Cultural Comparison

In this module we learned that most people learn about people, places, and things through mediated representation. Earlier, we learned that whomever controls communication systems, controls perception. This phenomenon is easily seen in representational media platforms such as news. In short, representations have consequences and all representations have a “point of view”. Related to discourse (in the language chapter), words build certain understandings of people/places and things and those understandings influence and fuel behavior toward them.

Prompt:  Background: To understand how the representation of a current social/political issue affects people’s beliefs and attitudes as well as our behavior, compare and constrast two articles (about the same topic of your choice) that portray the perspective of mainstream/dominant U.S. Americans versus a particular non-dominant co-cultural group (e.g., Latinos, LGBTQ). It is best to choose articles published by disparate sources (i.e., national/international, liberal/conservative). For example, you could compare an article from U.S. News & World Report on the issue of gay marriages and an article from a magazine that is targeted toward a gay audience. Keep in mind that the articles need to be about the SAME EVENT or you’ll end of comparing apples and oranges!

Once you have read both articles, write a short essay analyzing how the perceptions lead us to particular ways of thinking about the issue. You must incorporate chapter/lecture ideas. DO NOT SIMPLY DESCRIBE WHAT YOU READ.