In Context is a thematically-organized reader which invites students to use reading and writing to participate in ongoing cultural conversations. In Context¿s units focus on four ongoing conversations that have an impact on events in the world and that affect the way we see ourselves. These units include: what it means to be authentic, how we establish a sense of place, how to get people involved in civic dialogues, and how the increasingly global economy affects us as workers and consumers. The essays, dialogues, editorials, newspaper articles, and other documents included in this book reflect moments in these conversations. Both the readings and the writing assignments encourage students to see the ways in which others use writing to make things happen and ways in which they themselves can use writing to participate in these various local, national, and global conversations. What sets In Context apart from other readers is: (1) its thoughtful and sustained attention to rhetorical issues—students are introduced to four rhetorical concepts (situation, genre, language, and consequences) and are asked to use these as both a reader and writer; (2) the fact that students are asked to do more than critique culture, and to focus on how societies and individuals use writing and reading to do work, to affect outcomes, and to achieve results; and 3) the inclusion of assignments that allow students to compose not only analytical essays, but other genres as well—reports, letters to the editor, proposals, and more.

Table of Contents:
Readings Listed by Genre. Preface. UNIT I. READING AND WRITING RHETORICALLY. 1. Contexts for Reading and Writing. Analyzing a Feature Story: Graffiti as Art or Vandalism. Phat X. Chiem, Taggers Spray Over Vandal Image. Four Ways to Look at Reading and Writing. Reading the Graffiti Article. Exploring a Writing Scenario. Questions to Ask as You Read and Write. 2. Strategies for Writers at Work. A Writer Talks About Her Work. A How-To List for Reading and Writing. Before You Read: Connecting with the Conversation. As You Read: Exploring Texts and Contexts. Getting Down to Writing: Creating Texts. Writing Arguments. Integrating Material from Other Texts. Creating Visual Texts. Collaborating with Others on the Writing of a Text. UNIT II. SEARCHING FOR AUTHENTICITY. 3. Representing and Misrepresenting the Self. Esmeralda Santiago, Skin. Shane Madden, A Portfolio of Self Representations. Todd Boyd, Representin' the Real. Sherry Turkle, Identity in the Age of the Internet. Danny Santiago, Famous All Over Town. 4. Buying and Selling Authenticity. Nell Bernstein, Goin' Gangsta, Choosin' Cholita. Marc Spiegler, Marketing Street Culture: Bringing Hip-Hop Style to the Mainstream. James Ledbetter, Imitation of Life. David Klinghoffer, The Heart of the Matter. 5. Case Study: Contesting the Ownership of Music. The Case. The Issues. The Documents. Your Role. U2, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For. Richard Harrington, U2's Double Trouble. Island Records/Warner-Chappell Music, Excerpts from the Island/Warner-Chappell Lawsuit. Negativland, U2, Negativland: The Case from Our Side. Excerpts from Chapter 1 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act. Negativland, In Fair Use Debate, Art Must Come First Andrian Adams and Paul McKibbins, Sampling Without Permission Is Theft. Tom Samiljan, Build a Desktop Studio. RTMARK, RTMARK Finds Bucks for Beck Rip-off. UNIT III. CREATING A SENSE OF PLACE. 6. On the Road. Andrea Barrett, Why We Go. Yi-Fu Tuan, Nature and Culture. R. B. Kitaj, First Diasporist Manifesto. Clifton L. Taulbert, Bright Boy from the Delta. 7. Making a Home. Witold Rybczynski, Comfort and Well-Being. Sharon Haar and Christopher Reed, Coming Home. Michael Pollan, The Triumph of Burbopolis. Margaret Crawford and Adobe LA, Mi Casa es Su Casa. Richard Rodriguez, Late Victorians: San Francisco, AIDS, and the Homosexual Stereotype. 8. Case Study: On Painting a House Purple. The Case. The Issues. The Documents. Your Role. City of San Antonio, Understanding the Preservation Process. Susan Yerkes, King William Seeing Red over Purple. Susan Yerkes, Now We Know Why It's Called Purple Passion. Mike Greenberg, Purple Debate Reaches Commission—Cisneros Agrees to Work with City Staff on Mutually Acceptable Color Scheme. Letters to the Editor. Sandra Cisneros, Purple Politics—Our Tejano History Has Become Invisible. Milton Babbitt, Purple Politics—Individuality Surrendered for Preservation. Michele Norris and Lisa McRee, The Purple House—Coat of Paint Causes Cultural War in San Antonio. UNIT IV. PARTICIPATING IN CIVIC CONVERSATIONS. 9. What Makes Democracy Work? Harry C. Boyte and Nancy N. Kari, The New Democracy. Robert D. Putnam, Toward an Agenda for Social Capitalists. Patricia J. Williams, Hate Radio: Why We Need to Tune In to Limbaugh and Stern. Ray Suarez, Ellis Cose, Joie Chen, George de Lama, and Mark Trahant, Symposium on Minority Journalists and the Media. 10. Redefining Disability. Paul K. Longmore, The Second Phase: From Disability Rights to Disability Culture. Simi Linton, Negotiating Disability. Michael Bérubé, Life as We Know It. James S. Brady, Save Money: Help the Disabled New York Times Editors,Blank Check for the Disabled? Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, The FDR Memorial: Who Speaks from the Wheelchair? 11. Case Study: Designing Memorials. The Case. The Issues. The Documents. Your Role. Jan C. Scruggs and Joel L. Swerdlow, Vietnam Veterans Memorial Statement of Purpose. Maya Ying Lin, Design Competition: Winning Designer's Statement. Maya Ying Lin, Boundaries. Robert Ivy, Memorials, Monuments, and Meaning. Michael Kimmelman, The New Ground Zero; Finding Comfort in the Safety of Names. Allison Keyes for the Travis Smiley Show, Continuing Controversy over Construction of a Memorial at the World Trade Center Site. Photo of the Design for the World Trade Center Memorial. UNIT V. ADAPTING TO THE CHANGING ECONOMY. 12. Living in the Global Economy. Robert Wright and Robert Kaplan, Mr. Order Meets Mr. Chaos. William Wolman and Anne Colamosca, A Passage to India: The Case of Bangalore. Robert Reich, Becoming a Knowledge Worker. Chan Lean Heng, Women on the Global Assembly Line. 13. Adapting to the Changing Workplace. Robyn Meredith, For This We Sent You to College?  Daniel P. Goleman, What Makes a Leader? Barbara Ehrenreich, Nickel-and-Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America. Victoria de Grazia, Claudia Goldin, Jacqueline Jones, Juliet B. Schor, Marta Tienda, William Julius Wilson, and moderator Michael Weinstein, A Man's Place. 13. Case Study: Advocating for Temporary Workers. The Case. The Issues. The Documents. Your Role. Merrill Goozner, The Longtime Temps Want Some Perks: Now Some Are Suing Companies for Benefits. Aaron Bernstein, A Leg Up for the Lowly Temp: Advocates Are Lobbying for Better Benefits and an Employer's Code of Conduct. Barry Peterson, The Temp Workers Alliance's Consumer Guide to "Best Practices" Temp Agencies. Brian Hassett, The Temp Survival Guide: How to Prosper as an Economic Nomad of the Nineties. Jeff Kelly, Best of Temp Slave! A Genre Glossary. Academic Article/Research Paper. Address/Speech. Advice Book/Article. Brochure. Business Letter/Memo. Codes/Guidelines. Comics. Cover Letter/Reflective Essay. Dialogue/Symposium/Debate. Essay      Personal/Informal/Literary Essay.      Argumentative/Analytical/Persuasive Essay. Feature Story/Profile. Interview. Letter to the Editor. Manifesto. Opinion Piece/Commentary. Proposal. Report. Resume/Cover Letter Review. Web Page.Credits. Index.