We continued our discussion of Rose's essay "Shopping and Other Spiritual Adventures in America Today." We discussed the meaning of Rose's claim that American materialism is not materialistic. We explored her argument by considering the general Christian view of the body as evil, something that inhibits spirituality. In contrast, revealed doctrine teaches that the physical body is essential to the exaltation of the spirit. Likewise in this world, material goods and the experience of selecting from among them (shopping) is a significant part of our day-to-day experiences. As spiritual beings with a physical dimension, we must be careful not to downplay the significance of the material world. Sometimes in a well meaning effort to focus on the things of eternity, we almost take pride in our supposed superiority to materialism. Students do not have to agree fully with Rose's argument, but they should make the effort to understand it before critiquing it. Students should ensure that they understand what Rose means when she says critics of American materialism take it too materialistically.
Homework: In class students received a hard copy of the full rhetorical précis format. They should write a first ROUGH draft of a précis for Rose's article. We will work on revising it during class tomorrow.
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