I Am America (And So Can You!):

The Cultural Analysis Essay

Presenting...Project Four!

*Project Four information here*

Structuring a Cultural Analysis

A cultural analysis makes a claim about a culture by analyzing a phenomenon produced by that culture.  The phenomenon itself is not the focus so much as it is the "lens" through which you look at the culture.

What this means for your paper is that you'll need:

• a claim about American culture

• support for that claim based on your observations about the phenomenon you are studying

• Because the larger claim about culture should be derived from these observations about the phenomenon, you'll need to refer to and analyze specific details of the phenomenon in order to prove your argument.

Both your claim and your support should be evident in your thesis.  Such a thesis might be structured as follows:

P = the phenomenon you are studying

X, Y, and Z = your observations or assessments of the phenomenon

the blank space ( __________ ) = your overall argument about American culture

• "The fact that P is X, Y, and Z shows that America(ns) __________."

• Ex: "The fact that Barack Obama was elected president - and the fact that he faces such intense scrutiny - shows that America is finally becoming comfortable with its racial and ethnic diversity."

• "If we consider X, Y, and Z, we see that America(ns) __________."

• Ex: "If we consider how popular the ads at the Superbowl have become in recent years, we can see that Americans are becoming increasingly materialistic."

• "Thanks to X, Y, and Z, America(ns) __________. " or "Because of P, America(ns) __________."

• Ex: "Because of social networking technologies, Americans are actually more isolated and less connected than ever before."

Presenting...the Presentations!

*Presentation information here*

Presentation Sign Ups

Assignment for Wednesday:

• Read Chapter 9 of Franklin Foer's How Soccer Explains the World.  This excerpt can be found on our course Blackboard site under Content / Readings / Wednesday, November 15th.