What Matters in America

Introduction: Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing

1. Is the Internet Changing our Social Lives?

MySpace, Facebook, and Social Networking Sites: Hot Today, Gone Tomorrow?, Knowledge@Wharton

*As Bullies Go Digital, Parents Play Catch-Up, Jan Hoffman

Blog Matters: Social Networking Through the Ages, Stephen Fry

*I Tweet, Therefore I Am, Peggy Orenstein

*You Gotta Have (150) Friends, Robin Dunbar

Faceless on Facebook, Kate Beals

*Visual Connections: 20 Years from Now . . .

Virtual Friendship and the New Narcissism, Christine Rosen

Topical Connections

2. Does Privacy Have Limits?

Privacy Is Overrated, David Plotz

Invading Our Own Privacy, David Schimke

*Who Is Really Stealing Your Privacy?, Amitai Etzioni

The Case for a National ID Card, Margaret Carlson

National ID Cards: 5 Reasons Why They Should Be Rejected, ACLU

Visual Connections: Identity Theft

*The Invasion of the Cookie Monsters, Jack Shafer

*Visual Connections: Chicago’s Camera Network

*Blog Matters: More Employers Use Social Networks to Check Out Applicants, Jenna Wortham

Topical Connections

3. How Does Advertising Influence Us?

A Brand by Any Other Name, Douglas Rushkoff

Black Friday…Gray Thursday, Benjamin R. Barber

On Sale at Old Navy: Cool Clothes for Identical Zombies! Damien Cave

*Consumerism Is “Eating the Future”, Andy Coghlan

With These Words I Can Sell You Anything, William Lutz

*The Language of Advertising, Charles A. O’Neill

*Sample Ads and Study Questions

            Dolce & Gabbana

            ACLU

            Burger King

            Stolichnaya

            Vans    

*Visual Connections: Corporate Crackdown

*Blog Matters: Branding in Pop Culture, David Mitchel

Topical Connections

4. Do the Media Promote a Culture of Fear and Violence?

Extreme Reality: How Media Coverage Exaggerates Risks and Dangers, John Stossel

The Female Fear Factor, Myrna Blyth

Blog Matters: Growing Up in a Culture of Fear: From Columbine to Banning of MySpace, danah boyd

*Violent Media Numbs Viewers to Pain of Others, Diane Swanbrow

Hate Violence? Turn It Off! Tim Goodman

Visual Connections: It’s a Scary World

In Search of Notorious PhDs, Lindsay Johns

Visual Connections: Young Jeezy

*Violent Media Is Good for Kids, Gerard Jones

Topical Connections

 5. What Does Freedom of Speech Really Mean?

Free Inquiry? Not On Campus, John Leo

Hate Cannot Be Tolerated, Richard Delgado

Academic Bill of Rights, David Horowitz

Visual Connections: Silencing Free Speech

*Blog Matters: Sixth Circuit Orders Federal District Court to Rule on Student Blogger’s Free Speech and Due Process Claims

*Is Harry Potter Evil?, Judy Blume

*Why Stop at Huck Finn?, Alex Beam

The Dark Side of Web Anonymity, Catherine Holahan    

Topical Connections

6. What’s the Big Deal About Immigration?

Kidding Ourselves About Immigration, Michael Kinsley

Educating Illegal Immigrants, Todd Rosenbaum

*Anchor Babies, USA Today and Roy Beck

*America’s Real Dream Team, Thomas L. Friedman

*Blog Matters: Immigrants Are Crucial to the American Dream, Mike Ford

*The Problem With Question 36, Dafna Linzer   

Visual Connections: Two Views of U.S. Immigration

The Next Americans, Tomás R. Jiménez

Topical Connections

7. Why Do We Work?

Why Do We Work? Andrew Curry

*Visual Connections: Major Occupational Groups and Mean Annual Wages

*America's Bizarre Secret to Happiness: More Work, Daily Mail

Blog Matters: Americans Work Too Much, Jason Lee Miller

Measuring Success, Renee Loth

The Most-Praised Generation Goes to Work, Jeffrey Zaslow

Visual Connections: The Office

Topical Connections

8. Is Fast Food Responsible for a Crisis in Public Health?

What’s To Blame for the Surge in Super Size Americans?, Tori DeAngelis

You Want Fries with That? Richard Daynard

*Time to Trim, Slate Magazine

Blog Matters: Bare Bones

Visual Connections: Body Mass Index (Graph): National Institutes of Health

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Fat Kids, Rahul K. Prikh

When America Relaxes, ‘Food Police’ Should Keep Quiet, Paul King

We Eat; Therefore, They Are, Rosie Mestel

*Visual Connections: Now What Do We Eat?  (Food Pyramids)

Topical Connections

*Chapter 9: Will Our Economy Ever Bounce Back?

*September’s Song, Natalie Southwick

*How a New Jobless Era Will Transform America, Don Peck

*Blog Matters: 5 Myths About Generation Debt, Kimberly Palmer

*Saving Yourself, Daniel Akst

*Visual Connections: Students Making Skewed Judgments about College Costs

*Why Won’t Anyone Give Me A Credit Card?, Kevin O’Donnell

*Recession Generation, Rana Foorahar

*Topical Connections

*Chapter 10: What Does It Mean to Be “Green”?

*How We Can Stop Being Eco-Hypocrites, Raina Kelley

*Living Without a Car: My New American Responsibility, Andrew Lam

*Visual Connections: Statshot: How are Corporations Going Green?, The Onion

*The Only Way to Have a Cow, Bill McKibben

*My Carbon Footprint: A Documentary, a Daughter, and All that is Dear, Jennifer Davidson

*Blog Matters: The Cost of Being Green, Sudha Amit

*Green Living Takes Root But Old Habits Die Hard, Patrick O'Driscoll and Elizabeth Weise

*Topical Connections

Credits

Index of Authors and Titles

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