What is it about 20 somethings essay

EMERGING CONTEMPORARY READINGS FOR

WRITERS

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EMERGING CONTEMPORARY READINGS FOR

WRITERS

FOURTH EDITION

BARCLAY BARRIOS

Florida Atlantic University

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Acknowledgments Text acknowledgments and copyrights appear at the back of the book on pages 483–484, which constitute an extension of the copyright page. Art acknowledgments and copyrights appear on the same page as the art selections they cover.

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PREFACE FOR INSTRUCTORS Emerging/Thinking One of the fundamental facts of teaching writing is that when students leave our classrooms, they go: They go to other classes, go to their jobs after school, go hang out with friends, go into their disciplines, go into their careers, go into the world, in so many ways go back to their increasingly busy lives. The challenge for us as instructors is to help students acquire the skills of critical reading, thinking, and writing that will allow them to succeed in these diverse contexts.

Emerging seeks to address this challenge. It offers sustained readings that present complex ideas in approachable language; it encourages critical thinking and writing skills by prompting students to make connections among readings; it draws from a broad cross section of themes and disciplines in order to present students with numerous points of entry and identification; and it introduces emerging problems — such as cultural polarization (in social, educational, and political dimensions), the impact of technology (from Twitter to brain science), race and social issues (such as privilege, microaggressions, and gender roles), and the dilemmas of ethics (ways to advocate change, for instance, and the relations between art and philanthropy) — that have not yet been solved and settled.

The readings are organized alphabetically to open up possibilities for connections. (Alternative tables of contents highlight disciplinary concerns and thematic clusters.) Because they consist of entire book chapters or complete articles, readings can stand on their own as

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originally intended. However, the readings in Emerging were chosen because they connect to each other in interesting and illuminating ways. The issues under discussion resonate across readings, genres, and disciplines, prompting students to think about each selection in multiple dimensions. These resonant connections are shown through “tags” indicating central concepts treated in the selections. Several tags for each piece are listed in the table of contents, in each headnote, and for each assignment sequence — highlighting concepts such as “community,” “globalism,” “identity,” “culture,” “social change” and “adolescence and adulthood.” Thus one can see at a glance the possibilities for thematic connections among the readings. Connections with other authors are also highlighted in the table of contents, in each headnote, and through the assignment sequences (included at the back of the book; see p. 463). The assignment sequences suggest a succession of readings that are linked conceptually so that one assignment sequence provides the structure for an entire semester. (Sequences are further explained on the next page.)

Emerging/Reading Because students ultimately enter diverse disciplines, the readings are drawn from across fields of knowledge located both inside and outside the academy. Political science, sociology, journalism, anthropology, economics, and art are some of the disciplines one might expect to find in such a collection, but Emerging also includes readings from photography, public health, psychology, philosophy, epigenetics, technology, and law. The author of each selection addresses his or her concerns to an audience outside the discipline — a useful model for students who eventually will need to communicate beyond the

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boundaries of their chosen fields. Many of the readings also represent cross-disciplinary work — a photographer thinking about economics, a musician thinking about education — since the walls between departments in academia are becoming increasingly permeable.

Yet despite this disciplinary grounding, the readings, though challenging, are accessible, written as they are with a general audience in mind. The readings thus demonstrate multiple ways in which complex ideas and issues can be presented in formal yet approachable language. The accessible nature of the essays also allows for many readings longer than those typically seen in first-year composition anthologies, because the level of writing makes them comprehensible to students. Yet even the briefer readings are substantive, providing numerous opportunities for nuanced arguments.

Of course, in addition to referencing emerging issues, the title of this collection refers also to the students in first-year composition courses, who themselves are emerging as readers, thinkers, and writers. By providing them with challenging texts along with the tools needed to decode, interpret, and deploy these texts, Emerging helps college readers develop the skills they will need as they move into working with the difficult theoretical texts presented in their choice of majors — and ultimately into their twenty-first-century careers.

Emerging/Writing One of the philosophical tenets supporting Emerging is that students need to be prepared to deal with emerging issues in their jobs and lives, and to do so, they not only must acquire information about these issues

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(since such information will continually change) but also must possess an ability to think critically in relation to them. The editorial apparatus in Emerging includes the following features that will help students develop the skills needed to become fluid, reflective, and critically self- aware writers:

► Part One: Emerging as a Critical Thinker and Academic Writer. Part One presents the key skills of academic success: the ability to read critically, argue, use evidence, research, and revise.

► Part Two: Readings. Each reading in Part Two includes a variety of questions to help students practice the skills of critical thinking, explained in detail on pages 2–3.

► Part Three: Assignment Sequences. In order to stress the iterative processes of thinking and writing, eight assignment sequences are included in the back of the book, each of which uses multiple selections to engage students’ thinking about a central theme, issue, or problem. Each sequence frames a project extensive enough for an entire semester’s work and can be easily adapted for individual classes, and two of the sequences prompt students to conduct outside research.

Additionally, the apparatus accompanying each reading provides substantial help for students while featuring innovative approaches to understanding the essays and their relation to the world outside the classroom:

► Headnotes. A headnote preceding each reading selection provides biographical information about the author and describes the context of the larger work from which the reading has been

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taken.

► Questions for Critical Reading. These questions direct students to central concepts, issues, and ideas from the essay in order to prompt a directed rereading of the text while providing a guide for the students’ own interpretive moves.

► Exploring Context. In order to leverage students’ existing literacies with digital technologies, these questions ask students to use the web and other electronic sources to contextualize each reading further, using sites and tools such as Facebook and Twitter.

► Questions for Connecting. Because thinking across essays provides particular circumstances for critical thinking, these opportunities for writing ask students to make connections between essays and to apply and synthesize authors’ ideas.

► Language Matters. The Language Matters questions are a unique feature of this reader. These questions address issues of grammar and writing through the context of the essays, presenting language not as a set of rules to be memorized but as a system of meaning-making that can also be used as a tool for analysis.

► Assignments for Writing. Each reading has Assignments for Writing questions that ask students to build on the work they’ve done in the other questions of the apparatus and create a piece of writing with a sustained argument supported by textual engagement.

What’s New New readings on a wider variety of topics. Fifteen selections are

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new, broadening the range of topics in Emerging. Authors of the readings include public intellectuals, many with familiar names. For instance, novelist Michael Chabon reflects on his son’s love of fashion and the universal search for community, a place where you belong. Essayist Leslie Jamison traces the complicated path to obtaining an elusive medical diagnosis in order to consider the limits of our compassion for another’s suffering. And journalist Adrien Chen explores the influence of social media on our beliefs — and makes a case for radical empathy.

An overarching theme explores the central question of our time: How can we get along? While the readings in the fourth edition span a variety of topics — and can be read and taught any number of ways — the through-line of this edition is one of the most urgent ethical and practical questions in America today: What do we do about polarization? Divergence of opinion is part of the problem; the larger part is an increasing refusal to even talk to others who are different in terms of their politics, culture, or social position. The lack of conversation stymies any solution and initiates a solipsistic cycle that only exacerbates the problem. In a diverse and connected world, we must find a way to get along. Instructors will find the materials and advice necessary to stage productive conversations across these social and political divides in order to encourage conversation, understanding, and empathy.

New multimodal assignments throughout the book offer instructors new options for students to write and compose in a variety of media.

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Four new or substantially revised assignment sequences provide a convenient way to structure selected readings into a coherent course. They ask four challenging questions to spark students’ interest and to guide them on a substantive academic project: How Do We Face the Challenge of Race?, What Does Ethical Conflict Look Like in a Globalized World?, How Can We Get Along?, and What Is the Role of Art in the World?

Acknowledgments This collection itself has been a long time emerging, and I would be remiss not to thank the many people who contributed their time, energy, feedback, and support throughout the course of this project.

I would first like to acknowledge past and current colleagues who have played a role in developing this text. Richard E. Miller and Kurt Spellmeyer, both of Rutgers University, through their mentorship and guidance laid the foundations for my approach to composition as reflected in this reader. My department chairs during my time here at Florida Atlantic University, Andrew Furman and Wenying Xu, provided reassurance and support as I balanced the work of this text and the work of serving as Director of Writing Programs. The members of the Writing Committee for Florida Atlantic University’s Department of English — Jeff Galin, Joanne Jasin, Jennifer Low, Julia Mason, Daniel Murtaugh, and Magdalena Ostas — generously allowed me to shape both this reader and the writing program. The dean’s office of the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters of Florida Atlantic University provided a Summer Teaching Development Award, which aided in the creation of the materials that form the core of the

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Instructor’s Manual.

For this fourth edition I’d like to thank as well Wendy Hinshaw, who took my place as Director of Writing Programs at Florida Atlantic University, and Janelle Blount, who serves as Associate Director of Writing Programs, both of whom enriched this project with input, suggestions for readings, and frequent conversations about the shape of this work. Thanks to Kathleen Moorhead, who has always been a committed and engaging colleague and who offered readings and assignments for this edition as well. Valerie Duff-Strautmann’s work on the Instructor’s Manual was invaluable; I thank her for coming on board with this project.

I continue to be grateful for the many reviewers who offered helpful suggestions for the first three editions of Emerging. Their valuable feedback continues to shape the book. I also wish to thank the reviewers who helped me plan the fourth edition: Bridgett Blaque, Truckee Meadows Community College; Carole Center, University of New England; Jonathan Ceniceroz, Mt. San Antonio College; Michael Cripps, University of New England; Joshua Dickinson, Jefferson Community College; Ana Douglass, Truckee Meadows Community College; Donita Grissom, University of Central Florida; Molly Guerriero, Casper College; Laura Headley, Monterey Peninsula College; Lisa Hibl, University of Southern Maine; Wendy Hinshaw, Florida Atlantic University; Michael Piotrowski, The University of Toledo; Danielle Santos, North Shore Community College; and Carlton Southworth, SUNY Jefferson Community College.

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I cannot say enough about the support I have received from Bedford/St. Martin’s. The enthusiasm of Edwin Hill, Leasa Burton, and John Sullivan for this project was always appreciated. My editor, Christina Gerogiannis, reassured me often, kept this project moving along, and came through more than once. Cari Goldfine, in her role as editorial assistant, really helped take some of the load off my plate. I am grateful to Kalina Ingham and Elaine Kosta for clearing text permissions and to Angela Boehler and Kerri Wilson for obtaining art permissions. Matt Glazer and Sumathy Kumaran, along with her colleagues at Lumina Datamatics, expertly guided the manuscript through production. I appreciate their help, as well as the work of marketing manager Joy Fisher Williams.

My thanks to Tom Edwards, who was there when this edition started, and to Tom Elliott, Trae Ellison, and Eric Bladon who offered me support as it drew to a close. I offer this edition in loving memory of my dear and dearly missed husband, Joseph Tocio, who passed away as the third edition was going to press.

—BJB

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CONTENTS PREFACE FOR INSTRUCTORS

Part 1 EMERGING AS A CRITICAL THINKER AND ACADEMIC WRITER

WHAT’S EMERGING?

READING CRITICALLY

THINKING CRITICALLY

MAKING AN ARGUMENT

USING SUPPORT

ABOUT RESEARCH

REVISING, EDITING, AND PROOFREADING

SAMPLE STUDENT PAPER

Part 2 THE READINGS

KWAME ANTHONY APPIAH

Making Conversation and The Primacy of Practice

A prominent philosopher argues, “In the wake of 9/11, there has been a lot of fretful discussion about the divide between ‘us’ and ‘them.’ What’s often taken for granted is a picture of a world in which conflicts arise, ultimately, from conflicts between values. This is what we take to be good; that is what they take to be good. That picture of the world has deep philosophical roots; it is thoughtful, well worked out, plausible. And, I think, wrong.”

► TAGS: collaboration, community, conversation, ethics, globalism, identity, judgment and decision making, politics,

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social change

► CONNECTIONS: Chen, DeGhett, Epstein, Gladwell, Jamison, Lukianoff and Haidt, Southan, Stillman, van Houtryve, Turkle, Watters, Yoshino

NAMIT ARORA

What Do We Deserve?

A writer and photographer examines three forms of economic systems — the libertarian, meritocratic, and egalitarian models — asking, “‘What do we deserve?’ In other words, for our learning, natural talents, and labor, what rewards and entitlements are just? How much of what we bring home is fair or unfair, and why?”

► TAGS: economics, ethics, social justice

► CONNECTIONS: Appiah, Chabon, Coates, Fukuyama, Gilbert, Gladwell, Henig, Watters

MICHAEL CHABON

My Son, the Prince of Fashion

A novelist reflects on his son’s love of fashion and the universal search for people who will understand you and share your passions, noting, “You are born into a family and those are your people, and they know you and they love you and if you are lucky they even, on occasion, manage to understand you. And that ought to be enough. But it is never enough.”

► TAGS: adolescence and adulthood, beauty, community, culture, gender, identity, relationships, sexuality

► CONNECTIONS: Appiah, Chen, Fukuyama, Gilbert, Gladwell, Henig, Provan

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ADRIAN CHEN

Unfollow

A journalist explores the influence of social media on belief. Documenting the experiences of Megan Phelps-Roper, a former prominent member of the Westboro Baptist Church, and the way social media challenged her relationship to the group, he writes, “It was easy for Phelps-Roper to write things on Twitter that made other people cringe. She had been taught the church’s vision of God’s truth since birth.”

► TAGS: adolescence and adulthood, censorship, community, conversation, empathy, identity, judgment and decision making, media, relationships, religion, social change, social media, tradition, war and conflict

► CONNECTIONS: Appiah, DeGhett, Gilbert, Klosterman, Konnikova, Turkle, Yoshino

TA-NEHISI COATES

From Between the World and Me

A writer reflects on his experiences growing up as a black American, critiquing the American education system: “Why, precisely, was I sitting in this classroom? The question was never answered. I was a curious boy, but the schools were not concerned with curiosity. They were concerned with compliance.”

► TAGS: adolescence and adulthood, civil rights, education, law and justice, race and ethnicity, religion

► CONNECTIONS: Appiah, Cohen, Das, Fukuyama, Gilbert, Holmes, Ma, Yang, Yoshino

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ANDREW COHEN

Race and the Opioid Epidemic

A legal analyst appraises the racial dimensions of the current United States opioid epidemic, asking, “Can we explain the disparate response to the ‘black’ heroin epidemic of the 1960s, in which its use and violent crime were commingled in the public consciousness, and the white heroin ‘epidemic’ today, in which its use is considered a disease to be treated or cured, without using race as part of our explanation?” The answer? No, we cannot.

► TAGS: ethics, health and medicine, law and justice, politics, race and ethnicity

► CONNECTIONS: Appiah, Coates, Das, Fukuyama, Holmes, Lukianoff and Haidt, Yang, Yoshino

KAVITA DAS

(Un)American, (Un)Cool

A writer considers the historical roots and inherent American- ness of the concept “cool,” as well as the lack of Asian Americans represented in that category. Discussing a National Portrait Gallery exhibit, she contends that “The underrepresentation of Asian Americans in the American Cool exhibit likely has less to do with the lack of iconic and transgressive Asian Americans who embody American Cool and more to do with the fact that the exhibit’s definition of American Cool is at odds with pervasive stereotypes of Asian Americans.”

► TAGS: art, community, culture, identity, photography and video, race and ethnicity

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► CONNECTIONS: Chabon, Coates, Cohen, DeGhett, Fukuyama, Holmes, Lukianoff and Haidt, Provan, Southan, van Houtryve, Watters, Yang, Yoshino

TORIE ROSE DEGHETT

The War Photo No One Would Publish

A journalist examines the decisions around a graphic war photo that no one would publish. She writes, “Some have argued that showing bloodshed and trauma repeatedly and sensationally can dull emotional understanding. But never showing these images in the first place guarantees that such an understanding will never develop.”

► TAGS: art, censorship, empathy, ethics, judgment and decision making, media, photography and video, politics, science and technology, trauma and violence, war and conflict

► CONNECTIONS: Appiah, Chen, Das, Fukuyama, Lukianoff and Haidt, Paumgarten, Provan, Singer, Southan, van Houtryve

HELEN EPSTEIN

AIDS, Inc.

A biologist and expert in public health examines a new approach to preventing AIDS: “LoveLife’s media campaign … was positive and cheerful, and resembled the bright, persuasive modern ad campaigns that many South African kids were very much attracted to.” It was a failure.

► TAGS: adolescence and adulthood, collaboration, community, conversation, culture, education, globalism, health and medicine, judgment and decision making, media,

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politics, sexuality, social change

► CONNECTIONS: Appiah, Chen, Cohen, Gilbert, Southan, Watters, Yoshino

FRANCIS FUKUYAMA

Human Dignity

A prominent political scientist says, “What the demand for equality of recognition implies is that when we strip all of a person’s contingent and accidental characteristics away, there remains some essential human quality underneath that is worthy of a certain minimal level of respect — call it Factor X.”

► TAGS: civil rights, empathy, ethics, genetics, identity, science and technology, social change

► CONNECTIONS: Appiah, Coates, Klosterman, Lukianoff and Haidt, Moalem, Singer, Stillman, Turkle, Watters, Yoshino

ROXANE GAY

Bad Feminist

An English professor and novelist questions what it takes to be a good feminist, deciding “I would rather be a bad feminist than no feminist at all.”

► TAGS: community, gender, identity, judgment and decision making, media, race and ethnicity

► CONNECTIONS: Appiah, Chabon, Fukuyama, Gilbert, Klosterman, Lukianoff and Haidt, Serano, von Busch

DANIEL GILBERT

Reporting Live from Tomorrow

An influential social psychologist asserts that “the production of

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wealth does not necessarily make individuals happy, but it does serve the needs of an economy, which serves the needs of a stable society, which serves as a network for the propagation of delusional beliefs about happiness and wealth.”

► TAGS: adolescence and adulthood, conversation, culture, empathy, judgment and decision making, psychology

► CONNECTIONS: Appiah, Chabon, Klosertman, Ma, Moalem, Serano, Stillman, Yang

MALCOLM GLADWELL

Small Change

A journalist probes the effects of social media on social activism and protest, claiming that social media campaigns are most successful when they ask little of participants. Differentiating between the strong and weak ties that bind us, he contends, “weak ties seldom lead to high-risk activism.”

► TAGS: civil rights, Facebook, social change, strong tie, technology, Twitter, weak tie

► CONNECTIONS: Appiah, Chen, Epstein, Konnikova, Turkle, von Busch, Yoshino

ROBIN MARANTZ HENIG

What Is It about 20-Somethings?

A science journalist considers the appearance of “emerging adulthood,” answering the question, “21 grow up” by tracing the emergence of this new life stage.

► TAGS: adolescence and adulthood, economics, identity, psychology, science and technology, social change

► CONNECTIONS: Appiah, Chabon, Chen, Gilbert,

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Klosterman, Konnikova, Lukianoff and Haidt, Paumgarten, Singer, Turkle, Watters

ANNA HOLMES

Variety Show

A blogger and editor discusses the way the term diversity has lost meaning in corporate and cultural environments, noting that rather than engendering social change, the term “has become both euphemism and cliché, a convenient shorthand that gestures at inclusivity and representation without actually taking them seriously.”