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Thanks for stopping by! This blog contains course material for Dr. Chuck Tryon's English 1102 courses at the Georgia Institute of Technology in sprawling Atlanta, Georgia. Feel free to leave comments or ask questions. You can contact me by email at charles[dot]tryon[at]lcc[dot]gatech[dot]edu.

Feel free to use any material from this blog for educational purposes, but be sure to give credit where it is due.

Monday, January 05, 2004

Reading Assignment:

Your first reading assignemnet in English 1102 will be to read these two brief essays by New York University professor of virtual culture, Douglas Rushkoff. Rushkoff is the author of Coercion, Cyberia, Media Virus, Playing with the Future, and the novel, Ecstasy Club.

These two essays introduce some of the themes we will be considering in English 1102, specifically questions about consumer culture that we will be addressing in our reading of Chuck Palahniuk's novel, Fight Club.


While you are reading, be sure to take note of the key points in the essay and the support that the authour uses. A few other questions to consider while you read:
  1. In "The Pursuit of Cool," Rushkoff takes the approach of directly addressing companies that market products. What is the overall effect of this approach?
  2. Rushkoff refers to the "utopian" images offered by products such as Abercrombie and Fitch and Dawson's Creek. How do you interpret Rushkoff's use of utopian in this context?
  3. In "Sneakers," how does Rushkoff characterize our relationship to the media? What effect do digital technologies have on the ways in which people communicate? Think very specifically about Rushkoff's arguments about how these communications technologies change the way we think and interact with texts.
  4. Rushkoff frames "Sneakers" with an anecdote describing a male teenager trying to decide what sneakers to purchase? How does this narrative contribute to Rushkoff's overall argument?
I look forward to working with you in English 1102. Keep an eye on the course blog for further updates.
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