Intro to Contemporary Culture 1050
This course is a study of written and visual genres that reflect how the diverse United States culture has evolved and is still evolving, and how this diverse culture includes and marginalizes various groups according to race, ethnicity, class, or gender.
Our selections for study are varied in genre, including what we typically understand as “literary” genres, such as short stories, essays, and poetry, but also including social commentary in such forms as graffiti and advertising. As we study these selections, we will consider, compare, and contrast rhetorical techniques and ideas of authors, as well as the cultural aspects that have shaped them.
The course will also ask you to critically analyze your own stances and place in our diverse society as you engage in thoughtful and respectful class discussion and writing. There is frequently a tendency to oversimplify issues of diversity; our study will ask that you acknowledge and address their complexity as you consider various perspectives and situations.
Posted Assignments:
Essay One -Immigration
Essay Two -Diversity
Our selections for study are varied in genre, including what we typically understand as “literary” genres, such as short stories, essays, and poetry, but also including social commentary in such forms as graffiti and advertising. As we study these selections, we will consider, compare, and contrast rhetorical techniques and ideas of authors, as well as the cultural aspects that have shaped them.
The course will also ask you to critically analyze your own stances and place in our diverse society as you engage in thoughtful and respectful class discussion and writing. There is frequently a tendency to oversimplify issues of diversity; our study will ask that you acknowledge and address their complexity as you consider various perspectives and situations.
Posted Assignments:
Essay One -Immigration
Essay Two -Diversity