For this assignment, you are to analyze your own experiences with alcohol or observations of American drinking culture in relation to the Chrzan text. Pick a theme or themes from the book and write about how your own experiences/observations fit with or challenge Chrzan’s arguments. You can write about personal experiences with alcohol, but absolutely do not have to. There are numerous ways you can write this paper, but you should not simply summarize the book. You can choose from the ideas below, but are not limited to these options.
Do your own observations and experiences support Chrzan’s arguments about how different historical processes continue to shape American drinking behavior and views of alcohol?
Explain how social factors such as age, gender, class, religion, and geography have shaped your own experiences with alcohol or what you have observed.
Explore Chrzan’s analysis of alcohol advertising. You can write about one or more themes or arguments from chapter 6 (tropes, myths, gender, status, freedom, escape, etc.). Do you agree or disagree with Chrzan?
Examine Chrzan’s analysis of drinking by college students and the conclusions she reaches. Do you agree or disagree with her? Have you seen similar drinking behaviors by friends, family, peers, etc. during your lifetime?
There are many other topics from the book that you can write about, but your goal is to bring together material from the book with your own experiences and/or observations. You must cite specific pages from the book at least four times in your paper. Your paper should be 750-1200 words in length.
Your grade will be determined according to the following criteria (200 pts. total):
1) Meeting requirements for length and citations: 20 pts.
2) Grammar, spelling, and punctuation: 33 pts.
3) Content –integrating your experiences/observations and the book, using terms from the book, displaying mastery and understanding of the text, discussion is substantive: 100 pts.
4) Writing – should be clear and concise: 34 pts.
5) Organization – logical progression of sentences and paragraphs, the paper flodeows well and is cohesive: 13 pts.