Courses:

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This section features the texts used in the course as well as the assigned reading, available as readings by session. Not all session have assigned reading.

Maasik, Sonia, and Jack Solomon. Signs of Life in the USA: Readings on Popular Culture for Writers. Boston, MA: Bedford/St.Martin's, 2002. ISBN: 9780312397845.

Lunsford, Andrea, and Franklin Horowitz. Easy Writer: A Pocket Guide. 2nd ed. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2001. ISBN: 9780312243487.

Course readings.

SES #	READINGS
1	Gladwell, Malcom. "Brain Candy," The New Yorker, May 16, 2005, 88-89. Klosterman, Chuck. "Campus Confidential," The New York Times Book Review, August 22, 2004, 10. Gallagher, Hugh. "College Essay."
2	Hale, Constance, and Jessie Scanlon, eds. Wired Style: Principles of English Usage in the Digital Age. New York, NY: Broadway Books, 1999. ISBN: 9780767903721. (Excerpts)
3	"Popular Signs," and "Writing about Popular Culture." In Signs of Life. pp. 1-44.
4	"Consuming Passions." In Signs of Life. pp. 47-55. Bowlby, Rachel. "The Haunted Superstore." In Signs of Life. pp. 76-83. Davis, Fred. "Blue Jeans." In Signs of Life. pp. 93-100.
6	Orwell, George. "Politics and the English Language." In The Orwell Reader: Fiction, Essays, and Reportage. New York, NY: Harcourt, 1956.
7	Goewey, David. "Careful, You May Run Out of Planet." In Signs of Life. pp. 112-21. Cave, Damien. "The Spam Spoils of War." In Signs of Life. pp. 122-25.
8	"Brought to You B(u)y: The Signs of Advertising." In Signs of Life. pp. 141-49. Solomon, Jack. "Masters of Desire: The Culture of American Advertising." In Signs of Life. pp. 160-71. "Portfolio of Advertisements." In Signs of Life. pp. 200-01.
10	Lasn, Kalle. "Hype." In Signs of Life. pp. 217-20. "Video Dreams." In Signs of Life. pp. 223-37. Gladwell, Malcolm. "The Coolhunt," The New Yorker, March 17, 1997. Video: The Merchants of Cool. Frontline. Directed by Barak Goodman. Boston, MA: WGBH Boston, 2001.
11	Honoré, Carl. In Praise of Slowness: How A Worldwide Movement is Challenging the Cult of Speed. San Francisco, CA: HarperOne, 2004. ISBN: 9780060545789. (Excerpts) Schor, Juliet. The Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline of Leisure. Reprint ed. New York, NY: Basic Books, 1993. ISBN: 9780465054343. (Excerpts)
14	Douglas, Susan. "Signs of Intelligent Life on TV." In Signs of Life. pp. 250-54. Fazzone, Amanda. "Boob Tube." In Signs of Life. pp. 255-57.
20	Cose, Ellis. "Our New Look: The Colors of Race." Newsweek, January 1, 2000. Kelley, Robin D. G. "The People in Me." Colorlines, Winter 1999. McIntosh, Peggy. "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack." Peace and Freedom (July/August 1999). "Constructing Race: Readings in Multicultural Semiotics." Introduction to chapter 7 in Signs of Life. pp. 549-56. Bernstein, Nell. "Goin' Gangsta, Choosin' Cholita." In Signs of Life. pp. 599-604. Algranati, Melissa. "Being an Other." In Signs of Life. pp. 608-12. Shen, Fan. "The Classroom and the Wider Culture: Identity as a Key to Learning English Composition." In Signs of Life. pp. 613-22.