What Is Pop Culture? Why Study It?

They Say, I Say Ch. 1 and 12

Quickwrite #1:

• Choose a favorite or familiar piece of pop culture (a band, a musician, a film, a sports team) and write about it in the context of the essay we read for today. In what ways does your chosen piece of pop culture fit in with at least one of Delaney’s ideas about what pop culture is and how it functions in our society?

How to Read our Textbook• When the schedule tells you to read a certain amount of pages (9-17

for example) you might not technically need to read the whole page. Rather, you should look for section headings and start with the first section on that page. – For example, on page 9, the section heading “A Critical Perspective:

Strategies for Thinking, Reading, and Responding” starts about halfway down the page, but it is the first section that STARTS on page 9. Therefore you should start there.

– Likewise, the only thing on page 17 is an exercise. Since you have not been instructed to do the exercise, but rather only to read and think about the information, you can ignore this part.

• When I ask you to read an Essay or Article in your Textbook, I will usually list the page numbers the essay covers (p.139-143, for example). Be sure preview the essay, see how long it is, and give yourself enough time to read the whole thing.

Engage With What You Read

• Reading Actively– What does it mean to read actively?

• Pay attention• Take notes (Annotate)

– See p. 12 of Pop Perspectives for a checklist.• Look up unfamiliar words

• Reading Critically– What does it mean to read critically?

• Think carefully about the ideas presented in what you are reading– Ask questions– Relate the ideas to your own experience or knowledge– Come to class with questions to ask and opinions to share

Encouraging Effective Class Discussion• Have respect for your classmates, even when you disagree with

their ideas. • Take time to gather your thoughts. There is no prize for having

your hand in the air first. • Build our class’s understanding of the topic at hand by…

– Adding an additional point or example to what someone else has said. – Connecting two ideas that have been discussed separately.– Challenging what someone else has said by countering his or her

points. – See p. 164-166 in Ch. 12 of They Say, I Say for more pointers.

• Ground your discussion of a text by quoting specific, relevant passages of the articles we read.

Discussion: Small Groups to Whole Class

• Often, when we do class discussion, I will have you brainstorm and talk about the topics in small groups before moving the discussion back to the whole class. – You can elect –or volunteer– a representative of your group to

share the ideas, issues, and answers to questions that your group discussed with the wider class and myself.

– Although not everyone will be comfortable talking in front of large groups, I do want everyone to try to contribute something. All opinions and perspectives have value!

– Also, if you aren’t sure what to say ask questions! Sometime the best thing a group member can do is ask a classmate to clarify or further explain their perspective or point!

Why study “Pop Culture”? • Historically, academia (schools, universities, professors) put a lot

of emphasis on “high culture” and disregarded “pop culture,” thinking it wasn’t worth studying or analyzing.

• Recently, many scholars and universities have recognized the value of pop culture as an area of study.

• Some general assumptions that the study of pop culture makes: – The art (this includes movies, music, tv, etc.) that a culture produces

reveals what that culture values. – The art a culture produces reveals widely held attitudes about

important/controversial issues. – While Pop Culture can reveal attitudes, it can also change them. – In other words, the pop culture that we are exposed to can affect how

and what we think, while at the same time forcing us to examine commonly held assumptions.

Class Discussion of “Pop Culture: An Overview”

• What, according to the author (Delaney), is the purpose of popular culture? What does it do for us as a society? Do you agree with his observations?

• How does popular culture help people to create identity?

• What is the connection between popular culture, social media, and mass media?

Analysis of Pop Culture

• Consider the list of examples of pop culture we have come up with as a class, then answer the following question:

• “We’ve made lists, individually and as a class, of examples of pop culture that we enjoy. What are some important issues that your examples of pop culture brings up?”

• In other words, what important issues/ideas might these examples of pop culture lead us to discuss?

• By answering these questions, we are beginning to do the work of analyzing pop culture.

Everyone’s a Critic

• Because you will be doing the work of analyzing pop culture, you will be taking on the role of pop culture critic.

• The word “critic” here doesn’t mean that you are only going to be saying negative things about pop culture. Instead, it means that you will…– Examine the pieces of pop culture you are studying carefully and

thoughtfully.– Examine the assumptions, trends, and social issues are brought

to light by your examination of pop culture. – Make claims about what your examination of popular culture

tells you about the society that produced it.

What is “Academic Writing”?

• Academic writing follows a set of conventions (remember, those are rules/expectations your readers will have of your writing in an academic setting), and it is appropriate for a school or research setting.

• Academic writing is a WAY of writing, and is not limited to certain subjects or topics.

What is Academic Writing?

• Academic Writing is NOT…– Being perfect the first time– Always having “original” ideas that are not influenced by

anyone else– Being better than others around you

• Academic Writing IS…– A process– Developing ideas in connection with other ideas– Being part of a community of writers and engaging in the

ongoing academic conversation.

Discussion of They Say, I Say Intro and Chapter 1

• According to the authors of They Say, I Say, why is it important to position yourself and your ideas in relation to what other writers have said about the topic? (Review the Intro and Ch. 1 to prepare for class discussion.)

• What do you think of the idea of using templates? Do you agree with the author’s arguments in favor of templates?

Writing As A Process or a Journey

• Writing develops both recursively (as a process) and socially (interacting with other texts).

• The process of rhetoric in both reading and writing means thinking about how to use language for a particular audience, within a particular context, and how to use appropriate conventions (grammar rules, spelling, punctuation, etc).

• It is important to note that reading and writing are connected to each other.

• All writers enter conversations and communities through their words, so writers must be readers of many texts, and should also be aware of context and culture.

• This class aims to help you understand all these writing techniques and use them successfully in your own writing.

Writing as Exploration and Connection

• We will read and analyze many kinds of writing that are a part of the academic conversation.

• We will use outside sources to inspire and inform our own writing• We will workshop our own essays.• These activities, along with student-instructor conferences, peer

work, and discussions, will demonstrate the social nature of writing.

• What is truly essential in this class is the ability to communicate a given message through writing, reading, and speaking in class.

• So, get to know your classmates, your professor, and most of all, yourself. We will support each other to grow as students, writers, readers, communicators, and individuals.

Understanding Essay Prompts– Prompts are the key to successful assignments. • It’s important to know how to read a prompt and

understand it.– Read and re-read your prompt until you

understand fully what is being asked of you. – If you don’t understand, ask your professor to clarify EARLY

ON. – If you ask the day before the essay is due, IT IS ALREADY TOO

LATE. • Let’s review our Prompt!

– Know the minimum requirements and take them seriously. • These include: page length or word count, format, works

cited/research required. ALL DUE DATES.

Practice Using Templates• We are going respond to a piece of writing using ideas from They Say, I Say. • You may choose to respond to the editorial “Back Off on the Broccoli” on p. 18 of

Pop Perspectives, “Pop Culture: An Overview,” or another opinion piece that has been approved by me.

• Identify an idea in the essay that you would like to respond to. • You might start with the template:

• In the article “Your Article Title Goes Here,” Author Name makes the point that ________________, which is particularly important because ____________________.

• Try to use at least one other template from Chapter 1. • If you are talking about ideas you have held for a long time, you might want to consider

the templates on p. 24 under “Making something “they say” something you say”• If you are talking about ideas that you feel lots of other people (the “general public”)

have, you might want to consider the templates on the top of p. 24. • When you are finished, write a brief reflection about how using a template

worked for you. Did you find it easier than coming up with your own structure? Harder? Why?