22. Reading Response Prompt
I. response should be 1-2 full double-spaced pages (so no less than 1 page; I expect most of them to be roughly 1.5 pages). There are a number of days where you’ll be asked to read multiple selections. In those instances, pick one of the assigned readings to focus on. Feel free to engage with all materials, but you are not required to do so. (You are, of course, still expected to do the reading you don’t respond to.)
II. I’m purposefully leaving some flexibility in how to complete the responses. Everyone will approach the material differently and you shouldn’t be fully constrained by a very particular framework. That being said, there are some key things that everyone should do in each response they submit:
• A summary of the articles/chapters’ key points in no more than a half page. Give me an indication that you’ve done the reading and you can synthesize the material in an economical manner. This will be challenging at times, especially for longer readings, but a good rule of thumb is to make sure you provide an overall argument and a few supplemental points.
• A discussion and/or analysis of the articles/chapters in a half page or more. Here, I’m looking for you to connect the reading(s) to our larger class discussions, previous readings, your current project, etc. What I do not want to see here are simplistic evaluations or value judgments (“this was boring/difficult/stupid/”). You can obviously disagree with a piece’s arguments, but discuss why that might be the case, given prior course concepts or ideas. Think about why I might have assigned this reading and how it supports or conflicts with our course directives.
• A brief list (2-4) of questions you have after reading. My preference is that these questions aren’t procedural (“Can you explain x?”) and are more discussion-oriented. Feel free to just bullet-point these at the end of the response.
Consumer Culture, 1980-2000
Reading: 1. Cross, “Markets Triumphant,” 200-213; http://www.amazon.com/An-All-Consuming-Century-Commercialism-America/dp/0231113137/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395030576&sr=8-1&keywords=gary+cross
2. Sharon Zukin, “Artemio Goes to Tiffany’s,