America Now : Short Readings from Recent Periodicals

by Atwan, Robert; Bellomo, Mark; Ivers, Jennifer

• ISBN13: 9780312191825
• ISBN10: 0312191820
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-03-01
• Publisher: Bedford/st Martins

Summary

A key challenge in the first-year composition course is to inspire students as readers and to spark the kind of thoughtful classroom discussion that leads to solid academic writing. As series editor of "The Best American Essays" Robert Atwan constantly scours a wide range of print and online periodicals, bringing to "America Now" an unrivaled awareness of the best writing on today's hottest issues. To make these issues especially relevant for students, Atwan also explores hundreds of campus newspapers on the Internet to find the best student writing on current topics. These models by their peers from across the country show students that they, too, can share ideas through their own discussion and writing.

Table of Contents

Preface for Instructors	v
Introduction: The Empowered Writer	xxv
What's in a Name?	1	(22)
What's in a Name?	2	(9)
Lini S. Kadaba
New Names, New Identities	9	(2)
Justin Kaplan
Anne Bernays
David	11	(6)
Denise Sherer Jacobson
What's in a Name? Revisionist History Revisited (Student Essay)	17	(6)
Robert Zeis
Our Clothing: Does It Matter What We Wear?	23	(18)
High Heels: What a Pain!	24	(4)
Susan Estrich
You Become What You Wear	28	(5)
Kathleen Carlin
Identity through Clothing (Student Essay)	33	(8)
Hobi Reader
Uniform Fashions	37	(4)
Anne Hollander
Body Image: Why Is It a Serious Issue?	41	(18)
Caught with a Centerfold	42	(5)
Jennifer Silver
I'm a Barbie Girl (Student Essay)	47	(5)
Karen Epstein
In Pursuit of the Impossible Body Image	52	(7)
Karlene J. Robinson
Selling Ugliness	56	(3)
Naomi Wolf
Who Has It Tougher-Boys or Girls?	59	(19)
The ``Fragile American Girl'' Myth	60	(5)
Christina Hoff Sommers
Boys Don't Cry (Student Essay)	65	(5)
Mark Zmarzly
A Shot Against Women's Sports	70	(1)
Dorothy J. Samuels
A Sweet Moment of Teamwork	71	(7)
Gail Collins
What Happens to Adolescent Girls?	74	(4)
Mary Pipher
How Important Is Group Identity?	78	(21)
Kicking Away Your Freedom	79	(7)
Meg Greenfield
A Conflict of Identity	85	(1)
Henry Louis Gates Jr.
I Was a Member of the Kung Fu Crew (Student Essay)	86	(5)
Henry Han Xi Lau
They've Got to Be Carefully Taught	91	(8)
Susan Brady Konig
What Good Are Role Models?	99	(25)
Girls 'n' Spice: All Things Nice?	100	(8)
Susan J. Douglas
Black Athletes on Parade	108	(10)
Adolph Reed Jr.
Jackie Robinson's Finest Moment	116	(2)
Arnold Rampersad
Where Have All Our Heroes Gone? (Student Essay)	118	(6)
Tim Mills
Can We Resist Stereotypes?	124	(25)
The Myth of the Asian American Superstudent	125	(8)
Edmund Lee
Kenneth Li
We Are More Than Labels (Student Essay)	133	(5)
Bryan Garvey
Stop Stereotyping Young Black Males (Student Essay)	138	(3)
Eric Waters
Stereotyping and Racism Are Not the Same (Student Essay)	141	(8)
G. Stuart Englebert
My First Victim	145	(4)
Brent Staples
Can ``Op-Ads'' Change Your Mind?	149	(17)
U.S. English	150	(2)
The National Center for Tobacco-Free Kids	152	(2)
Planned Parenthood Federation of America	154	(2)
American Civil Liberties Union	156	(2)
Negative Population Growth, Inc.	158	(8)
Sound Reasoning or Sound Bites?	162	(4)
Tom Shachtman
Free Expression: How Much Should We Tolerate?	166	(19)
A Civic Duty to Annoy	167	(7)
Wendy Kaminer
The Growing List of Forbidden Words	173	(1)
Richard Dooling
The Profiteering That Kills Kids	174	(5)
Nancy Carlsson-Paige
Diane Levin
How to Breed Intolerance (Student Essay)	179	(6)
Sara Ziegler
Do Words Matter?	185	(21)
``Guy'' Envy	186	(6)
M. P. Dunleavey
How Words Change	191	(1)
Richard Lederer
The N-Word and How to Use It	192	(8)
Bennie M. Currie
Radicals: Threats or Heroes? (Student Essay)	200	(6)
Melissa Stein
Race Relations: Is Dialogue Possible?	206	(27)
Colorblind	207	(8)
Alex Kotlowitz
Listening Respectfully	214	(1)
Stephen L. Carter
Finding a Space for Real Conversations on Race	215	(6)
Lani Guinier
Stop the Lies	221	(6)
Luis J. Rodriguez
Reflections on Black History Month (Student Essay)	227	(6)
Jason Michael
The Flag: What Does It Symbolize?	233	(22)
Some Questions for My Senator about the Flag	234	(4)
Horace Freeland Judson
Star-Spangled Banter	238	(7)
Hendrik Hertzberg
A Forgotten Past (Student Essay)	245	(6)
Galit Sarfaty
America: 2022 (Student Art)	251	(4)
J. Barrios
The New Patriotism	252	(3)
Alan Wolfe
Cloning: Is It Inevitable?	255	(19)
A Clone is Born	256	(1)
Gina Kolata
Fear and Longing	257	(5)
Marc Zabludoff
Our Bodies, Our Clones	262	(6)
Jean Bethke Elshtain
Editorial Board of the Daily Egyptian Cloning: A Cautious Defense (Student Essay)	268	(6)
Is Affirmative Action Still Needed?	274	(19)
Affirmative Action: Another Name for Discrimination (Student Essay)	275	(7)
Andy Miller
What Exactly Do We Mean by ``Affirmative Action''?	280	(2)
Stephen Steinberg
Pursuing King's Dream (Student Essay)	282	(5)
Benson Cohen
Affirming Affirmative Action	287	(6)
Bernice Powell Jackson
Is the Death Penalty Necessary?	293
My Name Is Michael Ross	294
Michael Ross
Voice from Death Row	302
Theresa Allen
Andrea Hicks Jackson
Witnessing Execution (Student Essay)	310
Abbie Gibbs
Editorial Board of the Collegiate Times Death Penalty Alternatives (Student Essay)	314
The Death Penalty Makes Murderers of Us All (Student Essay)	319
John Lloyd
The Morality of Retribution	322
Helen Prejean
Alternate Tables of Contents: Rhetorical Patterns, Integrating Information, and Motivations for Writing
The Periodicals: Information for Subscription
Index of Authors and Titles