The Mashup College Composition Course

Defining Popular Culture

Why Popular Culture Matters

How We Think About Popular Culture

How We “Read” Cultural Texts and Media

Reading Strategies

Understanding Signs, Signals and Symbols

Pre-reading

Reading and Commenting

Rereading

Credibility and Reliability in Sources

Other Texts

Visual Media

Film and Television

Websites

Apps

Reading People

Chapter 2 — The Mashup Approach to Writing About Popular Culture

The Mashup Essay

Planning Your Essay

Invention Strategies

Constructing a Thesis

Outlining

Writing Your Essay

Writing Strategies: The Mashup Essay

Opening and Supporting Paragraphs

Conclusions

Refining Your Essay

Revision

Proofreading

Finding and Citing Your Sources

Why Cite?

In-Text Citations

Creating a Works Cited

Sample Student Essay

Chapter 3 —Identity Construction

Making the Cultural Connection

“Citizenship” (cartoon) — David Fitzsimmons

Thinking about American Identity

“Objectif Lune” — Charles Dantzig

“America: The Multinational Society” — Ishmael Reed

“Friday Night Lights: Rural Mojo on TV” — David Masciotra

“Is the Latino Community Losing Its Identity?” — Zayda Rivera

Mashup Essay: “A More Perfect Union” — Barack Obama

MashItUp Topics

“Runaway Bride” (cartoon) — Mike Lester

Thinking about Gender and Sexual Identity

“The Problem with Boys” — Tom Chiarella

“I Won. I’m Sorry.” — Mariah Burton Nelson

“It Gets Better Project” — ItGetsBetter.org

MashItUp Topics

Chapter 4 — Social Media

Making the Cultural Connection

 “Social Media” (cartoon) — Bob Englehart

Thinking about Social Media

“The End of a Social Media Era?” — Emily Long

Mashup Essay:  “Virtual Friendship and the New Narcissism” — Christine Rosen

“If We Don’t Regulate the Social Web, Someone Else Will” — Manish Mehta

MashItUp Topics

“Digital Communication” (cartoon) — Andy Singer

Thinking about how we communicate                                                           

“How Twitter Will Change the Way We Live” — Steven Johnson

“A Call to End Contraband Cell Phone Use” — Alexander Fox

“Jesus 2.0” — Daniel Murphy

“Facebook vs. FTC Round 2: Facebook Responds” — Gregory Ferenstein

MashItUp Topics

Chapter 5 — Mass Media

Making the Cultural Connection

“Simon Cowell” (cartoon) — Taylor Jones

Thinking about Mass Media

“The Ethics of Grey’s Anatomy” — Mandy Redig

“The Gayest. Show. Ever.” — Rob Sheffield

“‘C.S.I. Effect’ Has Juries Wanting More Evidence” — Richard Willing

“Adult Situations” — Brett Fletcher Lauer

Mashup Essay: “Retching with the Stars” — James Parker

MashItUp Topics

“Award Worship” (cartoon) — Brian Fairrington

Thinking about Media Values

“Biebered! How ‘Team Edward,’ ‘Team Jacob,’ & Justin Bieber Killed the American Man” — Shana Ting Lipton

“The Notting Hill Effect: How Romantic Comedies Can Harm Your Love Life” — David Derbyshire

“Guitar Hero: More than a Game” — Christopher Palmeri

“The Video-Game Programmer Saving Our 21st-Century Souls” — Jason Fagone

MashItUp Topics

Chapter 6 — Sexuality and Relationships

Making the Cultural Connection

“And The Love?” (cartoon) — Angel Boligan

Thinking about Sexuality

“Is Sex Interesting?” — Wallace Shawn

“Sex at Dawn: Why Monogamy Goes Against Our Nature” — Thomas Rogers

“Alarming Sex Trends Among Teens Today” — Shannon Lane

“Three Sex Crime Arrests Among Stickam.com Users So Far This Year” — Brad Stone

MashItUp Topics

“If We’re Going to Be Friends with Benefits…” (cartoon) — William Haefeli

Thinking about Relationships

“Relationship Advice: Nice Guys Finish Last. Not With Me! Ask Chauntel!” — Ask Chauntel

Mashup Essay: “Boy Friend: Between Those Two Words a Guy Can Get Crushed” — Libby Copeland

“The Rise of the Financial Divorce” — Yaran Noti

“My Last First Date” — Augusten Burroughs

“Young Adults Delaying Marriage for Long-term Relationships” — Leah Finnegan

MashItUp Topics

Chapter 7 — Violence

Making the Cultural Connection

“School Zone” (cartoon) — Jim Day

Thinking about Violence

“Bowling for Columbine” — Michael Moore

“Teen Fight Clubs Worry Police” — WLUK Fox 11 News

Fight Club — Chuck Palahniuk

“Common Sense Makes a Comeback in Classrooms” — USA Today

“In Defense of the Fistfight” — Chris Jones

MashItUp Topics

“Jaywalker” (cartoon) — TAB (Thomas Boldt)

Thinking about Abusing Authority

Mashup Essay:  “Picture Imperfect” — Jed Perl

“Texas Manhandle” — Court Document

“No Jail Time for Cop Who Pummeled Bartender” — Matt Walberg

“The Body as Weapon, as Inspiration,” “Police Dog,” and “The Performer”  — Paul Martínez Pompa

“Losing Is for Losers” — Michael Kinahan

“Offensive Play” — Malcolm Gladwell

MashItUp Topics

Chapter 8 — Alcohol and Drugs

Making the Cultural Connection

“College Drinking” — Mike Keefe

Thinking about Alcohol

“The Ultimate Drunk People Compilation Video Ever” — jackginger06

“Lessons for a Young Drinker” — Tom Chiarella

“Quicker Liquor: Should We Lower the Drinking Age?” — Darshak Sanghavi

“proper credentials are needed to join” — Charles Bukowski

“Alcohol Flowchart: What Kind of Drunk Are You?” — CollegeHumor

Mashup Essay: “‘Don’t Ice Me, Bro!’ When Memes Hit the Marketplace” — Mina Kimes

MashItUp Topics

“Phelps Olympic Sponsor” — Randy Bish

Thinking about Drugs

“Is It Fair to Be Angry at Lindsay Lohan?” — Mary Elizabeth Williams

“The Parable of Prohibition” — Johann Hari

“Private Dwyer’s Last Breath” — Roxanne Patel Shepelavy

“Lessons from the Celebrity Doping Scandal” — Daniel Engber

“More Students Turning to ‘Smart’ Drugs” — Michelle Trudeau

MashItUp Topics

Chapter 9 — Advertising and Shopping

Making the Cultural Connection

“Consumer Product Head” — Andy Singer

Thinking about Advertising

“I’m a Mac. I’m a PC.” — Apple Inc.

“Top Ten Super Bowl Commercials 2010” — Various Companies

“High Threat Count” — JW Enterprises

“Ethnic Marketing: McDonald’s Is Lovin’ It” — Burt Helm

“Best Viral Ad Campaigns for 2010” — Time.com

Portfolio of Advertisements — Various Companies

Mashup Essay: “Kid Kustomers” — Eric Schlosser

MashItUp Topics

“Shared Sacrifice” — RJ Matson

Thinking about Shopping

“The Science of Shopping” — Malcolm Gladwell

“Should We Admire Wal-Mart? Some say it’s evil. Others insist it’s a model of all that’s right with America. Who are we to believe?” — Jerry Useem

MashItUp Topics

Chapter 10 — Heroes and Celebrities

Making the Cultural Connection

“Ground Hero” — J.D. Crowe

Thinking about Heroes and Heroism

“Heroes in Hard Times” — Oprah.com

“SEALs who Killed Bin Laden Remain Secret Heroes in Hometown” — William Selway 

“‘Miracle on the Hudson’: All Safe in Jet Crash” — MSNBC.com

“The Tillman Story: The Surprising Saga of a Football Star at War” — Andrew O’Hehir

 “Superhero Worship”  — Virginia Postrel

“SpongeBob Squarepants and the Terminator Are Modern Heroes” — Martin Miller

MashItUp Topics

 “Self-Destructing Celebrities” — Dave Granlund

Thinking about Celebrities

Mashup Essay: “The Airplane Thief” — Jason Kersten

“10 Celebrities Caught on Tape with Drugs” — LiquidGenerationTube

“Here We Are Now…” — Jeff Gordinier

MashItUp Topics

Chapter 11 — Work and Careers

Making the Cultural Connection

“Recession” — Paul Zanetti

Thinking about Working

“Factory Worker Management, 1955” — The Industry Film Archive

“The Most Praised Generation Goes to Work” — Jeffrey Zaslow

“Yes, I’m 26. And Yes, I Do the Hiring” — Jamie Pritscher

MashItUp Topics

“Happy To Be Laboring Day” — John Cole

Thinking about Careers

Mashup Essay: “Usury Country: Welcome to the Birthplace of Payday Lending”  — Daniel Brook

“Nickel-and-Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America” — Barbara Ehrenreich 

“The Tao of Plumbing: No Pipes, No Civilization” — John Richardson

MashItUp Topics

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