Nate Breier
ERH-303WX-01
Prompt 5
Word Count: 359

The language we use to communicate about things is oft quite important, as it conveys ides or impressions about whatever it is we are talking about. It frequently becomes difficult to analyze what is being conveyed, as even words that are synonyms provide subtle differences in how they present what they are conveying.
Specific to Appalachia, the terms ‘hillbilly’ and ‘redneck’ are reasonable examples of two words can provide different impressions, although they are considered synonyms according to a quick Google search. The first term, ‘hillbilly’, is defined more specifically as someone being from the backwoods of the Appalachian mountains, while the second is more broadly defined as a lower class individual from a rural area seen as classless or uncouth (a word that is not seen nearly as much as it should be).
While the two terms are nearly similar, the second one, by virtue of its more detailed definition (from a Google search), may perhaps be assumed to be more frequently used, thusly requiring a more detailed definition. This is likely due to the fact that there exists a group of people who self-identify as such. Their reasons for doing so may be to fight back against the originally negative stereotype assigned to the word by expressing pride in being rural and lower class. This is not unlike how a certain Foxtrot Company began calling themselves F-Troop after having received this nickname back a decade or two back in the history of the Virginia Military Institute.
On the other hand, or perhaps on the other side of the mouth, hillbilly does not provide as many results – 19.3 million results versus 58.8 million for redneck – nor does it have as specific a definition. This may indicate that it is not as frequently used, either in the way that it was originally used for or as a reclaimed word like ‘redneck’. Of interest, it also seems to be used for a certain type of music, which may be why it has not found as flexible a usage as has redneck – it is already being used for more than one idea, so it cannot be used for something else.

Nathaniel Breier
ERH-303WX-01
Word Count: approx. 270
Date and Time: 0917 9/11/18

In his article, Kincheloe examines the methods that Mcdonald’s, as well as its founder, Ray Kroc, seek to increase their power to influence people. More specifically, Kincheloe examines what the company is seeking to influence people to do (buy its food) and how it has impacted people in doing so. In doing so, Kincheloe provides an indirect examination of American culture, one that is increasingly shaped by consumption, but is insecure in its being so. In addition, he argues that the marketing tools utilized by Mcdonald’s promote and exploit the generational divide, using the story of his parents and him going to Mcdonalds, him being fully adapted to the fast food lifestyle, with his parents struggling to keep up. The idea behind this story ties into Kincheloe’s later examination of how Mcdonald’s marketing to parents by selling itself as a way to reconnect to their children, or promoting traditional family values. Conversely, it also seeks to sell itself to children and young adults as being independent of their parents, as Kincheloe later notes, with its emphasis on youth culture with words such as ‘dude’, ‘radical’, or .’we’re into Barbie’ (pg. 43).
In terms of Appalachia, these marketing points may tie into or influence how current American culture view Appalachia. Mcdonalds attempts to use family values to sell itself, while family values are tied to the idea of Appalachia, for example. Of more interest, however, is that by promoting youth culture, with its inherent defiance of the old, Mcdonalds may be connected to the negative stereotypes of Appalachia as not keeping pace with the modern world, being stuck in the past.

Nathaniel Breier
ERH-303WX-01
Prompt 3
Word Count: Approx. 245

By beginning with a format based off of the Bible, specifically modeling passages that could be found in the Old Testament, tracing lineages and such, Steinberg draws a correspondence between how lineages begin small and then become oh so much larger with how Barbie began small and then branched out. Moreover, by modeling her introduction off of Biblical text, she sets up the argument she is making. That is, she discusses the pervasiveness of Barbie in culture, is used by culture and so on. This is no so dissimilar to how the Bible often presents in culture – shaping it by virtue of being, but also being used to shape it, just as Barbie is utilized by corporations to promote themselves.
Moreover, by beginning with a Biblical style, Steinberg connects the religious significance of the Bible with the similar obsession that many have with Barbie. It is also of interest, though likely not of deliberate intent on the author’s part, that she discusses the Western bias of Barbie while connecting it with the Bible, the central text of Christianity, which has too been criticized of having Western bias, particularly regarding its connection to imperialization. Lastly, by beginning with a farce of the Bible, her likely audience is probably psychologically shocked, making them take a mental step back, seeing something generally considered sacred flipped in such a way. This could serve the purpose of having them reconsider something, in this case Barbie, that is generally taken for granted.

Nathaniel Breier
ERH-303-01
Prompt 2
Word Count: 235 Words

In his essay, van Dijk discuss Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), which he describes as a method of analyzing how things are talked about in public, to include an analysis of power structure and context. He gives several examples of where CDA is used, including feminist studies and gender inequalities, media and politics, and racism and ethnography. Of note, he mentions that CDA also relates to examinations of professional and intuitional discussions, such as in the courtroom, the medical field or even in scholarly articles and education.
These last two may be the most important, at the very least in the contexts of van Dijk’s article itself. Any article that seeks to add information to a discussion must be analyzed in terms of its Ethos, that credibility of which many students learn in their lower level English courses. As van Dijk notes in his article, if the basic premise of something, be it a scholarly article such as van Dijk’s or a chapter from a university textbook, does not conflict with a person’s belief systems, it tends to be accepted at face value.
This makes CDA all the more important, in that it must be performed on these scholarly articles, to include van Dijk’s, educational material, etc in order to evaluate what is being fed to the wider population, whom it will undoubtedly influence in their views of the society and culture in which they live.