Sample Annotated Bibliography

Kilbourne, Jean. “‘Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt’: Advertising and Violence.” Rereading
America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing. Ed. Gary Colombo,
Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle. 6th ed. NY: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2004. 455-74.

Jean Kilbourne argues that sex in advertising is similar to pornography. Pornography is

about distance rather than intimacy. It dehumanizes and objectifies people by playing on themes
such as bondage, sadomasochism, and sexual exploitation (456). As a result, it also encourages
violence towards the person or gender being objectified. She reproduces a number of ads in her
essay in order to demonstrate how ads do this. She points out that the products in the ads are
fetishized, imbued with a false and misleading “erotic charge” (456). Kilbourne draws a
correlation between sex in advertising and rising rates of domestic violence, rape, pedophilia,
and the use of cosmetic surgery to increase self-esteem by imitating impossible standards of
beauty.

Mantsios, Gregory. “Class in America: Myths and Realities (2000).” Rereading America:
Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing. Ed. Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen,
and Bonnie Lisle. 6th ed. NY: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2004. 331-45.

Gregory Mantsios explores the perceptions that Americans have about social class in
their country. He discovers that Americans believe in four essential myths about class: 1) the
U.S. is a classless society; 2) almost everyone is middle class; 3) we are all getting richer; and 4)
everyone has an equal chance to succeed. By presenting much statistical data and three profiles,
Mantsios debunks these myths. He presents eight realities about social class in America: 1) there
are enormous differences in the economic status of American citizens; 2) the middle class holds
a small share of the nation’s wealth, and this share is declining; 3) the middle class is shrinking;
4) there are enormous class differences in lifestyle; 5) class standing impacts chances of survival;
6) class standing impacts educational attainment; 7) all Americans do not have equal opportunity
to succeed; and 8) racism and sexism compound the effects of class.

Tan, Amy. “Mother Tongue.” The Seagull Reader: Essays. 2nd ed. Ed. Joseph Kelly. NY:
W.W. Norton, 2008. 308-14.

Amy Tan, the prominent American author, describes how she came to terms with her
immigrant mother’s “broken English,” a combination of Chinese and American English, which
she calls her “mother tongue.” Tan describes the shame she felt as a child because of her
mother’s “limited” English, which she and others interpreted as a sign of limited intelligence,
and she explores how this affected her academic performance. As a result, Tan sought to cover
up her background by speaking and writing in perfect academic English. However, as she
matured as a writer, she came to realize that her mother tongue was not “broken” or “limited,”
but instead was an equally valid form of English, of which she explains there are many. Now,
when she writes, she imagines that her mother is her audience, and this shapes the kind of
writing she produces.