A fresh mix of readings. Drawn from a variety of popular, professional, and academic sources, the readings include essays from cultural critics and canonical authors to humorists and entertainers — while a variety of visual texts (photo essays, comics, ads, and cultural artifacts) invite critical analysis. Each chapter offers works by major authors — such as David Brooks on urban life and Laura Kipnis on marriage — but also some surprises, like Jon Stewart on the future,
The Onion on love, and Samuel L. Jackson on race in Hollywood.
A re-examination of the familiar — and a question-posing approach. For most students, familiar themes like identity, community, and romance seem straightforward enough. But while the term
community once referred to a neighborhood, does it also apply to the blogosphere? This is the kind of question that
ReMix poses to help students see the everyday through a new, more critical lens. And by identifying popular cultural assumptions (e.g. "Communities accept us as we are.") at the beginning of each chapter and threading them throughout,
ReMix equips students with a sound method for working with the readings and examining their own ideas.
Assignments that encourage critical and creative thinking. In addition to thoughtful headnotes, pre-reading prompts, and questions for analysis, ReMix offers a refreshingly unusual mix of assignments. Examining the Everyday questions focus on an ordinary object or practice and ask students to consider it in relation to themselves and the larger culture. Writing About Cultural Practices questions send them out into the world to investigate ideas and assumptions raised in each reading. Mixing Words & Images questions inspire the creation of collages, photo essays, maps, posters, blogs, and other work that mixes text and images to make an argument about culture.
Not your ordinary-looking textbook. Inspired by magazine and tradebook design and not afraid to be playful, ReMix features "FOUND" artifacts (what makes McDonald’s french fries taste so good?) and comic sidebars (what do David Sedaris and P. Diddy have in common?). More than 150 photos include images of the word’s first zipper (it looks dangerous!) and a cellphone designed for Muslim users (it points you toward Mecca!), inviting discussion and analysis.