In this discursive analysis of residential colleges there will be an investigation into two texts, both dealing with various discourses pertaining to college but are quite distinctive in their approach and style. The first text will be Asher Roth’s 2009 song “I Love College”, which has become embedded in popular culture through its idealized and hyper-masculine exploration of the college life. The multiplicity of texts should be considered in these critical readings – as any single text can be constructed around a variety of discourses. College in this instance can be understood through the discourse of Sex, which engages with notions of promiscuity, societal dominance, double standards and libidinous behavior. In the second text “Colleges …show more content…
The 2009 song “I Love College” by Asher Roth is an example of such socio-cultural authority as it dominated the Billboard charts and received in excess of 1-million digital downloads. This discourse contributed to normalised practices, configurations and structures (Barker, 2001) surrounding the topic of college by embedding highly distinctive perceptions in the general public psyche’s through rhetoric and popular culture. (Frow, 2005). Roth comments: “Do I really have to graduate or can I just stay here for the rest of my life?” which exalts the lifestyle as the pinnacle and epitome of life, he questions why he should ever move because college is unquestionably the best. It is through this questioning that the young rapper creates a hyper reality (Baudrillard 1988) by which the real and the perceived truth breaks down to create a glorified environment. A world in which the song praises delinquency, sexual deviants and promotes binge drinking, drug usage, strip poker and beer pong seen in the repeated chorus …show more content…
The discourses of Sex and Whiteness can be defined as “structural entities of difference where anyone discourse is constituted as an attempt to arrest the flow of differences and dominate the field of discursivity” (Kakar, N.D). Foucault wrote of when there is power, there is resistance, as he interestingly took the position that power struggles do not oppress individuals, it produces communities and relationships. Each produces their own “rules and practices that produce meaningful statements and regulate behaviors and institutions”. Each discusses the topic with very similar manner despite the distinction in discourse, genre and approach, utilizing colloquial terms and anecdotal language. Therefore disseminated ideas through the media and related presumptions aid in their social dominance – in its quest for societal hegemony and power. A core idea to be drawn from this is the fundamental importance of the systematic relationships that meaning (through language and discourse) is intrinsically based upon. It provides communication with a social capacity to influence behavior and the preconceptions and opinions, which motivate that action. (Frow,
Along with ethos and small touch of logos, the author Roxane Gay uses a strength appeal of pathos to persuade her audience onto her argument. “White people will never know the dangers of being black in America, systemic, unequal opportunity, racial profiling, and the constant threat of police violence. Men will never know the dangers of being a woman in America, harassment, sexual violence, legislated bodies. Heterosexuals will never know what it means to experience homophobia.” (Gay). In this paragraph, the author is identify the inequality between racial barriers, genders and sexual orientation which an emotionally involved topic to bring up. How people are treated differently how the way they look, where they come from. Woman would
In her article “College Is a Waste of Time and Money”, Caroline Bird attempts to pursued her readers that colleges are overflowing with students who don’t belong there. Her article first appeared in Psychology Today (May 1975). Since this material is outdated, I find it hard to believe that most of the responses by students and parents quoted in the article still hold true. The author has set out to pursue the readers that college is a bad and unnecessary choice for today’s youth. Yet the author holds a bachelors and a masters degree from two different universities. I would think that if she thought college was really a bad choice and a waste of time and money, she would not have gone back to get her masters degree.
In Paul Toughmay’s “Who Gets to Graduate,” he follows a young first year college student, Vanessa Brewer, explaining her doubts, fears, and emotions while starting her college journey. As a student, at the University of Texas Brewer feels small and as if she doesn’t belong. Seeking advice from her family she calls her mom but after their conversation Brewer feels even more discouraged. Similar to Brewer I have had extreme emotions, doubts, and fears my freshman year in college.
How imperative is it that one pursues a traditional college experience? Although it might appear that Charles Murray and Liz Addison are in agreement that the traditional college experience is not necessary for everyone, Addison provides a more convincing argument that higher education is necessary in some form. This is seen through Addison’s arguments that college is essential to growing up, that education is proportional to the life one lives, and that community college reinvents the traditional college experience. Not only does Addison have her own opinions about college, but Murray does as well.
The article being analyzed is called “The Intersections of Race, Class and Gender in the Anti-Racist Discourse" by George Dei. The purpose of the article is to outline the idea that race cannot be analysed by itself, rather it has to be separated and looked at in connection to other types of identities. The author argues that the current theory about race does not provide a concise understanding of “human and social development”. The ideas surrounding race that already exist do not consider the “totality of human experiences”. This is where the author argues that the study of anti-racism is "integrative". These type of studies aim to provide information on how different identities such as race, class, gender, sexual orientation are connected
Different ethnic, religion and genders depict different pictures of the world around them. Based on the novel Native Son by Richard Wright the main character Bigger, a mixture of the names big and nigger expressed himself in various ways. Being an African American male in a world where black males were assumed to amount to nothing, Bigger felt that his worth as a male was just that much. His outlook on other males such as Caucasian races worth was as much as the world if they had money, and if they didn’t they were a step ahead of him in the triangle of life. Females weren't exempt from the triangle but he felt that African American females didn’t understand the place of a black male and made them feel like they had no business on the earth, while Caucasian females were above everyone. Bigger felt that there was nothing they could do wrong. Bigger saw the bigger picture such as underneath the light there would be nothing wrong but once the lights goes out there is everything wrong with just the thought.
A comment was made in a blog post early on in the year about whiteness in American that bugged me. It’s a topic that came up a few times throughout the semester in and outside of class. Granted, this topic is based on a single blog post but a collection of comment and statements that were made on specific blogs and during class sessions. This topic I fin extremely important mainly because I felt as though there was some confusion around the topic being white. Understandably if you’re white in America I think it’s easy to forget exactly how privileged you are. Nonetheless, it forced me to want to talk about white privilege in America, explain the meaning of “paradox of privilege”, and explain why it is possible to be privileged without feeling privileged. I also want to drive into where whiteness came from and why it’s still around today. Tim Wise’s (anti American racism activist) use of these words “we” and the implications; how/why he defines certain words for groups that are oppressed. I will incorporate Wise’s discussion on whiteness within the context of Frye’s cage metaphor. Describing why a macroscopic view is so essential to understanding the structure of oppression.
Rhetorical Précis: In Michelle Adams’s article, “Is College Worth It (2013),” explores the two side of college worthiness. She provided evidence to
The right and privilege to higher education in today’s society teeters like the scales of justice. In reading Andrew Delbanco’s, “College: What It Was, Is, and Should Be, it is apparent that Delbanco believes that the main role of college is to accommodate that needs of all students in providing opportunities to discover individual passions and dreams while furthering and enhancing the economic strength of the nation. Additionally, Delbanco also views college as more than just a time to prepare for a job in the future but a way in which students and young adults can prepare for their future lives so they are meaningful and purposeful. Even more important is the role that college will play in helping and guiding students to learn how to accept alternate point of views and the importance that differing views play in a democratic society. With that said, the issue is not the importance that higher education plays in society, but exactly who should pay the costly price tag of higher education is a raging debate in all social classes, cultures, socioeconomic groups and races.
Bird, Caroline. "The Case Against College." 1975 Power of Language;Language of Power. New York: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2009. 15-18. Print.
Since 1945, in what is defined by literary scholars as the Contemporary Period, it appears that the "refracted public image"(xx) whites hold of blacks continues to necessitate ...
Over the course of about a dozen weeks or so I have been exploring many facets of oppression. From literary work such as Malcolm X’s autobiography to Sherman Alexie’s novel The Absolute True Story of a Part-Time Indian, oppression is an issue for the majority of people who are not white, upper class males. Race, class, gender, sex, religion, all things that the 14th amendment are supposed to protect, seems to only stand for equality rather than enforcing it and educating people of it’s often damaging effects. Gender and sex roles seem to be the most relevant topic for the times, but also one of the hardest to understand. Cholly Breedlove is a prime example of male dominance in society. We know the how, so for now we’re going to focus on the why.
In “College Pressures” from The Seagull Reader: Essays, William Zinsser examines the societal ideology of obtaining a degree from a university being the only path to financial and social success. Zinsser also discloses to his audience the encumbrances that college students face while enrolled in a higher education facility. The author’s main point is that college students should not be heavily pressured throughout their college career, for college is a time to relish the educational experience that comes with higher education. In his referential essay that is developed by description, William Zinsser effectively uses emotional appeal and rhetorical questions.
Here it should be kept in mind that Neither class nor gender or race place unaccompanied as managing main beliefs of civilization, instead they profoundly interconnect, overlie, entwine, concurrently arranged, and knit fabric of all people’s understandings and beliefs i.e. man and woman, gay and straight, white and black, rich and poor and so onwards. Even as any sole of these cluster individuality may be additional significant at a specified instant in the life of one individual (like, gender in case of rape of a woman; race in case of an African American man or Latino if in case outlined by police force), collectively they outline the total understanding and expertise of all groups ().
Perlman, D., & Sprecher, S. (in press). Sex, Initimacy, and dating in college. In R. D. McAnulty (Ed.), Sex in college. New York, NY: Praeger.