For courses in English Composition.

This truly global multicultural reader highlights contemporary selections by internationally acclaimed authors

The Tenth Edition of One World, Many Cultures is a global, contemporary reader whose international and multicultural selections offer a new direction for freshman composition courses. In eight thematic chapters consisting of readings by internationally recognized writers from 24 countries, the text explores cultural differences and displacement in relation to race, class, gender, region, and nation.

One World, Many Cultures also reflects the emphasis on cultural studies and argumentation that has become an integral part of many college programs. Featuring compelling and provocative writings by authors from the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America, the text’s 52 nonfiction selections--including essays and autobiographies, one short story, and the questions that follow each selection--encourage readers to perceive the relationship between a wide range of experiences in different cultures and the corresponding experiences of writers within the United States.

The Tenth Edition continues to provide a rich sampling of accounts by authentic voices, with 18 new readings and an all-new chapter on the forces that shape gender roles and the experiences of those who have overcome cultural barriers.

Stuart Hirschberg is an Associate Professor in the Department of English at Rutgers: The State University of New Jersey, Newark. He has written scholarly works on Yeats and on Ted Hughes, and with co-author Terry Hirschberg, has authored eleven college textbooks. His research interests include cross-cultural and multicultural studies, visual rhetoric, and popular culture.

Rhetorical Contents

Preface

Introduction

1. Family and Friends

Fred Pearce, “TV as Birth Control,” India/Mexico/Brazil

Joe Bageant, “Valley of the Gun,” United States

Meeta Kaur, “Journey by Inner Light,” India/United States

Neal Gabler, “The Social Networks,” United States

Gary Shteyngart, “Sixty-Nine Cents,” Russia/United States

Dr. Rose Ihedigbo, “Sandals in the Snow,” Nigeria/United States

Connecting Cultures

2. Life Experiences

Sucheng Chan, “You’re Short, Besides!” China/United States

Enid Schildkrout, “Body Art as Visual Language,” United States

Anwar F. Accawi, “The Telephone,” Lebanon

Reyna Grande, “The Distance between Us,” Mexico

Connecting Cultures

3. Love and Marriage

Anchee Min, “The Cooked Seed,” China/United States

Loung Ung, “Double Happiness,” Cambodia/United States

Firoozeh Dumas, “The Wedding,” Iran/United States

Shoba Narayan, “Monsoon Wedding,” India

Connecting Cultures

4. Working Lives

Helena Norberg-Hodge, “Learning from Ladakh,” India

José Antonio Burciaga, “My Ecumenical Father,” Mexico

Chitra Divakaruni, “Live Free and Starve,” India

Julia Cooke, “Amigos,” Cuba

Joshua Hammer, “The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu,” Mali

Peter Hessler, “The Restaurant Owner,” China

Connecting Cultures

5. Class

Judith Ortiz Cofer, “The Myth of the Latin Woman,” Puerto Rico/United States

Immaculée Ilibagiza, “Left to Tell,” Rwanda

Mary Crow Dog and Richard Erdoes, “Civilize Them with a Stick,” Lakota

Jo Goodwin Parker, “What Is Poverty?” United States

Gordon Parks, “Flavio’s Home,” Brazil

Oksana Marafioti, “The Curbs of Beverly Hills,” Russia/United States

Don Kulick and Thaïs Machado-Borges, “Leaky,” Brazil

Connecting Cultures

6. Strangers in a Strange Land

Amparo B. Ojeda, “Growing Up American: Doing the Right Thing,” Philippines/United States

André Aciman, “Out of Egypt,” Egypt

Gustavo Perez Firmat, “This Must Be the Place,” Cuba/United States

Stephen Chapman, “The Prisoner’s Dilemma,” Pakistan

Piers Hernu, “Norway’s Ideal Prison,” Norway

Poranee Natadecha-Sponsel, “Individualism as an American Cultural Value,” Thailand/United States

Elizabeth W. and Robert A. Fernea, “A Look Behind the Veil,” Saudi Arabia

Connecting Cultures

7. Food for Thought

Marcus Samuelsson, “Helga,” Sweden

David R. Counts, “Too Many Bananas,” New Guinea

Aleksandar Hemon, “Family Dining,” Bosnia

Ethel G. Hofman, “An Island Passover,” Scotland

Andrew X. Pham, “Foreign-Asians,” Vietnam

Frederick Douglass, “My Bondage and My Freedom,” United States

Joseph K. Skinner, “Big Mac and the Tropical Forests,” Costa Rica

Connecting Cultures

8. Customs

Harold Miner, “Body Ritual among the Nacirema,” United States

Philip Slater, “Want-Creation Fuels Americans’ Addictiveness,” United States

Valerie Steele and John S. Major, “China Chic: East Meets West,” China

Eugene Linden, “Shamans, Healers and Experiences I Can’t Explain,” Republic of the Congo

Kao Kalia Yang, “Walking Back Alone,” Laos/United States

Gino Del Guercio, “The Secrets of Voodoo in Haiti,” Haiti

Connecting Cultures

Pronunciation Key

Credits

Geographical Index

Index of Authors and Titles