28 new readings (more than 50%) about extremely current and relevant issues. Up-and-coming and established voices think through and challenge rules and norms, whether online, on television, at the dinner table or at the cash register.
- Barbara Ehrenreich blows the lid off the positive thinking movement.
- Matthew Honan tests the limits of Internet privacy by making his every movement trackable.
- Mike Rose debunks the cultural assumption that blue-collar work requires less intelligence.
A new chapter on “How We Change” explores how we record, respond to, and enact social change. Examples include how social networking has changed the meaning of the word “friend” and Peter Lovenheim's campaign to improve his neighborhood's dynamics by asking each of his neighbors if he can spend a night in their homes getting to know them.
More support for doing critical analysis. The expanded and detailed introduction now uses an annotated professional essay to walk students through a written cultural analysis.
A complete student essay in MLA format in the introduction makes it easier for students to see how to integrate cultural analysis into academic writing.