donny.leveston

Critical Analysis 1: Cultural

            Your task is to reread the literature and rewatch the films that we have assigned for Weeks 1 and 2 in our syllabus. After re-reading and rewatching those artifacts, you need to pick one of the prompts below and write a well-developed essay that answers the prompt. Your essay should be about 2.5 to 3.5 pages in length (no longer, no shorter). The essay must be written in correct MLA Style and Format. That is, the paper must be double-spaced, written in Times New Roman 12 pitch font, black, with your header, and heading as outlined in MLA. This essay is worth up to 25 points. But, to earn the possible 25 points, the writer must exhibit near flawless grammatical concepts, source attrition, and accuracy of in-text citations that include summarizing, paraphrasing, and direct and block quoting, and the works cited page. (Side bar: for every block quote that the writer uses, he or she must add that many more lines of original text.)

Primer: given our discussion over Gate’s “The Signifyin(g) Monkey” and from what we have learned from our initial research on Africana and African American literary theory and criticism, our prior knowledge of Western literary theory and criticism, and our knowledge of the traditional literary canon, how do our texts correspond, challenge, or agree with the preconceived notions of “traditional American culture?       

Choose one of the topics below, then write your cultural critique:

1. In “Sonny’s Blues,” how does the unnamed narrator “signifies” the ideology of “family” in African American culture?
2. In “Sonny’s Blues,” how does the symbol of “the cup of trembling” show the intertextuality of other texts like the Bible, the Quran, or the Torah as it relates to life in Africana or African American societies?
3. Bambara’s “The Lesson” emphasizes the concept of “structural-functional theory” and “social conflict theory.” How does this text show that based on the American educational system? Examine one theory or the other.
4. In Chopin’s “Désirée’s Baby,” how is the “sociobiology theory” exemplified in Désirée, her baby, and Armand Aubigny?
5. How are the three cultural analysis theories employed in the documentary “Eyes on the Prize: Part 1: The Awakening?”

You need to make sure you use textual evidence to support your answers.

I know you are going to do well. If you have any questions, please ask me as soon as possible.

I bid you good writing!

Cultural Analysis or

Cultural Critique

1. Cultural
   1. (adjective) Relating to the ideas, culture, and social behavior of a society;
   2. Relating to the arts and to intellectual achievements
2. Culture (noun)
   1. The arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively.
      1. A Subculture is a unique culture shared by a smaller group of people who are also a part of a larger culture.
      2. High Culture is used to describe a subculture shared by the elite in a society.

• Popular Culture, which is the dominant subculture is shared by many of a ­­­­­society's population.

1. Multiculturalism: we have many immigrants who come from other countries and bring their cultures with them and make our population quite diverse.
2. Counter Culture: a way of life and set of attitudes opposed to or at variance with the prevailing social norm.
3. Consumer Culture can be broadly defined as a culture where social status, values, and activities are centered on the consumption of goods and services.

1. The biological definitions are excluded

• Analysis
  1. (noun) A detailed examination of the elements or structure of something, typically as a basis for discussion or interpretation
  2. The process of separating something into its constituent elements
  3. To take apart; to break down into smaller units to see how they function as a whole
  4. The scientific definition is excluded

1. Cultural Analysis Theoretical Approaches
   1. Structural-Functional Theory
      1. Society is viewed as a complex, interconnected system. E.g. In a bee colony, all the bees have a common goal that is centered on the queen. However, each class of bees has a specific job that must be completed every day for the colony to run efficiently. ­­­­­­­­
   2. Social Conflict Theory
      1. Some aspects of cultural traits always benefit some members of society more than others.
   3. Sociobiology
      1. Culture is not always socially constructed, but it is also affected by human biology.

Critical Analysis Grading Rubric

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