Synthesis Option #1
on “Blue-Collar Brilliance” by Mike Rose AND “The Case for
Working With Your Hands by Matthew B. Crawford (I found the Crawford article, by the way, in Chapter 5 of Acting Out Culture).
Cultural perceptions of blue-collar work are examined in both essays. Rose looks at not only perceptions of manual labor but also at the people who perform it. Crawford challenges our ideas about how we value blue-collar work as less meaningful and less valuable than white-collar work.
Your assignment is to synthesize these two articles. Devise a thesis that is broad enough to encompass the ideas from both articles and then draw information from the articles to support your thesis. Hint: Look for a perspective that emerges that might be bigger, in a sense, or more comprehensive than what is offered in either essay. IMPORTANT: Do not to forget to include references to the following vocabulary to help guide your reader: rules, norms, social scripts, and roles.
Before writing consider the following rhetorical points:
Purpose: To demonstrate a close reading of two essays and synthesize their ideas into a single response essay. Be specific and refer to particular passages (use MLA for in-text citations) within the text as you analyze the soundness and relevance of ideas and examples presented.
