| Preface |
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iii | |
| Part 1 An Introduction to Writing |
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2 | (14) |
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Conversations across the Disciplines |
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2 | (2) |
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4 | (1) |
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Conversations and Disciplines: How to Use this Book |
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4 | (1) |
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Writing and Thinking: The Rhetorical Modes |
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5 | (1) |
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6 | (8) |
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Writing across the Curriculum |
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14 | (2) |
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16 | (16) |
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16 | (3) |
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19 | (4) |
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23 | (3) |
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26 | (4) |
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Reflecting, Reporting, Explaining, Arguing |
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30 | (2) |
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32 | (35) |
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Developing a Research Question |
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32 | (1) |
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Using the Internet Effectively |
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33 | (1) |
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34 | (1) |
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Organizing Your Ideas and Materials |
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35 | (1) |
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36 | (1) |
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37 | (1) |
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38 | (17) |
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55 | (12) |
| Part 2 Arts and Humanities |
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Learning to Read and Write [ Reflecting] |
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67 | (6) |
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An abolitionist shows how reading and writing helped liberate him from slavery. |
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The Good Short Li [ Reflecting] |
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73 | (4) |
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A journalist and author makes peace with living well and dying on his own terms. |
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Trading Stories [ Reflecting] |
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77 | (9) |
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The celebrated novelist describes the people and events that moved her to create stories. |
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The Long Good-bye: Mother's Day in Federal Prison [ Reporting] |
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86 | (10) |
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A student and writer visits her sister in a women's prison and reports on conditions there. |
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Teaching Literature at the County Jail [ Reporting] |
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96 | (8) |
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An English professor who teaches at a county jail describes how the stories her class reads affect them. |
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104 | (6) |
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The master of philosophic dialogue depicts the illusory nature of human existence and perception. |
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Urban Legends: "The Boyfriend's Death" [ Explaining] |
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110 | (10) |
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A folklorist traces the development of a haunting popular legend. |
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Watching TV Makes You Smarter [ Arguing] |
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120 | (11) |
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A contemporary cultural observer makes a case for prime-time TV shows. |
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If Black English Isn't a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is? [ Arguing] |
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131 | (4) |
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Baldwin, a novelist and essayist, makes a case for the language of black Americans. |
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Setting the Record Straight [ Arguing] |
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135 | (17) |
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An accomplished cartoonist presents some of the unique ways that comics convey meaning. |
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Paired Readings On Writing Online |
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152 | (11) |
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An influential political blogger considers his art form. |
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Twitterholics Anonymous [ Reflecting] |
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163 | (4) |
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Twitter is a great distraction, an addiction, and a powerful tool for this journalist. |
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Paired Readings: On Bilingualism |
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How to Tame a Wild Tongue [ Arguing] |
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167 | (11) |
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An author and activist discusses the relationship between her Chicana identity and the nonstandard Chicano Spanish that she grew up speaking. |
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Mother Tongue [ Reflecting] |
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178 | (6) |
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A Chinese American novelist reflects upon her experiences as a bilingual child. |
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Paired Readings: On Religious Belief |
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184 | (10) |
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An Iranian author and illustrator depicts the introduction of legally required veils for women in Iran. |
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Is God an Accident? [ Arguing] |
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194 | (14) |
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A Yale psychologist offers a natural explanation for the ubiquity of our supernatural beliefs. |
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Child on the Threshold: The Narrative Voice of a Child in Persepolis |
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208 | (11) |
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This examination of Satrapi's Persepolis focuses on the use of a child's point of view to narrate a mature story. |
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Writing Process [ Reflecting] |
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The internationally acclaimed author reflects on her role as a writer and offers tips to aspiring writers in this video interview with Big Think. |
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When God Talks Back [ Explaining] |
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In an interview with WNYC's Kurt Andersen, T.M. Luhrmann uses her work as a psychological anthropologist to explain how evangelicals experience religion. |
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| Part 3 Social Sciences |
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My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant [ Reflecting] |
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219 | (10) |
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A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist outs himself as an undocumented immigrant who has been working illegally in the United States. |
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Shooting an Elephant [ Reflecting] |
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229 | (7) |
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An essayist and novelist recalls an enlightening incident from his days as a police officer in Burma. |
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236 | (7) |
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A cultural interpreter and novelist insists on looking closely and unflinchingly at a terrifying act of war. |
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Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America [ Reporting] |
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243 | (14) |
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A noted social critic makes a case against welfare reform by assuming the identity of a full-time waitress and narrating her experiences. |
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"This Is the End of the World": The Black Death [ Reporting|documented Essay] |
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257 | (11) |
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A historian details the ravages of the plague that swept through medieval Europe. |
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What Is It about 20-Somethings? [ Explaining] |
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268 | (16) |
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A reporter investigates the changing face of early adulthood. |
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The Selfless Gene [ Explaining] |
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284 | (10) |
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An evolutionary biologist considers explanations for altruism. |
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Bad Food? Tax It, and Subsidize Vegetables [ Arguing] |
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294 | (6) |
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A food writer and self-taught cook suggests a solution to our most urgent health woes. |
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The Declaration of Independence [ Arguing] |
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300 | (5) |
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The third president of the United States seeks to justify the actions of a rebellious colony in the eyes of its people and the world. |
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A Modest Proposal [ Arguing] |
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305 | (8) |
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A great satirist proposes a solution for the problems of poverty and famine in eighteenth-century Ireland. |
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Paired Readings: On How Language Shapes Reality |
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Politics and the English Language [ Arguing] |
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313 | (12) |
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Orwell makes a case against bureaucratic, vague, or distorted uses of language. |
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The Great Refusal [ Explaining] |
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325 | (16) |
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A journalist, editor, and radio personality explains the media's different types of biases. |
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Paired Readings: On Race Relations |
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Letter from Birmingham Jail [ Arguing] |
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341 | (14) |
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The renowned civil rights activist calls for immediate action in the struggle for equality. |
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A More Perfect Union [ Reflecting] |
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355 | (11) |
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A U.S. President confronts the issue of race in his life and in American history in the wake of controversial public remarks from his former pastor. |
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Paired Readings: On Documenting War |
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Regarding the Pain of Others [ Arguing] |
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366 | (8) |
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A renowned literary and cultural critic discusses the effects of the imagery of war on our culture's perceptions of suffering and violence. |
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Soldiers' Stories: Dispatches from Iraq [ Reflecting] |
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374 | (12) |
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Soldiers stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan contemplate life at war in letters and e-mails sent home. |
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Political Food: Big Business and the State of Food Safety in the United States |
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386 | (9) |
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A student reports on the highly political nature of our food, from subsidies to school lunches. |
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The Context of Our Character [ Explaining] |
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A behavioral economist takes on the question of the limits of human honesty in this inquisitive video. |
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Not Your Parents' American Dream: The Pursuit of a New National Ideal [ Reporting] |
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This infographic depicts changing attitudes toward the American Dream. |
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| Part 4 Sciences |
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The Value of Science [ Arguing] |
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395 | (7) |
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Feynman, a world-renowned scientist, explores the underlying values, limits, and possibilities of our human capacity for scientific discovery. |
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Mindblindness [ Reflecting Documented Essay] |
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402 | (16) |
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A college professor explores our inability for true empathy when dealing with minds that are fundamentally unlike our own. |
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Morning of the Stroke [ Reflecting] |
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418 | (9) |
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A neuroanatomist recounts her stroke-at once traumatic and fortuitous-from a scientific and first-person perspective. |
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The Corner of the Eye [ Reflecting] |
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427 | (4) |
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A scientist and essayist considers the central roles that ambiguity and imperfection play in human life, especially in our use of language. |
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The Eureka Hunt [ Reporting] |
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431 | (11) |
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A popular commentator on science and the humanities explains the neurology behind our flashes of brilliance. |
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Why Leaves Turn Color in the Fall [ Explaining] |
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442 | (4) |
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A naturalist describes the mechanics of autumn foliage as she contemplates its beauty. |
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The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat [ Explaining] |
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446 | (12) |
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A psychiatrist and neurologist interprets the strange perceptual disorder of a professor of music. |
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The Moral Instinct [ Arguing] |
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458 | (15) |
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A noted Harvard cognitive scientist outlines the evolutionary basis of our moral intuitions. |
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The Egg and the Sperm: How Science Has Constructed a Romance Based on Stereotypical Male-Female Roles [ Arguing|Documented Essay] |
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473 | (16) |
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An anthropologist deconstructs some reproductive fairy tales. |
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Paired Readings: On Scientific Literacy |
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489 | (12) |
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A journalist investigates scientific thinking and its biases. |
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Scientific Literacy and the Habit of Discourse [ Arguing] |
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501 | (4) |
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A science professor stresses the importance of opposition and challenge in scientific learning. |
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Paired Readings: On Pharmacological Enhancement |
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505 | (20) |
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A journalist investigates the world of "neuroenhancing" drugs. |
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A Pharmacological Education [ Reflecting] |
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525 | (4) |
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An author recounts his productive and destructive relationship with Adderall. |
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Paired Readings: On Life and Death Through Doctors' Eyes |
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A Delicate Operation [ Reporting] |
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529 | (4) |
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A neurosurgeon details the intricate process that he followed in removing a brain tumor. |
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A Mask on the Face of Death [ Reflecting] |
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533 | (11) |
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A surgeon observes the ravages wrought by AIDS on the people of Haiti. |
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"The Moral Meaning of a Pause": Ethics Committees and the Cloning Debate |
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544 | (11) |
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Writing for a composition course, one student explores the moral significance of a culture's pause in scientific progress. |
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The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science |
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The Baloney Detection Kit [ Explaining] |
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This video offers a point-by-point list for assessing scientific reports and claims. |
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The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World [ Arguing] |
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This dynamic, illustrated video debunks popular misconceptions about how our brains work. |
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| Part 5 Casebooks |
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Casebook How Is the Internet Changing Who We Are? |
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555 | (11) |
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An author and journalist describes the creation and proliferation of memes. |
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From 1890: The First Text Messages [ Reporting] |
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566 | (4) |
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A blogger discovers the brief, conversational communications between telegraph operators that resemble modern-day text messages. |
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Internet Rights and Wrongs: Choices & Challenges in a Networked World [ Arguing] |
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570 | (13) |
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The current Secretary of State and former senator and First Lady argues that there is a significant value in keeping the Internet free and open in a globalized world despite the inherent challenges. |
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I'm So Totally, Digitally, Close to You: The Brave New World of Digital Intimacy [ Reporting] |
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583 | (11) |
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A science and technology writer takes stock of the consequences of social-networking Web sites. |
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The End of Forgetting [ Explaining] |
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594 | (15) |
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A law professor illuminates the impossibility of privacy on the Web and the dangers of having a detailed online catalog of our every move. |
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Is Google Making Us Stupid? [ Arguing] |
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609 | (10) |
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A technology writer argues that the Internet maybe to blame for our difficulties concentrating. |
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Connectivity and Its Discontents [ Arguing] |
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619 | (8) |
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An academic and writer challenges readers to consider the implications of our heightened digital connectedness. |
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Know Your Meme, What People Think I Do/What I Really Do [ Explaining] |
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In this humorous video, Know Your Meme describes a popular meme, how it arose, and how it changed as it spread across the Internet. |
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Casebook What Is the Value of a College Education? |
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What Is College For? [ Arguing] |
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627 | (3) |
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A professor offers his take on the purpose of a higher education. |
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On the Uses of a Liberal Education [ Reflecting] |
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630 | (16) |
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A professor laments the indifferent consumerism of the modern-day university student and the culture that has created it. |
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Even for Cashiers, College Pays Off [ Arguing] |
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646 | (4) |
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A columnist argues for the across-the-board financial benefits of higher education. |
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Project Classroom Makeover [ Arguing|Documented Essay] |
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650 | (10) |
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A distinguished professor states her case for giving Duke University's students free iPods. |
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The Next Drive-Thru U [ Reporting] |
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660 | (10) |
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A new model of higher education focuses on the practical application of academic pursuits. |
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The Case against College [ Arguing] |
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670 | (4) |
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A writer argues against the ubiquity and usefulness of college education. |
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How to Write a Great College Slogan [ Explaining] |
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674 | (7) |
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A professor riffs on the language used in colleges' promotional materials. |
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Admittance to a Better Life [ Reflecting] |
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In this inspiring audio essay, Oatman reflects on how higher education altered the course of his life. |
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Casebook: What Do We Really Know about Gender? |
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Society Constructs Biology, Biology Constructs Gender [ Arguing] |
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681 | (14) |
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A scientist relates how societal forces can mold our understanding of biology, often ruining its objectivity. |
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The M/F Boxes [ Reporting] |
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695 | (6) |
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A journalist and author challenges notions of a clear divide between the sexes. |
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The Body Narrative of Transsexuality [ Reflecting] |
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701 | (4) |
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A college professor recounts the semester he spent in transition from female to male. |
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What Makes a Woman a Woman? [ Reflecting] |
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705 | (4) |
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A writer reflects on the societal, biological, and internal forces that interact to define our genders. |
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Women's Brains [ Arguing] |
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709 | (6) |
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The celebrated geologist and naturalist questions "scientific" claims for the biological inferiority of women. |
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715 | (6) |
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A novelist considers the thin line between faking it and making it when it comes to being a man. |
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Gauging Gender [ Arguing] |
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Asma encourages a "prudent marriage" between the various understandings of sex and gender within the academic divisions in this Chronicle of Higher Education article. |
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Miss Representation film trailer [ Arguing] |
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This trailer summarizes the documentary's thesis that detrimental representations of women in the media have hindered their ability to assume places of power and influence in the United States. |
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| Acknowledgments |
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721 | (5) |
| Rhetorical Index |
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726 | (2) |
| Author and Title Index |
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728 | |
