Gerbners Cultural Mythology Applied to Violence in Music Vi essays

Gerbners Cultural Mythology Applied to Violence in Music Vi essays Acts of violence portrayed by artists in music videos usually depicts actions that represent a message within the lyrics of the song. However, these images can be damaging to the mentality of those viewing, which has prompted much debate among parents who wish to censor offensive lyrics and images portrayed in current popular music. With ongoing violence in schools and in neighborhoods among youths of ages that seem to be younger than ever imagined, one has to wonder if the images seen on television, especially in music videos, desensitize their perception of violence. Some music videos tend to almost glamorize violent acts, presenting the idea that such acts are normal and acceptable within society. Gerbner presents three consequences of viewing violence on television from the time of infancy. Programming reinforces the worst fears and apprehensions and paranoia of people. (Gerbner, 1994) Gerbner implies that being exposed to larger amounts of television violence will lead one to believe that they live in a mean world. People exposed to a lesser amount of television violence will not share these same apprehensions about society. Another consequence of watching a lot of television is that one comes to believe that the violence portrayed on television is normal that everybody does it, and that its a good way of solving problems. (Gerbner, 1994) This viewpoint is a prime example of how influential the actions of music artists in their videos are on the youths who mimic their behaviors when dealing with their own personal situations. They feel that if their favorite artist behaves this way that it is not only acceptable, but also cool for them to behave in the same manner. The third consequence is the pervasive sense of insecurity and vulnerability. (Gerbner, 1994) Gerbner suggests that the more people watch television, the less likely they are to go out and socialize with others. This isolation and...

Definition and Examples of Advanced Composition

Definition and Examples of Advanced Composition Advanced composition is a university-level course in expository writing beyond the first-year or introductory level. Also called advanced writing. In its broadest sense, says Gary A. Olson, advanced composition  refers to all postsecondary writing instruction above the first-year level, including courses in  technical,  business, and advanced  expository writing, as well as classes associated with  writing across the curriculum. This broad definition was the one adopted by the  Journal of Advanced Composition  in its early years of publication (Encyclopedia of English Studies and Language Arts, 1994). Examples and Observations A good many educators use the term advanced composition to refer specifically to a junior- or senior-level composition course concerned more with writing in general than with how writing functions in particular disciplines...It is unlikely that compositionists will ever reach consensus about advanced composition, nor would most teachers want some kind of monologic, universal method and course. What is certain is that advanced composition continues to grow in popularity, both among students and instructors, and it remains an active area of scholarship.​  (Gary A. Olson, Advanced Composition. Encyclopedia of English Studies and Language Arts, ed. by Alan C. Purves. Scholastic Press, 1994)[T]eaching advanced composition should be more than just a harder freshman course. If advanced composition is to have any viability at all, it must be founded on a theory that (1) shows how advanced composition is different in kind from freshman composition and (2) shows how advanced compositi on is developmentally related to freshman composition. The harder approach achieves only the latter.​  (Michael Carter, What Is Advanced About Advanced Composition?: A Theory of Expertise in Writing. Landmark Essays on Advanced Composition, ed. by Gary A. Olson and Julie Drew. Lawrence Erlbaum, 1996) Students who enroll in advanced writing courses write with proficiency yet often rely on formulas; their prose is stuffed with too many words and weighed down with nominalizations, passives, prepositional phrases. Their writing lacks focus, details, and a sense of audience . . .. The goal of an advanced writing course, therefore, is to move students from proficiency to effectiveness.​  (Elizabeth Penfield, Freshman English/Advanced Writing: How Do We Distinguish the Two? Teaching Advanced Composition: Why and How, ed. by Katherine H. Adams and John L. Adams. Boynton/Cook, 1991) Sites of Contention My advanced composition courses currently function not only as skills courses but also as sustained inquiries into how writing functions (and has functioned) politically, socially, and economically in the world. Through writing, reading, and discussion, my students and I focus on three sites of contentioneducation, technology, and the selfat which writing assumes particular importance. . . . Although relatively few students choose to write poetry in my current advanced composition courses, it seems to me that students attempts at poetic composition are considerably enriched by their integration into a sustained inquiry about how all sorts of writing actually function in the world.​  (Tim Mayers, [Re]writing Craft: Composition, Creative Writing, and the Future of English. University of Pittsburgh Press, 2005) Explorations For most of my first eleven years at [Oregon State University]the years during which I taught both first-year and advanced compositionI wrote identical course descriptions for these two composition classes. The basic structure of the syllabi for the two classes was also similar, as were the assignments. And I used the same text as well . . .. Students in advanced composition wrote longer essays than first-year students, but that was the primary difference between the two courses...The syllabus for my fall term 1995 advanced composition class . . . raises new issues. The text that follows begins with the second paragraph of the course overview: In this class we will discuss questions such as these as we work together to become more effective, self-confident, and self-conscious writers. As is the case with most composition classes, we will function as a writing workshoptalking about the writing process, working collaboratively on work in progress. But we will also inquire together about what is at stake when we write: we will explore, in other words, the tensions that inevitably result when we wish to express our ideas, to claim a space for ourselves, in and with communities that may or may not share our assumptions and conventions. And we will consider the implications of these explorations for such rhetorical concepts as voice and ethos. (Lisa S. Ede, Situating Composition: Composition Studies and the Politics of Location. Southern Illinois University Press, 2004)