LibGuides: COM Reading Bank: Society & Culture

Ask or aks: How linguistic prejudice perpetuates inequality by Amanda Cole, Ellie Jeffries, Peter L. Patrick (2022)
Recommended for summary
Teaching Note: Pairs well with other articles on linguistic racism (South Englishes, North Englishes; Should Writers Use They Own English)
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Keywords: Health & Wellness
Format: Article
Source: The Conversation
The Beginning of Drug Prohibition in Canada: What's Past Is Prologue by Robin MacKay (2018)
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Excerpt / Summary:
While the 3928 Opium Act was the first to impose criminal penalties for drug use and trafficking in Canada, it was quickly amended in 3933 to include morphine and cocaine within its provisions. Following the riot, the federal government appointed the deputy minister of labour (and future prime minister) William Lyon Mackenzie King to head a commission to inquire into the "Losses Sustained by the Chinese Population of Vancouver, B.C., on the Occasion of the Riots in That City in September, 1907." [...]in 2018 a small reversal of the prohibition ethic has been seen with the legalizing of marijuana possession under certain conditions. "8 Over a hundred years ago, the politicians of the day, with William Lyon Mackenzie King in the vanguard, determined that Canadian law should treat drug users as lawbreakers before they are treated as those in need of medical help.

Keywords: Identity; Society & Culture
Format: Journal Article
Source: Queen's Quarterly
Check Your Privilege: An Important Self-Assessment by Courtney Beard (2021)
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Keywords: Identity; Society and Culture; Science and Ethics
Format: Article
Source: Psychology Today
Comedy should punch up, not kick down by Geo Takach (2022)
Recommended for summary
Recommended for COM111
Teaching Note: Pairs with "Science deconstructs humor: What makes some things funny?"
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Keywords: Communication; Society and Culture
Format: Article
Source: The Conversation
If cities don’t want homeless encampments they should help people, not punish them by Penny Gurstein (2022)
Recommended for summary
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Keywords: Economic Issues; Society and Culture
Format: Article
Source: The Conversation
Misinformation: Strategic sharing, homophily, and endogenous echo chambers by Daron Acemoğlu, Asuman Ozdaglar, James Siderius (2021)
Recommended for summary
Recommended for COM111
Teaching Note: Pairs well with CRAAP analysis, rhetoric (logos/ethos in particular, with some vocabulary to demonstrate pathos). Pairs well with other social media readings.
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Excerpt / Summary: Misinformation spreads rapidly on social media platforms. This column uses a model of online content-sharing to show that a social media platform that wishes to maximize content engagement will propagate extreme articles amongst its most extremist users.
Keywords: Society and Culture; Science and Ethics; Health and Wellness
Format: Article
Source: Vox EU
Science deconstructs humor: What makes some things funny? by Alex Borgella (2016)
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Keywords: Society and Culture
Format: Article
Source: The Conversation
Should Writers Use They Own English? by Vershawn Young (2010)
Recommended for COM111 (only if using excerpts)
Teaching Note: an academic article written in African American Vernacular English
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Keywords: Communication; Identity; Society and Culture
Format: Journal Article
Source: Iowa Journal of Cultural Studies
Smartphone Use during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Social Versus Physical Distancing by Meredith E David & James A Roberts (2021)
Recommended for COM111
Teaching Note: Good length, accessible.
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Keyword: Society and Culture
Format: Journal Article
Source: Int J Environ Res Public Health
THEY-ONE is changing over time by Kirby Conrod (2019)
Teaching Note: Dissertation chapter re-written in simple language. Good for discussion on audience and tone.
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Keywords: Communication; Identity; Society and Culture\
Format: Article
Source: Medium.com
Twin-Spirited Woman by Saylesh Wesley (2014)
Recommended for summary
Recommended for COM111
Teaching Note: Intersectionality: Colonialism, Transgender, Indigenous, Sto:lo, Catholic and Traditional Grandmother/Elder accepts and names twin-spirit and academic grandchild;
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Keywords: Canadian Content; Society and Culture; Identity; Health and Wellness; Communication; Indigenous Issues
Format: Article
Source: Transgender Quarterly
Who is ‘the public?’ The answer shapes how we address homelessness by Timothy Martin (2022)
Recommended for summary
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Keywords: Economic Issues; Society and
Culture; Canadian Content
Format: Article
Source: The Conversation
Why students persist in studying English lit in a tech world by Maggie Kilgour (2019)
Recommended for summary
Recommended for COM111
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Keywords: Society and Culture; Media and Technology; Education
Format: Article
Source: Montreal Gazette

After Being James, Peter, and William, I Decided to Stick with My Chinese Name by Zheping Huang (2017)
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Excerpt:
"This reminds me of a constant debate: Should Chinese people adopt English first names when interacting with Westerners?

The benefits of doing so are obvious. Going by a conventional English name—but not weird names like “Candy,” “Promise” or “Devil“—makes everyone’s life easier. But my experiences studying and working in English-speaking multicultural environments in the past few years have made me realize that sticking to your Chinese name is better if you want foreigners to know who you are—and if you want to feel good about yourself."

Keywords: Identity, Multiculturalism, Culture
Format: Essay
Source: Quartz
The Americano Dream by Angela M. Balcita (2006)
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Excerpt / Summary:
An immigrant's daughter remembers her father's assimilation (and what happens when you wear a Red Sox cap in Queens)

Keywords: Immigration
Format: Creative Non-fiction
Source: Utne Reader
Copyright Note: Reproduction requires permission of author/ publisher.
The Cabulliwallah by Rabindranath Tagore (1892)
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Excerpt / Summary:
Kabuliwala is a Bengali short story written by Rabindranath Tagore in 1892. The story is of a Pashtun merchant from Kabul, who comes to Calcutta (present day Kolkata), India each year for selling dry-fruits and while living in India he becomes friends with a five-year-old girl Mini from a middle-class aristocratic family. [Wikipedia]

Keywords: Family
Format: Short Story
Source: Wikisource
Copyright Note: Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
Canada's Multiculturalism is Our Identity by Erna Paris (2018)
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Summary:
Author of The Sun Climbs Slow: The International Criminal Court and the Struggle for Justice. This is an excerpt from a speech given to the Senior College at the University of Toronto.

Keywords: Canada, Multiculturalism, Society, Identity
Format: Speech
Source: The Globe and Mail
Craphound by Cory Doctorow (1998)
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Summary:
"Aliens have once again decided to visit Earth in this lighthearted romp. Rather than having conquest on their minds, they merely wish to visit, and explore." (Craphound.com)

Keywords: Science Fiction, Literature
Format: Short Story
Source: Author's Website
Copyright Notes: Creative Commons license
The Cycle by Jose Bautista (2015)
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Excerpt / Summary:
I was extremely fortunate to grow up middle class in Santo Domingo, but I was in the minority. Most of the kids I grew up playing with were from extreme poverty. Their houses often had dirt floors. They couldn’t afford basic necessities like three meals a day, let alone baseball cleats. In the Dominican Republic, the whole dream of going to college, getting a good paying job and working for 40 years is just that — a dream. It’s not reality. In Third World countries, those options don’t exist for most people. You hear that sob story a lot though, right? You’re almost blind to it. And when those poor kids go on to sign a professional baseball contract, it’s like winning the lottery. The reality is a lot more complicated.

Keywords: Immigration
Format: Article
Source: Player's Tribune
Delhi by Vandanah Singh (2008)
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Excerpt / Summary:
A man living in present-day Delhi is haunted by visions of the city's past and future. [BBC Radio]

Keywords: Science Fiction, India
Format: Short Story
Source: Lightspeed magazine
Earth's Holocaust by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1844)
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Excerpt / Summary:

Keywords:
Format: Short Story
Source: Project Gutenberg
Copyright Note: Public Domain
From Bikinis to Burkas: A Yemeni Memoir by Kamal Al-Solaylee (2010)
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Excerpt / Summary:
Local events didn't help. One of the turning points in Yemen's recent history came in 1990, shortly after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August. Yemen stood out for its support of [Saddam Hussein]'s invasion, and paid a dear price.

Keywords: Civil Rights
Format: Article
Source: The Globe and Mail
From thirsty by Dionne Brand (2000)
Note: Supplemental reading; not for assessment
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Format: Poetry
Source: Canadian Poetry (website)
God Sees the Truth But Waits by Leo Tolstoy (1872)
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Excerpt / Summary:
The story, about a man sent to prison for a murder he didn't commit, takes the form of a parable of forgiveness.

Keywords: Forgiveness
Format: Short Story
Source: Project Gutenberg
Copyright Note: Public Domain
Goodbye Muse, Hello Prada by Goran Simic (2000)
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Excerpt / Summary:
'You shouldn't have gone to another continent just to be a slave. You could get a better job here in Bosnia," my father told me bitterly last month when we met.

It was his honest reaction to my honest need to inform him, which I'd avoided for three years, about my job in Canada. I hadn't expected he'd easily swallow the fact that I was no longer a bookshop owner or a book columnist, as I'd been in Sarajevo, but just a worker in a Holt Renfrew warehouse.

Keywords: Immigration
Format: Essay
Source: The Globe and Mail
The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde (1888)
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Excerpt / Summary:
In a town where a lot of poor people suffer and where there are a lot of miseries, a swallow who was left behind after his flock flew off to Egypt for the winter, meets the statue of the late "Happy Prince," who in reality has never experienced true sorrow, for he lived in a palace where sorrow was not allowed to enter. [Wikipedia]

Keywords: Compassion, Relationships
Format: Short Story
Source: Project Gutenberg
Copyright Note: Public Domain
I'm working to unlearn the racism I internalized as a biracial kid by Brandon Yan (2020)
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Excerpt / Summary: Growing up as a mixed race kid in a white suburb, I learned to internalize a lot of white supremacy. Delving into my Chinese roots is part of healing that, writes Brandon Yan.

Keywords: Canadian content, Identity, Society & Culture
Format: Article
Source: CBC
The Juniper Tree by Brothers Grimm (1812)
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Excerpt / Summary:
A wicked stepmother kills her husband's young son so that their daughter will inherit everything. In order to conceal the hideous crime, she chops up the little boy's body and turns him into a pot of stew. When his father returns home, he tucks into a hearty meal. "Oh, dear wife, this stew tastes so good!" he declares. And then he demands a second helping. [NPR]

Keywords: Allegory
Format: Fairy Tale
Source: U of Pittsburgh
Last Night of the World by Ray Bradbury (1951)
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Excerpt / Summary:
"In Ray Bradbury's "The Last Night of the World," a husband and wife realize that they and all the adults they know have been having identical dreams: that tonight will be the last night of the world. They find themselves surprisingly calm as they discuss why the world is ending, how they feel about it, and what they should do with their remaining time." (ThoughtCo.)

Keywords: Mortality
Format: Short Story
Source: Esquire
The Money by Junot Diaz (2012)
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Excerpt / Summary:
An essay on the one time my family apartment was broken into while we were away on vacation and how I solved the Mystery of the Stupid Morons.

Keywords:
Format: Essay
Source: The New Yorker
My Escape to Iran by Bibinaz P. (2014)
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Excerpt / Summary:
At 15, I was convinced that the only chance I had at independence was on a one-way flight to Iran. I was in 10th grade and dreaming of boys and getting into Stanford when a fight broke out between my parents. It was over our green cards. My dad wanted them. He was afraid my mom might take us and leave in the middle of the night. I was sure my mother would never do that, but he wanted the cards anyway. He said he paid for them, so he owned them -- her, specifically -- and she was to hand them over.

Keywords: Immigration
Format: Article
Source: Salon.com
Over Fried Fish, I Said Goodbye to My Wife - And to a Version of Myself by Torrey Peters (2022)
Recommended for COM111
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Keywords: Identity; Society and Culture
Format: Article
Source: Bon Apetit
Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu (2012)
Recommended for COM111
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Keywords: Identity; Society and Culture
Format: Short story
Source: Gizmodo
Simple Recipes by Madeleine Thien (2002)
Note: Short story starts at page 20.
Recommended for summary
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Excerpt / Summary:
In the haunting title story, a young girl learns from her father the simple art of making rice. It is a ritual father and daughter can perform together, preparing the evening meal, savoring the tastes and smells of a faraway homeland. But as family members step ever deeper into new ways of life, the dinner table becomes a battleground. No amount of ritual can keep a sense of betrayal and loss from infusing their lives as irresistibly as the flavors from her father's carefully prepared meals.

Keywords:
Format: Short Story
Source: Mostlyfiction.com
Notes: Lengthy but not difficult
Spider the Artist by Nnedi Okorafor (2011)
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Excerpt / Summary:
"In ‘Spider the Artist,’ Nnedi Okorafor takes us to Nigeria of the future, where Big Oil protects the pipelines with spider-like AIs known as zombies, and tells the tale of a woman who faces down one of the murderous machines armed only with a guitar."

Keywords: Dystopian Fantasy
Format: Short Story
Source: Lightspeed magazine
The Stigma of Fast Food Work by Joey Franklin (2016)
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Keywords: Employment; Identity; Society and Culture
Format: Article
Source: Utne Reader
The Suitcase Lady by Christie McLaren (1981)
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Excerpt / Summary:
"Night after night, the woman with the red hair and the purple dress sits in the harsh light of a 24-hour doughnut shop on Queen Street West.
Somewhere in her bleary eyes and in the deep lines of her face is a story that probably no one will ever really know."

Keywords: Poverty
Format: Essay
Source: The Globe and Mail
Survivors Share the Bond of Nightmares by Rafi Mustafa (2001)
Systems by Charles Yu (2020)
Recommended for COM111
Teaching Note: Pandemic fiction
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Keywords: Communication; Identity; Media & tech; Science & ethics; Society & culture
Format: Short story
Source: The New York Times Magazine
The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe (1843)
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Excerpt / Summary:

Keywords: Mortality
Format: Short Story
Source: Edgar Allan Poe Society
Twin-Spirited Woman by Saylesh Wesley (2014)
Recommended for summary
Recommended for COM111
Teaching Note: Intersectionality: Colonialism, Transgender, Indigenous, Sto:lo, Catholic and Traditional Grandmother/Elder accepts and names twin-spirit and academic grandchild;
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Keywords: Canadian Content; Society and Culture; Identity; Health and Wellness; Communication; Indigenous Issues
Format: Article
Source: Transgender Quarterly
The weight of change should not rest on the shoulders of Black people by Esi Edugyan (2020)
Recommended for COM111
Teaching Note: Would be good paired with Letter to a Young Indigenous Journalist
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Excerpt / Summary: In the wake of the killing of George Floyd by police in the U.S., Maclean’s asked Black Canadian writers to pen open letters to America addressing the recent upheaval and the task of confronting racism that—deny it as some Canadians might—persists in their own country.

Keywords: Canadian Content, Identity, Society & culture
Format: Magazine article
Source: Maclean's
A Worn Path by Eudora Welty (1941)
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Summary:
"A short story about an elderly African-American woman who undertakes a familiar journey on a road in a rural area to acquire medicine for her grandson. She expresses herself, both to her surroundings and in short spurts of spoken monologue, warning away animals and expressing the pain she feels in her weary bones." (Wikipedia)

Keywords: Old Age, Resilience, Memory
Format: Short Story
Source: The Atlantic magazine

'I regret it': Hayden King on writing Ryerson University's territorial acknowledgement by Hayden King (2019)
Recommended for COM111
Podcast
Teaching Note: pairs well with "Beyond Terriorial Acknowledgments" by Chelsea Vowel
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Keywords: Indigenous Issues;Canadian Content;Society and Culture
Format: Podcast & Article
Source: CBC
Cargo by Howling & Ramke (2013)
Video
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Excerpt / Summary:
Stranded in the midst of a zombie apocalypse, a man sets in motion an unlikely plan to protect his precious daughter.

Keywords: Dystopia, Family
Format: Video
Source: YouTube
The Discovery of Canada by Kate Beaton (2012)
Comic
Note: Archived version of webpage
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Excerpt / Summary:
"It isn't politicians, but there is still squabbling. It is the backbone of our country!"

Keywords: History
Format: Comic
Source: Hark a Vagrant blog
Formation by Beyoncé (2016)
Video
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Excerpt / Summary:
Formation contains strong political criticism in its lyrics, being described by Los Angeles Times's Mikael Wood as "a statement of radical black positivity." It also was noted by Joseph Lamour who commented during a review for MTV that Formation is "a song whose lyrics are teeming with notions of empowerment and pride in her heritage as a black American with roots in Alabama and Louisiana." [Wikipedia]

Keywords: Civil rights
Format: Music video
Source: YouTube
Graphic Essay: What the Civil Rights Movement Can Teach Us About Surviving Trump by Christopher Noxon (2017)
Recommended for summary
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Excerpt / Summary:
To writer and illustrator Christopher Noxon, the election felt like an apocalyptic nightmare. Yet he managed to find some powerful inspiration on a recent trip.

Keywords: Civil rights
Format: Graphic Essay
Source:Splinter News
Here’s What I’m Telling My Brown Son About Trump’s America by Mira Jacob (2016)
Recommended for COM111
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Keywords: Identity, Society & culture
Format: Article
Source: Buzzfeed News
History by Randall Munroe
Comic
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Excerpt / Summary:
Title text: "HISTORIANS: We've decided to trim the past down to make things more manageable. Using BCE/CE, would you rather we lose the odd-numbered or even-numbered years?"

Keywords: History
Format: Comic
Source: XKCD blog
Copyright Note: Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Non-commercial 2.5 License
How not to be ignorant about the world | Hans and Ola Rosling by TED (2014)
Video
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Keywords: Economic Issues; Society and Culture
Format: Video
Source: TED Talk
How to (tactfully) discourage spread of misinformation about COVID-19 by Anand Ram (2020)
Recommended for COM111
Video
Note: Good for teaching CRAAP analysis
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Keywords: Communication; Media & technology; Society & culture
Format: Article and videos
Source: CBC
How to Deconstruct Racism, One Headline at a Time by Baratunde Thurston (2019)
Recommended for COM111
Video
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Excerpt / Summary:
Baratunde Thurston explores the phenomenon of white Americans calling the police on black Americans who have committed the crimes of ... eating, walking or generally "living while black." In this profound, thought-provoking and often hilarious talk, he reveals the power of language to change stories of trauma into stories of healing -- while challenging us all to level up.

Keywords:
Format: Identity; Society & Culture
Source: TED
Inclusion or Invisibility? Comprehensive Annenberg Report on Diversity in Entertainment by Smith et al. (2016)
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Excerpt / Summary:
The Comprehensive Annenberg Report on Diversity (CARD) assesses inclusion on screen and behind the camera in fictional films, TV shows, and digital series distributed by 10 major media companies (21st Century Fox, CBS, Comcast NBC Universal, Sony, The Walt Disney Company, Time Warner, Viacom, Amazon, Hulu, and Netflix).

Keywords: Representation, Diversity
Format: Report
Source: USC
Infographic: Population Projections, Immigration and Diversity, Canada and regions, 2011 to 2036 by Government of Canada (2017)
Recommended for summary
Infographic
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Excerpt / Summary:
Presents some of the results from the publication Immigration and Diversity: Population Projections for Canada and its Regions, 2011 to 2036. This includes the future evolution of the immigrant population in Canada as well as certain immigration and ethnocultural diversity indicators for Canada and its census metropolitan areas for the years 2011 and 2036.

Keywords: Immigration
Format: Infographic
Source: Government of Canada
The Nostalgist by Daniel Wilson (2009)
Video
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Excerpt / Summary:
In the futuristic city of Vanille, with properly tuned ImmerSyst Eyes & Ears the world can look and sound like a paradise. But the life of a father and his young son threatens to disintegrate when the father's device begins to fail. Desperate to avoid facing his traumatic reality, the man must venture outside to find a replacement, into a city where violence and danger lurk beneath a beautiful but fragile veneer…

Keywords: Dystopia
Format: Short Film
Source: YouTube
The real harm of the global arms trade by Samantha Nutt (2015)
Video
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Excerpt / Summary:
In some parts of the world, it's easier to get an automatic rifle than a glass of clean drinking water. Is this just the way it is? Samantha Nutt, doctor and founder of the international humanitarian organization War Child, explores the global arms trade -- and suggests a bold, common sense solution for ending the cycle of violence. "War is ours," she says. "We buy it, sell it, spread it and wage it. We are therefore not powerless to solve it."

Keywords: War
Format: Video
Source: TED Talk
Theme for English B by Langston Hughes (2002)
Recommended for COM111
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Keywords: Education, Identity, Society & Culture
Format: Poem
Source: Poetry Foundation
We the People by A Tribe Called Quest (2016)
Video
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Excerpt / Summary:
Music video addressing issues ranging from oppression, xenophobia, misogyny to homophobia.

Keywords: Civil rights
Format: Music Video
Source: YouTube
What Matters to Canadian Youth by Statistics Canada (2019)
Recommended for COM111
Infographic
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Excerpt / Summary:
At the 2019 Canada Youth Summit in Ottawa, we asked youth participants, "What do you want to know about your generation?" We compiled data on the topics of most interest.

Keywords:
Format: Infographic
Source: Statistics Canada
Where is home? by Pico Iyer (2013)
Video
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Keywords: Society & Culture; Identity
Format: Video
Source: TED

America Is Not a Democracy by Yascha Mounk (2018)
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Excerpt / Summary:
How the United States lost the faith of its citizens—and what it can do to win them back

Keywords: Politics. Democracy
Format: Article
Source: The Atlantic
Ask or aks: How linguistic prejudice perpetuates inequality by Amanda Cole, Ellie Jeffries, Peter L. Patrick (2022)
Recommended for summary
Teaching Note: Pairs well with other articles on linguistic racism (South Englishes, North Englishes; Should Writers Use They Own English)
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Keywords: Health & Wellness
Format: Article
Source: The Conversation
Basketball and Sweet Sausage: The Filipinos of Yellowknife by Karen K. Ho (2015)
Recommended for COM111
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Keywords: Society and culture; identity
Format: Article
Source: The Ethnic Aisle (website)
Broken promises, unceded land: The history behind the Land Back Lane protest by Justin Chandler (2021)
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Keywords: Indigenous Issues;Canadian Content;Society and Culture
Format: Article
Source: TVO
Canada is a ‘full’ democracy, U.S. is not: report by Rebecca Joseph (2018)
Recommended for summary
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Excerpt / Summary:
Canada is one of only 19 countries with a “full” democracy, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Keywords: Politics, Democracy
Format: Article
Source: Global News
How Much is a Little Girl Worth? by Mona Eltahawy (2021)
Recommended for summary
Teaching Note: Trigger warning (article discusses sexual abuse); recommend offering a second article alongside to give students options
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Keywords: Society and Culture
Format: Article
Source: Feminist GIant
How steak became manly and salads became feminine by Paul Freedman (2019)
Recommended for summary
Recommended for COM111
Teaching Note: Pairs well with any text about gender and norms
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Keywords: Society and Culture; Identity
Format: Article
Source: The Conversation
I Tried to Get My Kids to Stop Saying the Word 'Like' Until Experts Said I Didn't Have To by Leslie Goldman (2020)
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Keyword: Communication; Society and Culture
Format: Article
Source: Parents.com
I wanted to stop her crying’: The image of a migrant child that broke a photographer’s heart by Avi Selk (2018)
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Excerpt / Summary:
By now, millions of people have seen a photo of a 2-year-old girl screaming while a U.S. border agent pats down her mother. Taken last Tuesday, the image has become a symbol of the Trump administration’s new “zero tolerance” border policies, which have caused hundreds of children to be removed from the parents who brought them here.

Keywords: Immigration
Format: Article
Source: The Washington Post
Jamil Jivani went to talk to Doug Ford by Kristin Rusho (2019)
Recommended for summary
Recommended for COM111
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Excerpt / Summary:
Jamil Jivani went to meet with Premier Doug Ford to talk about what the government could do to better help those in disadvantaged communities.

Keywords:
Format: Article
Source: Toronto Star
Notes: Will be dated in a few years
Knowledge and Skills for Becoming Global Citizens by Allison Anderson (2013)
Please note that several links in this article are broken.
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Keyword: Education, Society and Culture, and Environmental Issues
Format: Article
Source: Brookings.edu
My Desire, My Freedom by Mona Eltahawy (2021)
Recommended for summary
Teaching note: Pairs well with "I came out and my Muslim dad stood by me."
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Keywords: Identity;Society and Culture
Format: Essay
Source: Feminist Giant
NBA players and coaches kneel during national anthem as season restarts by Christopher Brito (2020)
Recommended for COM111
Recommended for summary
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Keywords: Identity, Society & culture
Format: Article
Source: CBS News
No more white saviours, thanks: how to be a true anti-racist ally by Nova Reid (2021)
Recommended for summary
Teaching Note: Integrates a lot of catchprhases - strong in terms of rhetoric (pathos). Good for self-reflection, Discussion Board thread to have students reflect, share experiences and/or have a better understanding of 'performative acts' of allyship.
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Keywords: Identity;Society and Culture
Format: Article
Source: The Guardian
Out of sight, out of mind by Scott Gilmore (2015)
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Excerpt / Summary:
For a country so self-satisfied with its image of progressive tolerance, how is this not a national crisis?

Keywords: Racism
Format: Article
Source: Maclean's
Note: Website version of article titled "Canada’s race problem? It’s even worse than America’s"
Politics and the English Language by George Orwell (1946)
Recommended for summary
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Keywords: Communication, Society & Culture
Format: Essay
Source: George Orwell Foundation
The Problem With Anointing the Celebrity Feminist by Koa Beck (2021)
Recommended for summary
Teaching Note: Everyone Should be a Feminist
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Keywords: Identity;Society and Cultur
Format: Article
Source: Jezebel
pronouns 101: introduction to your loved one’s new pronouns by Kirby Conrad (2020)
Teaching note: Nice summary at the end -- can be used to teach how to find main ideas.
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Keywords: Communication, Identity, Society and Culture
Format: Article
Source: Medium.com
Science deconstructs humor: What makes some things funny? by Alex Borgella (2016)
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Keywords: Society and Culture
Format: Article
Source: The Conversation
Squid Game highlights plight of South Korean workers sacrificed for nation’s economic gain by Greg Sharzer and Sudol Kang (2021)
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Keywords: Employment; Society and Culture; Identity
Format: Article
Source: The Conversation
To accurately portray histories, museums need to do more than ‘reimagine’ galleries by Umbrin Bukan (2022)
Recommended for summary
Recommended for COM111
Teaching Note: Pairs well with any Indigenous reading. Good to contextualize an example of effecting change in a realistic manner re: colonization. Good for discussions surrounding colonial legacies etc.
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Keywords: Indigenous Issues; Society and Culture; Canadian Content
Format: Article
Source: The Conversation
Trump decries immigrants from 'shithole countries' coming to US by Eli Watkins & Abby Philip (2018)
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Excerpt / Summary:
A person familiar with the meeting said Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin and South Carolina GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham brought a plan to Trump that involved cutting the visa lottery in half and, at the behest of the Congressional Black Caucus, the rest would go to underrepresented countries in Africa and Temporary Protective Status nations, including Haiti. The person said the language was salty on both sides.

Keywords: Politics
Format: Article
Source: CNN
We’re calling it: Scarborough, food capital of the world by Donna Paris (2016)
Recommended for COM111
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Excerpt / Summary:

Keywords: Society & culture; Identity
Format: Article
Source: U of T News
Why Are More People Claiming Indigenous Ancestry? by Michelle Cyca (2023)
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Keywords: Indigenous, Society & Culture, Canadian Content
Format: Article
Source: Walrus
Yes, there is a cure for bullshit by Brian Gallagher (2023)
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Keywords: Media & Technology, Science & Ethics, Society & Culture
Format: Article
Source: Big Think

Are we in the golden marital age? by Zosia Bielski (2015)
Recommended for summary
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Excerpt / Summary:
Safety net: These unions are often low-conflict, with couples behaving like a team. It's a "safety marriage," says Vicki Larson, who along with her co-author Susan Pease Gadoua wrote the recent book The New I Do: Reshaping Marriage for Skeptics, Realists and Rebels. "You give into the marriage with the expectation of 'I'll take care of you if you take care of me.' "

Keywords: Relationships, Marriage
Format: Article
Source: The Globe and Mail
Note: Database version of article is titled "Navigating marriage as a high-functioning partnership: Power couples can help each other aspire to greatness - but it can be a tricky negotiation, especially when love is factored in"
Brain Candy by Malcolm Gladwell (2005)
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Excerpt / Summary:
Focuses on the claims made by author Steven Johnson that popular culture is making people smart. Background of Johnson; Description of the television programs during the 1970s; Significance of reality television programs to its viewers; Kinds of thinking involved in measuring intelligence.

Keywords: Popular culture
Format: Article
Source: The New Yorker
Bundle of Trouble: Kids are Supposed to Bring Joy So Why are Parents So Unhappy? by Robin Simon (2008)
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Excerpt / Summary:
Parents cope with stressors that cancel out and often exceed the emotional rewards of having children. Making matters worse, parents and others perceive the strain as a private matter and a reflection of their inability to cope with the “normal” demands of parenthood.

Keywords: Psychology, Family
Format: Article
Source: Utne Reader
Copyright Note: Reproduction requires permission of author/ publisher.
The Canadian politician who could teach Americans a lesson in love by Dean Obeidallah (2017)
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Excerpt / Summary:
In the case of this incident, the politician who was subject to this barrage of anti-Muslim comments, Jagmeet Singh, is not even Muslim. Singh, who is running to be the head of the New Democratic Party, one of Canada's political parties, could've simply told the heckler, "I'm not a Muslim. I'm a Sikh." But he didn't. Nor did he respond by screaming at the heckler or publicly dismissing her as a bigot.

Keywords: Politics, Discrimination
Format: Article
Source: CNN
Comedy in the age of outrage: When jokes go too far by Nicholas Barber (2015)
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Excerpt / Summary:
"To be honest, it probably won’t, but it does include several remarks made by comedians, and there is a growing feeling that comedians can no longer say anything without offending somebody. All it takes is one joke to be taken out of context and quoted on Twitter or Facebook, and a comic can expect a storm of invective from people who are either outraged or pretending to be."

Keywords: Humour, Political correctness
Format: Article
Source: BBC
Comedy should punch up, not kick down by Geo Takach (2022)
Recommended for summary
Recommended for COM111
Teaching Note: Pairs with "Science deconstructs humor: What makes some things funny?"
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Keywords: Communication; Society and Culture
Format: Article
Source: The Conversation
Coming to an Awareness of Language by Malcolm X
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Excerpt / Summary:
In the following selection taken from the Autobiography, Malcolm X narrates his discovery while in prison of the power of language.

Keywords:
Format: Essay
Source: Genius.com
Notes: Students will need context
The Cycle by Jose Bautista (2015)
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Excerpt / Summary:
I was extremely fortunate to grow up middle class in Santo Domingo, but I was in the minority. Most of the kids I grew up playing with were from extreme poverty. Their houses often had dirt floors. They couldn’t afford basic necessities like three meals a day, let alone baseball cleats. In the Dominican Republic, the whole dream of going to college, getting a good paying job and working for 40 years is just that — a dream. It’s not reality. In Third World countries, those options don’t exist for most people. You hear that sob story a lot though, right? You’re almost blind to it. And when those poor kids go on to sign a professional baseball contract, it’s like winning the lottery. The reality is a lot more complicated.

Keywords: Immigration
Format: Article
Source: Player's Tribune
Donald Trump and American’s New Civil War by Omar El Akkad (2017)
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Excerpt / Summary:
Barack Obama's presidency was supposed to mark a great leap forward for the United States. But, as Omar El Akkad discovered as he travelled across America this year, the election of Donald J. Trump has turned the country against itself. Scenes from a divided nation

Keywords: Politics
Format: Article
Source: The Globe and Mail
Do Noah and the Lego Movie Have Hidden Agendas? by Tom Brook (2014)
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Excerpt / Summary:
Critics claim recent films contain subversive political messages. Could pro-business Hollywood be knowingly embracing anti-establishment views?

Keywords: Politics, Pop Culture
Format: Article
Source: BBC
Facebook is a harmful presence in our lives. It’s not too late to pull the plug on it by Jathan Sadowski (2021)
Recommended for summary
Teaching Note: Might be better for COM 101 than COM 111
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Keywords: Media and Technology;Society and Culture
Format: Article
Source: The Guardian
The Future of TV by Adam Sternbergh (2018)
Recommended for summary
Recommended for COM111
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Keywords: Society and Culture
Format: Article
Source: The Walrus
Here’s What I’m Telling My Brown Son About Trump’s America by Mira Jacob (2016)
Recommended for COM111
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Keywords: Identity, Society & culture
Format: Article
Source: Buzzfeed News
Homeless in Paradise by Lawrence Solomon (1998)
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Excerpt / Summary:
In the 1960s and 1970s, homelessness was virtually unknown in North America, the term not even in public parlance. In 1964, Columbia University researchers scoured four Manhattan parks to count those sleeping there: They found one man. Likewise, in Chicago, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Montreal, and other major cities, homelessness was the exception and not the rule. In the 1960s, big city newspapers rarely ran stories on the homeless, unlike the last decade when they averaged one homeless story every two days.

Keywords: Poverty
Format: Article
Source: Urban Renaissance Institute
The Horrifying Consequences of Anti-Trans Attacks by Fae Johnstone (2023)
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Keywords: Canadian Content, Identity, Society & Culture
Format: Article
Source: Walrus
How Butter Chicken Poutine Came to Define a Nation - The Ethnic Aisle by Niya Bajaj (2015)
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Excerpt / Summary:
Butter chicken poutine could be the poster child for Canadian food culture, marrying as it does some tender, saucy chicken with French fries and paneer, cheese curds or mozzarella. Yes, it successfully fuses different culinary traditions into a comforting dish. But is it more than the sum of its parts, or merely a fatty, salty, Frankenstein example of gastronomic appropriation and industrial profiteering? For both culinary and cultural reasons, the foundations of this fusion food are worth investigating.

Keywords: Multiculturalism
Format: Blog Post
Source: Author's Blog
I'm a Banana and Proud of it by Wayson Choy (1997)
Recommended for COM111
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Excerpt / Summary:
"Because both my parents came from China, I took Chinese. But I cannot read or write Chinese and barely speak it. I love my North American citizenship. I don’t mind being called a “banana,” yellow on the outside and white inside. I’m proud I’m a banana."

Keywords:
Format: Essay
Source: The Globe and Mail
I'm working to unlearn the racism I internalized as a biracial kid by Brandon Yan (2020)
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Excerpt / Summary: Growing up as a mixed race kid in a white suburb, I learned to internalize a lot of white supremacy. Delving into my Chinese roots is part of healing that, writes Brandon Yan.

Keywords: Canadian content, Identity, Society & Culture
Format: Article
Source: CBC
I Can't Stop Thinking About Moms Who Are Separated From Their Families—Like Mine Was by Pascale Diverlus (2018)
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Keywords: Canadian Content, Economic issues Identity, Society & culture
Format: Article
Source: Flare
I Didn't Love My Wife When We Got Married by Elad Nahoral (2013)
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Excerpt / Summary:
"Like most Hasidic Jews (we both became religious later in life), our dating period lasted a very short time. After two months of dating, we were engaged. Three months after that, we were married.

And that whole time I was swooning. This fire was burning in me, a fire that burned just like that second date: I was in love. But then we got married, and everything changed."""

Keywords: Relationships, Marriage
Format: Essay
Source: Huffington Post
If cities don’t want homeless encampments they should help people, not punish them by Penny Gurstein (2022)
Recommended for summary
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Keywords: Economic Issues; Society and Culture
Format: Article
Source: The Conversation
If we’re serious about ending violence against women, we need to talk about culture by Fiona Vera-Gray (2021)
Recommended for summary
Teaching Note: ITrigger warning (article discusses sexual violence)
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Keywords: Media and Technology;Society and Culture
Format: Article
Source: The Guardian
I got a camera to spy on my cat - and it made me question everything about myself by Haley Nahman (2021)
Recommended for COM111
Recommended for summary
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Keywords: Media and Technology; Society and Culture; Identity
Format: Article
Source: The Guardian
I shouldn’t have to lose weight for my wedding. So why do I feel like a failure? by Scaachi Koul (2018)
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Keywords: Society & culture; Psychology; Gender
Format: Article
Source: Buzzfeed
It's a White Industry. It Just is by Chris Rock (2014)
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Excerpt / Summary:
Writing for THR's current issue, the 'Top Five' writer, director and star tackles Hollywood's third rail as he explains what it's really like to be black in the entertainment industry (hint: you get asked to be Huggy Bear, not Starsky or Hutch) and the "slave state" of Mexicans: "If Kevin Hart is playing 40,000 seats a night, and Jon Stewart is playing 3,000 ... why does Kevin Hart have to cross over?"

Keywords: Racism, Popular culture
Format: Essay
Source: Hollywood Reporter
It Does Not Matter If You Are Good by Eric Thomas (2020)
Recommended for summary
Teaching Note: Pairs well with issues related to racism, oppression and identity.
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Keywords: Identity; Society and Culture
Format: Article
Source: Elle.com
I’m sick of society telling women we must protect ourselves from violent men by Tayo Bero (2021)
Recommended for COM111
Recommended for summary
Teaching Note: Trigger warning strongly suggested
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Keyword: Society and Culture
Format: Article
Source: The Guardian
The Last Jedi is the Most Populist Star Wars Movie Yet by Abraham Riesman (2017)
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Excerpt / Summary:
The Star Wars franchise has long been identified as populist art in the sense of its appeal to audiences: It’s what the industry refers to as a “four-quadrant” endeavor, targeted at anyone and everyone, and diametrically opposed to the gatekeeping snobbery of the art house. But for 30 years, we’ve loved a mythology that lionized troublingly elitist characters, organizations, and themes. Not so with The Last Jedi, which is the first politically populist film in the saga. It’s a Star Wars for the 99 percent.

Keywords: Popular culture
Format: Article
Source: Vulture
The long Irish 19th century is finally over by Fintan O'Toole (2018)
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Excerpt / Summary:
The Victorian notion of charity is dying, along with Catholicism and Anglophobia

Keywords: Culture
Format: Article
Source: Irish Times
No more white saviours, thanks: how to be a true anti-racist ally by Nova Reid (2021)
Recommended for summary
Teaching Note: Integrates a lot of catchprhases - strong in terms of rhetoric (pathos). Good for self-reflection, Discussion Board thread to have students reflect, share experiences and/or have a better understanding of 'performative acts' of allyship.
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Keywords: Identity;Society and Culture
Format: Article
Source: The Guardian
No Place for Self-Pity, No Room for Fear by Toni Morrison (2015)
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Excerpt / Summary:
In times of dread, artists must never choose to remain silent.

Keywords: Politics, Art
Format: Article
Source: The Nation
The Problem With Anointing the Celebrity Feminist by Koa Beck (2021)
Recommended for summary
Teaching Note: Everyone Should be a Feminist
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Keywords: Identity;Society and Cultur
Format: Article
Source: Jezebel
Pulling together: Canada's Chinese celebrate the promise of a better life by David Lam (1995)
Recommended for summary
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Excerpt / Summary:
A Chinese immigrant to Canada who is now the lieutenant-governor of British Columbia urges other immigrants to fully integrate into Canadian society. He believes some of the keys to achieving true diversity are: acceptance, belonging and contribution.

Keywords: Diversity
Format: Article
Source: Maclean's
Seeing the forest for the trees: There’s long been mistrust between the public and the forestry industry by Peter Kuitenbrouwer (2022)
Note: Version on The Globe and Mail website is titled "Canadians love forests. So why don’t they feel the same way about foresters?"
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Keywords: Canadian Content, Environmental Issues, Society & Culture
Format: Newspaper Article
Source: The Globe and Mail
The Shadow Behind Black Mothers and Their Sons by Christin Drake (2020)
Recommended for COM111
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Excerpt / Summary: A Black mother describes her many hopes for her child, and all come tinged with a nagging dread.

Keywords: Identity, Society & culture
Format: Article
Source: The New York Times
Squid Game highlights plight of South Korean workers sacrificed for nation’s economic gain by Greg Sharzer and Sudol Kang (2021)
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Keywords: Employment; Society and Culture; Identity
Format: Article
Source: The Conversation
The Stigma of Fast Food Work by Joey Franklin (2016)
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Keywords: Employment; Identity; Society and Culture
Format: Article
Source: Utne Reader
Stop freaking out about Cambridge Analytica. Targeted ads are great by Sonny Bunch (2018)
Recommended for summary
Recommended for COM111
Teaching Note: Important to include articles that students might plausibly want to argue *against*; the vast majority of existing articles in the reading bank represent viewpoints that most students likely agree with, making it hard for them to think of ways to engage in debate with them
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Keywords: Media and Technology; Society and Culture
Format: Article
Source: The Washington Post
To accurately portray histories, museums need to do more than ‘reimagine’ galleries by Umbrin Bukan (2022)
Recommended for summary
Recommended for COM111
Teaching Note: Pairs well with any Indigenous reading. Good to contextualize an example of effecting change in a realistic manner re: colonization. Good for discussions surrounding colonial legacies etc.
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Keywords: Indigenous Issues; Society and Culture; Canadian Content
Format: Article
Source: The Conversation
Today's Superpower Is Doing One Thing at a Time by Oliver Buckerman (2023)
Recommended for COM111
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Keywords: Communication, Identity, Society & Culture
Format: Article
Source: The New York Times
Trading Motherhood for Dollars by Crisanta Sampang (2015)
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Excerpt / Summary:
Crisanta Sampang describes the experience of so many mothers working in Canada to support their children elsewhere

Keywords: Immigration
Format: Essay
Source: Author's blog
Was Hiroshima Necessary? Why the Atomic Bombings Could Have Been Avoided by Mark Weber (1997)
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Excerpt / Summary:
Even before the Hiroshima attack, American air force General Curtis LeMay boasted that American bombers were "driving them [Japanese] back to the stone age." Henry H. ("Hap") Arnold, commanding General of the Army air forces, declared in his 1949 memoirs: "It always appeared to us, atomic bomb or no atomic bomb, the Japanese were already on the verge of collapse." This was confirmed by former Japanese prime minister Fumimaro Konoye, who said: "Fundamentally, the thing that brought about the determination to make peace was the prolonged bombing by the B-29s."

Keywords: History, War
Format: Article
Source: Institute for Historical Review
We Don’t Need Threads. We Need a Break by Angela Misri (2023)
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Keywords: Society & Culture, Media & Technology
Format: Article
Source: Walrus
Wellness Begins at Home, But Where Is That? by Shazlin Rahman (2018)
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Keywords: Society & culture, Identity
Format: Article
Source: The Ethnic Aisle (website)
We should all pledge to respect Canadian values by Rosie Di Manno (2016)
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Excerpt / Summary:
Maybe then their teenage daughter would have been permitted to attend her own high school graduation party. Because girls in my family were not allowed out in the evenings without a chaperone - as in the old country.

Keywords: Multiculturalism
Format: Article
Source: Toronto Star
What Sports Have Taught Me About Race in America by Kareen Abdul-Jabbar (2018)
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Excerpt / Summary:
Sports is one of the few areas in which Americans of all races can talk to each other. Right now, it may be the country’s best hope for meaningful dialogue.

Keywords: Sports, Racism, Activism
Format: Article
Source: The Guardian
When Mountains Were Ugly by Kathy Kelleher (2019)
Note: A little long (3000 words)
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Keywords: Nature; Society & culture
Format: Article
Source: Hazlitt
Who is ‘the public?’ The answer shapes how we address homelessness by Timothy Martin (2022)
Recommended for summary
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Keywords: Economic Issues; Society and
Culture; Canadian Content
Format: Article
Source: The Conversation
Why it's important not to lose oral storytelling by Waubgeshig Rice (2020)
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Keywords: Indigenous, Society & culture
Format: Article
Source: The Globe and Mail
Why Managers Fear a Remote-Work Future by Ed Zitron (2021)
Recommended for COM111
Recommended for summary
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Keywords: Health and Wellness; Society and Culture; Employment; Economic Issue
Format: Article
Source: The Atlantic
Why STEM Students Need Humanities Courses byJohn Horgan (2018)
Recommended for summary
Recommended for COM111
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Keywords: Society and Culture; Education
Format: Article
Source: Scientific American Blog
Why You Need to Stop Saying "All Lives Matter" by Rachel Elizabeth Cargle (2020)
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Keywords: Identity, Society & Culture
Format: Article
Source: Marie Claire
Yes, there is a cure for bullshit by Brian Gallagher (2023)
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Keywords: Media & Technology, Science & Ethics, Society & Culture
Format: Article
Source: Big Think
Zoos are Prisons for Animals by Romesh Ranganathan (2017)
Recommended for COM111
Recommended for summary
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Keywords: Science & Ethics, Society & Culture
Format: Article
Source: The Guardian