Unit Three -- Urban Legends

In our final unit we will look at Jan Brunvand's Too Good To Be True: The Colossal Book of Urban Legends, to see what various urban legends have in common, how they differ, and why that matters. We will talk about common sights and scenes: the dark road, the dorm room, the first date, the evening of babysitting. What do these myths tell us about whom we are afraid of? What we want or need? What we think about each other and the roles we play in our social drama? We'll consider urban legends as arguments about these issues and use them to practice some rhetorical analysis skills. We'll analyze who's telling us these stories, what they think we want or fear, and how they get us to believe them.