Choose a passage (a phrase, sentence, or multiple sentences working in concert) that you find particularly interesting from two of this unit’s texts—Richard Rodriguez’ “The Chinese in All of Us,” W.E.B. Du Bois’ “Of Our Spiritual Strivings,” Manuel Muñoz’s “Leave Your Name at the Border,” Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue,” Jhumpa Lahiri’s “My Two Lives,” Plato’s “The Allegory of the Cave,” Clay Shirky’s “Gin, Television, and Social Surplus,” Sarah Zhang’s “Your DNA Is Not Your Culture,” James Franco’s “The Meanings of the Selfie,” Caitlin Dewey’s “Confused by Facebook’s New Gender Options? Here’s What They Mean,” Stuart Wolpert’s “Crafting Your Image for Your 1,000 Friends on Facebook,” Seth Stephens-Davidowitz’s, “Don’t Let Facebook Make You Miserable,” Douglas Rushkoff’s “A Brand by Any Other Name,” Phoebe Maltz Bovy’s “Luxury Brands Are Status Symbols Only if You Can’t Afford Them,” and Kalle Lasn’s “The Cult You’re In.”
In a 50+ word response to each passage, fully and sharply explain what you find interesting about the passage and why (because you think it captures the essence of something;
because you like the author’s use of language/a pattern of development;
because it compelled you to consider something [or an element of something] that you had never considered before;
because it provided you with a clear vision into the complexities of an issue;
because the tone of the author’s voice really struck a chord with you; etc.).
Make sure that you respond to two passages and that the passages you choose do not come from the same text.
Your discussion forum response should look like this:
1) Plato, “The Allegory of the Cave.” “Men would say of him that up he went and down he came without his eyes; and that it was better not even to think of ascending; and if any one tried to loose another and lead him up to the light, let them only catch the offender, and they would put him to death.”
Plato’s contention demonstrates some of the risks associated with an individual seeking knowledge and enlightenment outside of her or his constituent group. Plato’s suggestion is striking for its . . . (produce 50+ words).
2) Douglas Rushkoff, “A Brand by Any Other Name.” “With no clear choice and, more importantly, no other way to conceive of his own identity, the boy stood there, paralyzed in the modern youth equivalent of an existential crisis. Which brand am I, anyway?”
Rushkoff’s comment underscores the human impulse to use clothing, in this case shoes, to show how one belongs to and is simultaneously distinct from group commitments and behaviors.
