discussing for this Project and ultimately help you develop your own ideas for your essay!

Brainstorming Freewrite: Can you think of any aspect of culture or pop culture (remember this has a very broad definition) that has had an influence on you, or an impact or your identity? how you think about yourself, how you think about the world around you? how you express yourself, and interact with people? Tell me about it. It can be anything, I don’t judge!

For Thursday: Thursday, February 19 Overview of Section “Identities”(111). Discuss Rhetorical Analysis and Brainstorming. Due: Read these 2 essays in Pop Perspectives and answer the “Critical Perspective” question after each:, “Being an Other” p.144, and “Finding My Eye-Identity” p.149 Friday, 2/20 is the last day to add or drop a class in person. Sunday, 2/22 is the last day to add a class online or to drop without a “W” and receive a full refund.