ReMix: Reading and Composing Culture

By Catherine G. Latterell

Book Overview

"Why do I think the way I do?" Answer this question and others as ReMix empowers you to write, design, and construct the world around you in order to become a more successful writer in college and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312430183
• ISBN13: 9780312430184
• Release Date: December 2005
• Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin's
• Length: 848 Pages
• Weight: 2.16 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.2" x 1.0" x 6.5"

Customer Reviews

Great Service, Thank you!

Great service, not complain at all. They were on point and I got my book early, THANK YOU!

AWESOME!

This book is amazing! I definitely recommend anyone to buy this book! The stories are great and they actually make you read between the lines.

fine for what it is

I disagree with most of what everyone here is saying. The book included a wide variety of stories and articles on MANY various subjects. There were liberal and conservative view points addressed from all sorts of different people with different ways of life or thinking. Overall a good book for the college writing class. I do agree with one thing though. It is overpriced, as is normal with most text books!

Encourages active learning; discourages passivity

I disagree with the previous reviewer that this text is "far to the left." The texts included for discussion are not to determine political viewpoints; they are to challenge accepted social assumptions. Overwhelmingly, the readings are politically neutral and target non-political subjects like trying to fit in in a high school, cheerleading, participating in college traditions, etc. Some texts may make politically-sensitive professors uncomfortable, but they are few and far between, and can easily be ignored (each section contains more essays than an instructor can reasonably cover). These texts, like John Stewart's graduation speech, are obviously included because they present an unusual viewpoint, or because they oppose or debunk a commonly held assumption. I think the previous reviewere missed the point and threw out the baby with the water. Latterell asks students to challenge and question the texts, not to blindly accept them as "truth." For example, the John Stewart graduation speech takes humorous potshots at the declining state of education when Stewart states that if the college is honoring HIM then education is indeed in trouble. One would except a graduation speech to contain many references to the lofty ideals of education, but Stewart does nothing but point to his own shortcomings, thus casting doubts on the wisdom of academia for selecting him, of all people, as an exemplary alumn. Stewart being the raging liberal that he is cannot help but take at least one indirect poke at Bush, but this is not the focus of the essay and students are sophisticated enough readers that they can respond to Stewart's poking in kind, or ignore it without much scuffing. Moreover, Latterell invites challenge with her questions: the essay is included for students to tear apart, analyze, and question, not to accept as Gospel. Perhaps Latterell might have included a few more essays that debunk commonly held assumptions from the conservative perspective, but the overwhelmingly obvious aim of the text is not to politicize or favor one view over the other as much as it is to encourage analysis and inquiry of even familiar and widely accepted assumptions, and this is obvious. Most of the essays included here are very good at what they do, and even the few that may be questionable are still good starting points for discussions. Most students love a controversy, after all. Freshmen are not mindless beings incapable of opinions. What I like is that the text favors education as an active process of inquiry and investigation rather than a passive absorption of information. This is a very good thing. After almost 10 years of teaching freshmen comp I find one of the greatest challenges is to get students away from the "what do you want me to say/do?" mode that they acquired in high school to the "I can think for myself" attitudes I want to encourage in learned adults. This text helps. Where the text really fails, unfortunately, is in a precise and stud

Culture Changes

A fascinating text with a smart premise: culture is mixing, remixing, and reinventing constantly. Lively readings. Students will respond well.