One World, Many Cultures, 10th edition

For courses in English Composition.

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

The 10th 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 10th 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.

Editorial apparatus and hallmark features

• The introduction covers the important aspects of critical reading, keeping a journal, and responding to the text and includes a sample selection by Edward T. Hall (“Hidden Culture”) for students to annotate. Chapter introductions discuss the theme of each chapter as related to the individual selections.
• Biographical sketches preceding each reading give background information on the writer’s life and identify the cultural, historical, and personal context in which the selection was written.
• Prompts (“Before You Read”) that precede each selection alert students to an important cultural idea expressed in the selection. Relevant background information is provided for unfamiliar ethnic groups before the selections.
• “Evaluating the Text” questions ask readers to think critically about the content, meaning, and purpose of the selections and to evaluate the author’s rhetorical strategy, timeliness, and voice.
• The questions in “Exploring Different Perspectives” focus on relationships between readings within each chapter that illuminate differences and similarities between cultures. These questions encourage readers to make connections among diverse cultures, to understand the writer’s values and beliefs, to enter into the viewpoints of others, and to understand how culture shapes perception and a sense of self.
• “Extending Viewpoints through Writing and Research” questions invite readers to extend their thinking by seeing wider relationships between themselves and others through writing of many different kinds, including personal or expressive as well as expository and persuasive writing and more formal research papers.
• “Connecting Cultures” features at the end of each chapter challenge readers to make connections and comparisons among selections within the chapter and throughout the book. These questions provide opportunities to consider additional cross-cultural perspectives on a single issue or to explore a particular topic in depth.
• Appendices include a geographical index, a pronunciation guide, a map of the world highlighting the countries mentioned in the text, and a subject index.

New readings and a new chapter in the 10th Edition

• NEW! 18 new readings—comprising a third of the book—represent an expanded range of countries (including Egypt, Nigeria, Mali, Bosnia, Sweden, Cuba, Iran, Cambodia and Laos), ethnicities and voices that introduce students to good writing from multiple contexts and perspectives.
• NEW! A new chapter, “Love and Marriage” explores the forces that shape gender roles and presents the experiences of those who overcame cultural barriers.

New readings and a new chapter in the 10th Edition

• Eighteen new readings—a third of the book—represent an expanded range of countries (including Egypt, Nigeria, Mali, Bosnia, Sweden, Cuba, Iran, Cambodia and Laos), ethnicities and voices that introduce students to good writing from multiple contexts and perspectives.
• A new chapter, “Love and Marriage” explores the forces that shape gender roles and presents the experiences of those who overcame cultural barriers.