College Writing Program

Reasoning & Writing in the College WRT 105/105E, 108 and 245

(formerly CAS 105/105E and 245)

Spring 2010

Each section has a unique content and grows out of the general WRT 105/105E course description developed by the Interdisciplinary College Writing Committee.

**Courses address issues of diversity

Writing about Cultural Studies

**The Politics of Sport
Tanya Bakhmetyeva, College Writing Program
CRN 88924 MW 12:30 - 1:45
CRN 89040 MW 2:00 - 3:15

The Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008 were held under the slogan “One World, One Dream”, which was supposed to “reflect the … universal values of the Olympic spirit – Unity, Friendship, Progress, Harmony, Participation and Dream.” These values suggest that sports rise above political ambitions, goals, and gains. Yet, the history of the Olympic Games – and of sports in general - shows that athletic competitions are often used for political statements and gains. Does such politicization hurt sports? Should sports and politics be separated? Should sports ignore what is happening in the world? Through reading, watching, and writing, we will explore international and national athletic events (such as the US boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics, the famous “Miracle on ice”, the Beijing Olympics, and others) to investigate how sports affect politics and how politics affect sports. In the true Olympic spirit, we will work together (through peer-reviews and self-assessments) to develop our writing and critical skills. Writing assignments include informal papers, three shorter argumentative essays, and a final research paper.

Art and Consumer Culture
Bryce Condit, Department of English
CRN 89027 TR 12:30 - 1:45

What is the aim of art and how do we define it? We traditionally like to make a clear distinction between serious art and commercial art, yet what happens when that line gets compromised? For instance, does the image of the Mona Lisa mean the same thing when it’s taken outside the context of the museum, and placed in a toothpaste ad? This class will consider the implications of such aesthetic/economic relationships in a cross-disciplinary sampling of works from the 20th century. Throughout the semester we will ask such questions as: What is consumer culture?  What is art?  What is the relationship between them?  Can either influence our perceptions of the other, and if so in what ways?

Students will engage these and other issues as they develop, test, and communicate their ideas by writing a series of short papers and one longer 8-10 page paper on such works as Walter Benjamin’s “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction,” Jean-Pierre Melville’s Le Samouraï and Andy Warhol’s 192 One-Dollar Bills. Class discussions, peer review, and self-assessments will be required to aid students in the invention process and to facilitate ongoing revision. Interdisciplinary perspectives are welcome.

**Dysfunctional American Families
Justin Coyne, Department of English
CRN 88621 MW 12:30 - 1:45

 “All unhappy families are unhappy in their own way.” Tolstoy

How do we define ourselves in relation to our families? What does it mean to belong to a family and how do the issues of race, class, gender, nationality, politics, and religion intersect in our experiences of family life? In what ways do we defy, deny, accept, and extend our families throughout the various stages of our life? This class will address these questions by examining how unspoken narratives in both fictional and factual representations of American families shape the identities of fictional characters and reveal the ideological values of creators as well.

Weekly assignments will cover various literary genres and visual mediums and our in-class discussions of these materials will be oriented around close, critical reading practices which will lay the foundation for clear, precise, and persuasive reader-based essays. Students will submit three shorter essays and an 8-10 page research paper. The writing process itself will involve drafting, peer review, self-assessment, and revision.

**Reforming America's Schools
Burke Scarbrough, Warner School
CRN 88874 TR 12:30 - 1:45
CRN 88883 TR 2:00 - 3:15

It is nearly impossible to open a newspaper without reading a critique of America’s schools. Headlines, editorials, and famous school tragedies raise a host of complaints: schools are dangerous, students are undisciplined, public education is a failure, teachers are apathetic and undertrained, applying to college is overly stressful, all that matter are standardized tests, American students won’t be able to compete with students from other countries, a decent education is only available to the rich. Even as a growing number of reform initiatives attempt to revolutionize American schools, success stories appear few and far between.

As a student in “Reforming America’s Schools,” you will have one overall semester project: to design your own school. From the first day of class, you will shape and revise a proposal for a new elementary, middle, or high school to be opened somewhere in America. As a class, our goals throughout the semester will be to read a range of perspectives on school reform, discuss some of the most controversial issues about the nature and purpose of education, and use various genres of writing to develop your proposed schools. Our ongoing discussions will be informed by the diverse work of educators, social scientists, journalists, activists, parents, and other students. Though the class is organized around a particular project, the skills you develop as writers and thinkers will be crucial in any discipline. You will learn to self-assess your writing for clarity, sound argument, and rich research, knowing that your goal all semester is to design the most effective school possible and to build support for it. Your short response papers, formal analysis papers and final research paper will help you elaborate your school proposal more fully. Meanwhile, you will bring your expertise as longtime students to each other’s work through discussion and peer review. Above all, we will challenge some of our most basic assumptions about school and allow ourselves to “think outside the box” as you propose your own answer to the constant calls for reform in American education.

Disease and Society
Katherine Schaefer, Department of Medicine
CRN 89016 TR 4:50 - 6:05

In 2008, total health care spending represented 17 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) 1, and current projections suggest that this fraction will rise rapidly in the years to come. As a society, we have to make choices about how to spend on health care, balancing the desire to achieve the best possible health for everyone with the reality of limited resources. Underlying these decisions are both ethical and practical concerns, and a coherent national health care plan requires clear answers to a number of questions. For instance, which diseases get the most attention and why? Are contagious diseases in a different class from heart disease, cancer, and diabetes? What about diseases that are devastating but that affect only a few people? How do we divide scarce resources between prevention and cure? In this class, we will explore these issues using readings, class discussions and written assignments.

Students will read and analyze a variety of sources, including books aimed at general audiences, opinion articles from medical journals, health care policy journals, and the popular press, and scientific articles detailing costs and outcomes of various approaches. Drawing from these sources, students will write three shorter argumentative papers and one comprehensive 8-10 page end of term paper. Peer feedback, self-assessment, and revision of multiple drafts will allow the student to develop the skills necessary to construct logical arguments and write persuasive essays in the academic style.

1 Hellander I. The deepening crisis in U.S. health care: a review of data, Spring 2008. Int J Health Serv 2008;38:607-23.

Literacy, Language & Identity: The Social & Cultural Influences of New Technologies
Lisabeth Tinelli, Warner School
CRN 88895 MWF 10:00 - 10:50

Web 2.0: fad or affordance? What are New Literacies? How do they influence our perceptions of identity and self? How do new technologies, such as gaming software, video cams, online social communities, and search engines impact our conceptions of literacy? How do they change the ways we engage in socialization? This course will examine how different modalities, such as blogs, wikis, and other new technologies have cultural and social implications. Throughout the course, students will receive multiple opportunities to investigate questions such as these using the exploratory nature of writing and its ability to serve as a learning tool. Processes of self-assessment, peer review and critique, draft writing, revision, and editing will be used to develop scholarly writing that reflects purpose, readability, objectivity, style, and professionalism. Students will become critical readers of texts detailing the new and changing conditions of literacy, language, and identity under contemporary social, economic, cultural, and political conditions. Students will examine the merits of such works as What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy by James Gee, Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet by Sherry Turkle, and Blogs, Wikis, Myspace and More by Terry Burrows. In addition to several formal essays and informal papers, the final paper (8-10 pages) will provide a structured experience for students to capitalize on all aspects of peer feedback, develop and construct an argument in academic writing, and learn to become confident in their role as academic writers.

Wiseguys & Goodfellas: Organized Crime in Popular Culture
Katie Van Wert, Department of English
CRN 88712 TR 9:40 - 10:55

What should we make of the recent explosion in popular representations of organized crime? What are the powers and limitations of the genre of crime fiction? What sort of window does the genre open onto issues of violence, gender, family, justice, and American identity? In what ways is the Mafia like any American business? If murder, prostitution, and drugs are the name of the game, why does my little brother have a poster of Scarface on his wall? To answer these and other questions, we'll look at new and old classics such as The Godfather and The Departed, television incarnations such as The Sopranos, various nonfiction accounts of organized crime culture, and critical scholarship on the subject. Our main approaches will be discussion, weekly reading and writing assignments, and a final research paper. Focusing on writing workshops, revision, peer review, and self-evaluation, the course will emphasize sustained critical thinking and development of argumentative writing skills. Please be aware that this course has some violent content; contact the instructor for more information.

 

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Writing about English Language and Literature

**Crossing Oceans of Space
Esther Arnold, Department of English
CRN 88730 TR 3:25 - 4:40

How do we feel when we gaze at the night sky, knowing its stars are light-years away? What happens to our sense of self when we think of all the people who lived before us, who live today, and who will live after us? Do these thoughts isolate us or strengthen our sense of belonging to the human race? Walt Whitman describes the soul as standing alone in “measureless oceans of space.” He suggests that we spend our lives trying, often unsuccessfully, to reach across that space to make connections with others. Whether we live in remote villages or crowded cities, we may feel there are vast distances — cultural, ideological, or emotional — separating us. How do we cross these oceans of space, time, and mind? We will discuss and write about this topic as it appears in a selection of short stories, poems, plays, and films. In the process, we may cross into territory explored by philosophers, psychologists, and cognitive scientists. You will be expected to participate in discussions and to do informal writing that will lay the groundwork for formal essays. There will be several short, analytical papers and one 8-10 page research paper, all involving multiple revisions, peer reviews, and self-assessments.

Literature & Theory of Trauma
Matthew Bayne, Department of English
CRN 88781 TR 9:40 - 10:55

**Warning** Please be advised that this course will deal with potentially unsettling materials. Although the course will be analytical in nature, it may not suit all sensibilities. Please feel free to contact me, at mwbayne@gmail.com, if you have specific questions.

This course will examine the concept of “trauma” from an interdisciplinary perspective, taking into account specific modes of traumatic experience such as: illness, torture, war, internment, and social marginalization. One of the recurring course questions will be: how does the relation of language, writing, and narration function with respect to the (re)-articulation of trauma? Other overarching thematic concerns may include: To what extent can trauma be invoked as a means of analyzing sites of social injustice? What are the ethical complications of being a witness? How does one bear witness or memorialize traumatic experience without further enacting trauma? What are the interrelations between bodily trauma, notions of cultural/political trauma, and the replication of the traumatic at the level of everyday events?

I anticipate the course will feature a variety of disciplinary and generic perspectives, from anthropological ethnography to graphic novels. Potential texts include: Art Spiegelman’s Maus, Susan Sontag’s Illness as Metaphor, Alain Resnais’s Hiroshima, Mon Amour, and Jennie Livingston’s documentary film, Paris is Burning. As representation will be integral to the course, class writing will be of utmost importance. Several short papers (a mixture of formal and informal writing projects) will be assigned with the intention of foregrounding peer assessment, revision, and editing. The course will culminate in an 8-10 page research paper, critically engaging the themes of the course.

Men in Film
Geoff Bender, Department of English
CRN 88642 TR 11:05 - 12:20

In the 1950s, John Wayne represented the prototypical dominant man in film: tough, in control, unflinching before danger, unfeeling. Then, along came Marlon Brando. From his earliest work, Brando exuded a toughness, even brutality, that matched Wayne’s, but he brought an emotional depth and vulnerability that changed the way a dominant masculinity could be enacted on the silver screen. Jack Nicholson said Brando was “the beginning and the end of his own revolution.” This course will consider Brando the beginning, but not the end, of a set of shifting representations of dominant masculinity in film from the 1950s to the present day that aim to link control with characterological depth. What motivated these representations, and what, beyond control and depth, made them dominant, however problematically? Our inquiry will include On the Waterfront, Raging Bull, Malcolm X, and Milk. Additional films will be added through input from the class. Film analysis will be framed, in part, by gender theory that seeks to understand ways in which gender and sexuality are constructed and deconstructed across a host of variables, such as race, class, and political orientation. We will also consider explanations offered by disciplines outside the social sciences.

Participants in this writing seminar will be expected to use writing in formal and informal ways to advance their ideas about our topic of inquiry. Three formal papers will emerge from a process that includes peer feedback, revision, and self-reflection, as solid arguments usually require time, reader reaction, and reconsideration to gain solidity and shape. Our writing, reading, and class discussions will build towards a culminating research project in which participants take up a question that interests them and is related to the course theme, conduct original research guided by this question, and develop a formal argument that unfolds over eight to ten pages of cogent, research-based prose.

**Autobiography and Self-Invention
Heidi Bollinger, Department of English
CRN 88748 TR 11:05 - 12:20

Talk show confessions, Myspace pages, driver's licenses, self-portraits, legal testimonies, private diaries, and published memoirs: these are all common examples of autobiography. Autobiographical writing allows us to construct our identities through language, and even reinvent ourselves by omitting, emphasizing, and inventing certain details. Autobiographical writing blurs the boundaries between fact and fiction, memory and imagination. How do we judge 'the truth' in autobiography? What authority does the autobiographical form carry? What are its limitations? How do writers use personal experience to comment on social and political issues? To explore these questions and more, we will examine readings by authors such as Frederick Douglass, Maxine Hong Kingston, Samuel R. Delany, Leslie Marmon Silko, Richard Rodriguez, and Audre Lorde, and films such as Twilight: Los Angeles and Persepolis. Part of the autobiographer's project is self-examination, and as we work on formal analytical essays about these readings, we will reflect on our own writing practices and practice new techniques for more effective interpretation and evaluation. Our formal writing projects will include several short argumentative papers and an 8-10 page argumentative research paper. This class will emphasize peer review, self-assessment, and revision as strategies for becoming more confident, effective writers in an academic and professional setting.

**Love & Transformation: From Beauty & the Beast to the Brat Pack
Kristi Castleberry, Department of English
CRN 88794 TR 9:40 - 10:55

In fairy tales, simply kissing a frog is enough to turn him into a prince. Love can transform anyone; it can turn a peasant girl into a princess or a beast into a prince. Tales of transformative love occur in much of literature and film. In fact, many modern films for teenagers follow the basic model – a cool boy turns nerdy girl into a prom queen, or vice versa. But what about this story is so alluring? Is there some connection between searching for a soul mate and searching for a true self? Is there a hope that the right person will unfold one’s potential? Are people looking for someone to simply change them into something new? What are the implications of such connections between love and personal identity? In this class, we will attempt to grapple with such questions through formal and informal writings and group discussions of a variety works, such as fairy tales like “Beauty and the Beast,” Greek/Roman myths like “Iphis and Ianthe,” medieval stories like Geoffrey Chaucer’s “Wife of Bath’s Tale,” and a variety of modern films. The main goal of the course is to engage in critical inquiry and to write organized and thoughtful essays using peer review, self-assessment, and revision. Students will practice various kinds of writing, and will ultimately produce an 8-10 page research paper.

The Black Death
Dianne Evanochko, Department of English
CRN 88767 TR 6:15 - 7:30

“Umana cosa è aver compassione degli afflitti”

These words are the opening line of Boccaccio’s Decameron: It is a human thing to have compassion for the afflicted. The affliction he speaks of is the Bubonic Plague that swept through Europe in the middle of the 14th century, killing more than a quarter of the population in a period of less than two years. The social and psychological ramifications of this event were staggering, and though Boccaccio’s introduction begins with these words of comfort, they beg the question of whether or not compassion truly was a ‘human thing.’ Did people truly respond to their loss with compassion? If not, how did they cope with such a sudden, terrifying, and catastrophic event, and is this reaction relevant in helping us understand how we respond to virulent and contagious illness in the modern world?

We will address these questions through both reflection and writing, examining literature, art, and historical accounts. The class will focus primarily on the writing process and the construction of thoughtful and analytical arguments with the aid of tools such as self assessment and peer review. The class work will consist of informal responses, in-class discussion, as well as three formal analytical papers.

Truth Universally (Un)Acknowledged– Jane Austen on Film
Andrea Everett, Department of English
CRN 88756 TR 9:40 - 10:55

The works of Jane Austen have given rise to a popular culture phenomenon, which notably manifests itself in movie adaptations for film and television. Some scholars suggest that such adaptations—for the general public—encourage the substitution of viewing for reading. This substitution seems to be to a greater or lesser extent problematic according to the degree of “truth” that the films maintain with regard to their source material. In this course, through reading several Austen texts (including Pride and Prejudice) and viewing various films, we will explore ways in which the medium of film and the creative decisions of filmmakers may alter the interpretation of Austen novels. Is the alteration significant? How do filmmakers deal with questions of feminism or eroticism, for example? Should the film version of a literary text be considered an adaptation or an interpretation? What are the critical implications of such a distinction? You will construct answers to these questions (as well as questions of your own) through class discussion, short essays, and a final 8-10 page research paper. The writing process will include peer feedback, drafting, revision, and self-assessment.

Adolescence in Comics
Elizbeth Goodfellow, Department of English
CRN 88801 TR 4:50 - 6:05

Comics, including longer works like graphic novels, have long played a part in popular and academic characterizations of adolescence. Long-standing debates continue to address whether or not comics make children and teenagers lazy readers, whether or not the themes depicted in these works are corrupting, and whether pop genres merely distract young adults from more serious works of literature. In our writing, we will weigh in on these controversies by examining various works of comics art together and consider what features of comics, particularly graphic novels, make them so appealing to both teenagers and authors/illustrators who address teenagers’ experiences. Comics theorist Scott McCloud writes that "the format [is] at once both and neither: a language all its own” (17). In what ways do comics and adolescence both straddle boundaries? How are these authors using text and image to construct their narratives? What do the preoccupations of these narratives tell us about adolescence, and have these themes remained consistent over time?

In addition to recent graphic novels such as Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis, Alison Bechdel's Fun Home, and Gene Luen Yang’s American Born Chinese, we will look at older comic books like Burne Hogarth's adaptation of Edgar Rice Burrough's Tarzan, and a variety of online works. This critical work will provide the basis for students’ own argumentation and analysis: a final 8-10 page research paper and several shorter essays. Peer review, self-assessment, and revision will be major elements of our work, as well.

McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. New York: Harper, 1994.

**Imagining the Nation in World Literatures
John Havard, Department of English
CRN 88668 TR 9:40 - 10:55

In his seminal study of nationalism entitled Imagined Communities, Benedict Anderson claimed that members of nations imagine their inclusion in their national community. Anderson’s theory illustrates that imaginative writings such as novels and short stories are a primary medium through which writers meditate upon the meaning of the nation, national identity, and the citizen’s relationship to her or his national community. In this course, we will explore how writers have thought about national issues by examining fictional works produced in a number of Western and non-Western countries. Potential readings may include, for example, Clorinda Matto de Turner’s Birds without a Nest and Tayeb Salih’s Season of Migration to the North. Students will develop expository, analytic, and argumentative skills as we explore questions, test ideas, and relate discoveries as we read and write about these works. Questions we explore may include the following: Why have theorists often resorted to imaginative rather than non-fictional writing to think about the nation? How do writers’ relationships to their nation determine the generic and thematic means they use to write about national identity? What challenges have such thinkers encountered when writing about ethnically diverse nations and how successfully have they addressed such challenges? These and other queries will guide discussions and initiate a revision-focused writing process through which students will produce written responses, short writing exercises, peer reviews, self-assessments, three formal essays, and a final eight to ten page argumentative research paper.

**Manning Up: Constructions of Masculinity in 20th Century America
Julianne Heck, Department of English
CRN 88869 MW 12:30 - 1:45

Drawing from the intellectual claims of the feminist movement of the 1960s and 70s, scholars in the 1980s began examining the social constructiveness of masculinity. Through these examinations, they looked at the often subtle ways in which masculinity is perceived as something natural and inescapable. Analyzing texts ranging from the literary to the psychoanalytical to the cinematic, we will explore different ways in which American masculinity has been constructed over the past century. Some of the selected texts we will look at include works by Judith Butler, Ernest Hemingway, and director James Mangold (3:10 to Yuma). In addition, we will pursue a number of questions about these constructions, such as: How do accepted notions of masculinity affect and mold the psyches of men? How have the characteristics of masculinity changed over time? What happens to masculinity when it comes into contact with other identifying categories like race, class, and sexuality? In what ways has the instability of masculinity been exposed and interrogated? What were the consequences? Together, we will work on finding potential answers to these questions through group discussions and writing assignments, which will include peer-reviews and self-assessments. In our discussions and writing, we will focus on developing original questions and answers in response to the texts we will be studying and will hone our skills in critical essay writing. Class assignments will include several short papers and a final 8-10 page essay.

Entering the Living Dream: Adapting the Scorned Literatures of Popular Culture
Valerie Johnson, Department of English
CRN 89038 TR 2:00 - 3:15

Comic books, graphic novels, romance novels, fan fiction, YouTube fanvids, and music fanmixes are all important parts of modern American popular culture.  Fan reactions by definition critically engage and query, often through written reinterpretations and adaptations to new media, the works which are their inspiration.  The course will, through discussion and writing, examine the multi-media and popular culture implications of adaptation: how texts, songs, art, and films change in content, reception, and implication as they are reinterpreted across media and time, whether by fans or by professional artists.  The role of fan cultures and the reaction of mainstream culture to fan groups will also come under discussion.  Class discussions and informal writing assignments will be used to examine the structures and contents of individual texts as well as groups of texts, the changes required for adaptation across different media, and responses to awareness of tropes' multi-media existences.  We will use specific characters and texts, such as Robin Hood, Iron Man, and even LOL Cats, to develop methods to think and write about these issues, and to address the questions emerging from those inquiries.  Class texts will include medieval poetry, modern film, and fan phenomena, in addition to critical treatments of media issues.  Formal writing assignments will include several short papers and one longer argumentative research paper of approximately 8-10 pages.  All formal assignments will incorporate a revision process, which will include drafts, revisions, peer feedback, and self-assessments.

Fairy Tales and Their Revelations for Modern Culture
Martha Johnson-Olin, Department of English
CRN 88945 MWF 10:00 - 10:50

With over 700 versions of Cinderella in the world today and with Cinderella motifs appearing in present day novels, films, and song lyrics, we shall consider why this fairy tale remains popular and how it and other fairy tales are represented in our culture. In this class, we will use Cinderella as a lens to study our society. We will examine how the stories have changed across cultures and times, how fairy tale archetypes appear in popular films, such as The Matrix, and how fairy tale motifs operate in society. Through writing several smaller assignments and through class discussion, we will explore numerous questions regarding Cinderella and fairy tales in general. We should ask ourselves why so many little girls dream about fairy godmothers and grand weddings and whether boys dream of becoming Prince Charming. We will also use drafting and revision to determine how the stories affect their audience. Do the stories merely entertain, or do they present a more complex model of gender and agency? If so, how do these representations affect young audiences? Students will read several versions of Cinderella and Gregory Maguire’s novel Confessions on an Ugly Stepsister while using peer feedback, the writing process, and self-assessment to develop ideas. The course will culminate in the creation of an 8-10 page argumentative research paper.

The Urban Unreal: Phantasmagoric Cityscapes in Literature and Film
Joseph Lamperez, Department of English
CRN 88684 MW 3:25 - 4:40

We assume that we know what a city is, and what it can be. What is it? Why, it’s a center of commercial and cultural activity; a contact zone allowing peoples of diverse lifestyles and origins to brush up against one another; a site of faded grandeur, recalling vanished imperial power and influence. But the city in its representational history has been so much more. The biblical first city is founded, in defiance of God’s command, as a “fallen” alternative to the lost, paradisiacal Garden of Eden, but does the city ever successfully recoup this fateful loss, or does it serve, rather, as a sign of mankind’s state of exile? A literally “un-natural” creation, built as a defensive reaction to the hostility of the natural world, how effectively does the city keep the chaos of the wilderness at bay, and if this chaos ever makes its way in to the city, how would we identify it? The city after the industrial revolution becomes a place of dehumanization, as mankind is enslaved to the machines of its own creation and trapped within the walls of an infernal labyrinth. Did Dante, in his creation of the hellish city of Dis, anticipate this development? Has the city always presented itself to the mind as a hell, as a maze, and if so why? And how is it that the city can also have continued to represent a state of mind or way of being, as a consideration of Augustine’s City of God, Arthur’s Camelot, or the lost city of Atlantis soon begins to show? In this course we will come to terms with the power of the city as an idea, explore the relationship of historical developments to changing conceptualizations of the city, develop a sense of the uncanny inherent in the very existence of the city itself, and much more. Our continuing exploration of these ideas will occur through a sustained regimen of diverse compositions, including peer reviews, self-assessments, three formal papers, and a final research paper due at the end of class.  

Poetry of Womanhood
Hilarie Lloyd, Department of English
CRN 88986 MW 3: 25 - 4:40

In the 1950s and 60s, women poets such as Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, Adrienne Rich, and Audre Lorde defied the traditionally androcentric conventions and themes of poetry by writing about their own private, personal experiences. They wrote about taboo subjects, including madness, sexuality, divorce, depression, and abortion. This course will explore what it means to be a woman writing about aspects of womanhood that are traditionally kept "quiet." What drove them to write about their private life experiences? What language did they use to describe these experiences? How did the act of writing poems relate to their lives? We will examine both the poets' works and lives by reading their poetry, interviews, essays, and journals, as well as examine critical responses to their work. Through discussion, close reading, weekly reading and writing assignments, and a final research paper of 8-10 pages, we will think critically and write argumentatively about women’s poetry. The paper-writing process will involve several revisions, self-assessments, and peer reviews to develop our writing and critical thinking skills.

Fantastic Beasts
Kara McShane, Department of English
CRN 88703 TR 9:40 - 10:55

Fantastic beasts have captivated the imagination of people from Anglo-Saxon times to the present. Creatures such as dragons, unicorns, and magical animals appear in texts as varied as children’s books, medieval chronicles, epic poetry, and twentieth century movies. What makes a beast “fantastic,” and why are such creatures so pervasive? What about fantastic beasts captivates us as readers of literature, and how do we make sense of them? Do they fulfill the same functions across cultures? Students will explore these questions and develop their own through informal writing assignments, short papers, and class discussion. Each student will be expected to refine their thinking and writing through peer review, self-assessment, and revision. Assignments will culminate with an eight to ten page research paper, designed by the student according to his or her specific questions or interests. Texts to consider may include classical myths, fairy tales, bestiaries, medieval romances, and works by Tolkien, Lewis, and Rowling.

Intelligence, Common Sense, & Criticism: The Life and Times of the New York Intellectuals
Wesley Mills, Department of English
CRN 88775 TR 9:40 - 10:55

Do we, as university attendees have, as Lionel Trilling claimed, “a moral obligation to be intelligent”? As students, do we owe something to the larger conversation of the academy, and is it incumbent on us to leave the academy a little better off than we found it? This class will explore the writings, ideas, ideals, and critical comments of one of the most prolific groups of writers and critics from the mid-20th Century, the New York Intellectuals. We will be reading selections from Lionel Trilling, Alfred Kazin, Mary McCarthy, Philip Rahv, Susan Sontag, and others who belonged to this group. We will also be reading selections from their literary journal, The Partisan Review.  Our goal will be to explore and discover what it means to be intelligent and what it means to be part of a larger community of thinkers and scholars. In this course, students will be required to write four papers: a summary/reaction paper, an essay of claim, a literary analysis, and a larger research paper. Students will also be required to take part in peer review of those papers and self-assessment of their work. Students will also keep a journal and assemble all of their work into a final portfolio.

Enlightening Fairies: Social Influences on Fairy Tales in Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century England
Megan Morris, Department of English
CRN 88650 TR 9:40 - 10:55

In Enlightenment England, prominent thinkers argued that fairy tales were unsuitable for children, but as the Victorian era dawned, many authors insisted that these stories were critical for children's intellectual development.  In this course, we will examine the forces that led to this shift.  How do these forces intersect with tensions caused by industrialization?  Nationalism? Social propriety?  Class divisions?  Gender roles?  Colonization?  In addition to literary works, including the Grimms' fairy tales, the Arabian Nights, and literary fairy tales written by authors such as Dickens and Ruskin, we will consider nonfiction essays by eighteenth- and nineteenth-century thinkers.  Through written and oral discussion of issues raised in these works, students will develop their ability to participate in academic dialogues.  Formal writing assignments in the class will include two 4-5 page essays, a proposal and annotated bibliography, and a research paper.  Since audience and dialogue are central to this course, peer review and self-assessment will play important roles in the writing process.

Authentic Self: Individual vs. Communal Identities
Daniel Stokes, Department of English
CRN 88615 MW 2:00 - 3:15

The search for an individual and authentic self has become a hallmark of modern western society. For many young people, going to college becomes a period of self-exploration. Our culture generally sees this process as an altogether positive part of growing up. In this section of WRT 105, however, students will write about texts that explore the complexities involved in self-exploration and actualization. By writing about books and films such as Fight Club and Trainspotting, students will address issues like where the line between self-discovery and narcissism exists; how an individual can achieve distinction, while still living as a productive member of a local, regional, or global community; and what the relative gains and losses of standing out from the pack are. Students will hone their writing skills, learning the tools of argument, analysis, organization, revision, and editing, while exploring their own ideas. Students will write three formal essays and an eight-to-ten page research paper; they will learn how to develop and support their own arguments, engage with academic sources, and critique their own, as well as their fellow classmates’, compositions.

American Dreams
Stefanie Sydelnik, Department of English
CRN 88696 TR 2:00 - 3:15

Stories of individual opportunity and self-made success are a mainstay of American history and culture. Despite their diversity, these narratives are classified together as manifestations of "the American Dream." This phrase permeates our national discourse, shaping our conceptions of success and failure, but we rarely step back and critically evaluate its meaning. What is/are the American dream/s? Who creates the dreams? Who are the dreamers? Is the dream realizable? In this course we will address these questions, embarking on an analysis of American dreams and their role in shaping various conceptions of national and individual identity.

Through our examination of a diverse array of texts—fiction, historical documents, scholarly articles, film, music, contemporary journalism—we will consider the concept of American dreams from a variety of cultural and historical perspectives. Authors will include, among others, Anzia Yezierska, Martin Luther King, Jr., and T.C. Boyle. Since this is primarily a writing class, the theme of American dreams serves as an interesting topic to consider as we practice and discuss strategies for becoming more confident and effective academic writers. The class will emphasize the writing process, incorporating self-assessment, peer-review, and frequent revision. Formal paper assignments include three shorter analytical papers and an eight to ten page argumentative research paper.

Imagining Identity in the Age of Facebook
Joseph Vogel, Department of English
CRN 88977 MW 4:50 - 6:05

What does it mean to be an "individual" in the Age of Facebook? Are the “self-portraits” we construct and present online the “real” us, a representation, a performance? Do the various categories used to define us—family, religion, country, class, race, sexual orientation—provide a sense of identification or limitation? In an increasingly diverse world, such questions surrounding the construction of identity are more compelling and relevant than ever. To put it simply, people still want to understand who they are, where they come from, and what their place will/can/should be in the world. In this class, we will learn to write critically about identity in response to a diverse selection of literature, music, film, and theory, exploring how the subject is formed by and forms itself in contact with the various ideologies, communities, cultures, and institutions it is confronted with. Writing assignments on the topic of identity will include informal, exploratory writing, two formal papers, and a research proposal/bibliography, all of which will prepare students for the final, 8-10 page argumentative research paper. Instructor-feedback, peer-feedback and self-assessment will play a prominent role in the writing and revising of each paper.

** Fantasy and its Discontents: J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-Earth Narratives
Stella Wang, Department of English
CRN 89001 TR 9:40 - 10:55
CRN 88990 TR 12:30 - 1:45

This course addresses a few questions about fantastic literature and uses Tolkien's creative works as a contentious case in point. His works have been excluded from several theoretical discussions of fantastic literature for a lack of generic, psychological, or social import. At the same time, their global popularity has generated divergent views about not only Tolkien’s texts but also fantasy as a genre. What working definitions, one may ask, are available for a critical discussion of the fantasy genre? In what way may fantastic literature be related to myth, cultural beliefs, and hard sciences? How may fantasy be perceived as escapist literature and how do fantasy writers, readers, and scholars respond to such interpretations? These debates call attention to comparable mythic apparatus in folktales across cultures as well as the strong fantasy elements in contemporary media, including films, manga, anime, and video games. By considering The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, some of Tolkien’s imaginary short stories, including their radio/film adaptations, and related paintings and artworks, the course provides an open forum to explore the various cultural forces that may have helped popularize Tolkien’s and other alternative fantastic texts and sharpened the controversy over their modern and post-modern relevancy. Throughout the semester, students will be expected to build up their critical thinking and writing skills by actively participating in class work, including roundtable discussions, writing workshops, peer reviews, self-assessments, informal and formal writings, revisions and an individual, student-initiated research project.

Writing Technology: from Machine Age Tribes to Digital Communities
 Nikolaus Wasmoen, Department of English
CRN 88931 MW 3:25 - 4:40

How does literature interface with the technological environments in which writers and readers live? Do mechanical and electronic mediations change the way writers relate to readers? In this course we will explore the influence of technology on representations of poets, novelists, and other writers’ social role, while reflecting on our own stakes in these works as writers ourselves. To traverse this wrought conceptual field, our discussions and readings will address technologies of physical, figurative, and psychological transportation, machines and devices that move and are moved by the writers we read. From the peculiar Education of Henry Adams to the ecstatic questing in Harold Hart Crane’s The Bridge to cyberpunk and hypertext, we will identify and interrogate responses to the shifting and ambiguous relations between writer, reader, and their broader communities, real or imagined. Recent forms of writing and socialization that have emerged online will provide useful models to challenge and elaborate more traditional, printed, conceptions of writer and reader as well.

Students will investigate their own responses to the problems we identify through several short essays and an 8-10 page research paper, while developing clear, effective academic writing through a process of peer feedback, self-assessment, and revision.

American Regionalism and Culture
Peter Zogas, Department of English
CRN 88838 MW 12:30 - 1:45

Our geographic situation—where we live, have lived, and our various moves throughout life—has a significant influence on the way we interact with our local communities, the world at large, and the myriad spaces in between. The goal of this course is to use analytical and argumentative writing to examine how place functions within an individual’s complex skein of identity. Beginning with the 19th-century conception of the frontier and its revision in the 20th century, we will explore the relationship of the individual to local communities and the nation as a whole. How did a belief in the inexhaustibility of the frontier inform the consciousnesses of those who settled the continent, and to what extent was it justifiable to settle those spaces in the first place? Subsequent discussions will focus on the tension between urban and rural identities as well as the homogenizing effects of the suburban sprawl. We will use a variety of historical writings, short stories, novels, and films—including the work of James Dickey and John Ford—to inform our writings on regionality. Throughout the semester, students will engage in self-assessment, revision exercises, and peer review and produce three short argumentative papers and one longer research paper (8-10 pages).

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Writing about History

Does it Have to be This Way?: Writing About Social, Political & Cultural Reform Movements
Shane Butterfield, Department of History
CRN 88962 MW 12:30 - 1:45

Because of the American tradition of free thought and action, achieving lasting national agreement has been a rare occurrence in US history. As a consequence of such frequent division, debates about fundamental human goals and the special movements created to pursue them have been common and have influenced America in profound ways. Among the crucial issues addressed in such reforms are the quest for national and individual freedom, the importance of personal spiritualism in an industrial, modern world, and the search for gender and racial equality in a free society. Using writings such as Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, Lydia Maria Child’s What is Beauty?, and the Seneca Falls Declaration of Women’s Rights, we will investigate vital debates and efforts at reform, constructing arguments and sharing insights about these goals and movements, and work to convey ideas effectively in our writing. Through classroom discussion, the drafting of short essays, revision, self-assessment, peer review, and an 8-10 page argumentative research paper, students will gain experience making inferences and presenting written arguments about the character of historical debates.

The Crusades of the Middle Ages
Dan Franke, Department of History
CRN 88673 TR 4:50 - 6:05

The crusades were a series of complex religious and military events that provide windows into the medieval world, and raise issues which resonate with us today. This course seeks to develop students’ critical reasoning abilities by examining the origins and context of the crusades, focusing mostly on the period from 1095 to 1291, but also considering how the crusading image is used in the present day. What was a crusade—and does its meaning change over time? How and why did Christianity develop a doctrine of warfare? How far did crusades shape medieval Europeans’ views of non-Christian societies? Students will engage in a variety of writing projects, including argument/opinion pieces, film analysis, and historical questions exercises, and will finish with an 8-10 page research paper. Students will have various opportunities to review their own and each other’s work, debate in teams, and present their research, in order to hone their broader communications skills, and explore their own writing process. Materials such as chronicles, poems, legal records, scholarly articles, and films will enhance students’ learning processes, and will be integrated with the writing activities.

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Writing about Science & Engineering

Self-Reliance from an Energy Perspective
Keith Savino, Department of Chemical Engineering
CRN 88908 MW 4:50 - 6:05

Elected officials discuss the need for energy self-reliance, but what is the goal of this mission and how can it be accomplished? What is energy self-reliance, and does it help us sustain productive, healthy, and happy lives? At what threshold is energy self-reliance desirable? To answer these questions, we will investigate this topic from the perspectives of the individual and society. National issues such as conservation, the well-to-wheel process of energy production, and sustainability will be explored through informal and formal writing responses. Correlations between the individual’s energy consumption and how the person’s life is enhanced will also be investigated. Literary works such as Emerson’s “Self-Reliance”, technical papers, and opinion pieces from energy experts will be used as a springboard for developing critical assessment skills and formulating original ideas. Class discussions, peer-reviews, and self-assessments will provide students an opportunity to exchange ideas. The semester’s assignments will be used to write a comprehensive 8-10 page research paper.

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Writing about Philosophy

Power and Responsibility
Brandon Carey, Department of Philosophy
CRN 88639 TR 12:30 - 1:45

Superhero fiction is a rich source of philosophical questions. Some of these questions are metaphysical: Is time travel possible? Are Bruce Banner and the Hulk the same person? Is it possible for people from alternate universes to meet? Others are ethical: Does great power come with great responsibility? Is it morally permissible to read other people’s minds or alter their memories? Is it permissible for a government to place limits on the freedoms of citizens with potentially harmful powers? Through class discussion and writing assignments, students will explore questions of both types.

In the course of writing several short papers and one longer (8-10 page) paper on these topics, students will learn to extract and evaluate arguments from the text, as well as construct and defend arguments of their own. Through the processes of peer review, self-assessment, and draft revision, students will master the writing of argumentative essays.

Puzzles about Moral Responsibility
Jonathan Matheson, Department of Philosophy
CRN 88816 TR 9:40 - 10:55

People are often thought to be praiseworthy or blameworthy for the actions they perform. This course will allow students to develop as critical thinkers and academic writers while focusing on several philosophical questions related to moral responsibility. First, we will examine various views regarding what kind of control is required for moral responsibility. For example, does responsibility require free will? Is responsibility compatible with determinism? And do we have free will? Second, we will consider questions surrounding ignorance and responsibility. For example, can we be blameworthy for doing things that we didn’t know were wrong? And more generally, what do we need to know in order to be responsible? Third, we will consider questions about the role of luck in morality. For example, can we be blameworthy for an unlucky consequence of our actions? Is the drunk driver who kills someone more blameworthy than the drunk driver who makes it home safely? Finally, we will examine whether responsibility is only to be attributed to individuals, or if collective groups of people can also be morally responsible.

Through our examination of these questions students will learn to extract and evaluate arguments from the text, as well as to write clear and well reasoned argumentative essays of their own. Students will develop their ability to clearly present their ideas, give reasoned defenses of their claims, and carefully consider objections to their position. This will be accomplished through class discussion, peer review, self-assessment, and revision of the student's own written work. There will be several short papers and an 8-10 page research paper.

Science and Truth
Kevin McCain, Department of Philosophy
CRN 88827 MW 12:30 - 1:45

Scientific theories provide us with effective means of making predictions that are often accurate. Additionally, scientific theories offer us explanations that help us understand the way the world works. But, are scientific theories successful because they are true? This class will investigate some of the central issues concerning the relationship between science and truth. Through writing, we will explore questions such as: What is science? How does science differ from pseudosciences like astrology? Does a potential scientific explanation have to be true in order to be a good explanation? Does a scientific theory work because the entities it posits really exist? Or is there some other way of explaining the success of science? Should we believe our best current scientific theories are true even though all of our past successful theories have been false?

In this course we will examine philosophical issues regarding the relationship between science and truth in a manner that does not require prior knowledge of science or philosophy. During the course of our examination, students will learn to extract and evaluate arguments from various philosophy of science texts, as well as write clear argumentative essays of their own. This will be accomplished through class discussion, peer review, self-assessment, and revision of the student's written work. Writing assignments will include several short papers and an 8-10 page research paper.

Ethics in an Internet Age
Jason Rogers, Department of Philosophy
CRN 88729 MW 12:30 - 1:45

Contemporary uses of familiar internet technologies raise important ethical questions. Some “hackers” and “hacktivists,” for example, claim that certain instances of computer “hacking” are morally justifiable acts of consumer protection or civil disobedience, whereas other people disagree. Who is right? Similarly, people disagree over whether, and to what extent, one can own “intellectual property” in the form of computer software. Is the downloading or copying of unpurchased copyrighted software an immoral act of theft, or perhaps not? More generally, do the moral considerations that apply in everyday contexts apply straightforwardly in cyberspace? This course will consider these questions (and others) through a combination of class discussion and writing. Drawing on recent philosophical texts, we will explore ethical issues involving “intellectual property,” privacy and anonymity, virtual relationships, and computer crime. Students will learn to extract and critically evaluate arguments from texts and to write clear argumentative essays that formulate and defend positions on these subjects. In the course of composing several short papers and an 8-10 page research paper, students will achieve a grasp of the process of drafting, peer review, and revision involved in academic writing.

Puzzles in Theology
Andrew Wake, Department of Philosophy
CRN 88959 TR 12:30 - 1:45

There are a number of puzzles and questions surrounding some traditional views about God and our relationship with God. This course will be concerned with a number of such questions. We will investigate, for instance, the following: How, if at all, do we survive death? Can God be both perfectly good and all-powerful? Can we be free if God is the creator and sustainer of the world? We will read work by philosophers and theologians concerning these and related topics. Through critical reading and in-class discussion, we will learn to extract and evaluate arguments. By engaging in a process of drafting, peer-review, and revision, students will learn to formulate and present their own arguments in clear and careful academic writing. We will write two short papers, an annotated bibliography and research proposal, and an eight to ten page research paper. By the end of the course, students will have acquired the skills necessary to produce high quality argumentative writing.

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Writing about Political Science

Politics of South Asia
Subhasish Ray, Department of Political Science
CRN 88852 MW 2:00 - 3:15

The dramatic terrorist siege of the city of Mumbai in western India on September 2008 has renewed international attention on political processes in South Asia, a region which is home to nearly a fifth of the world’s population. This course will examine the major debates in the rich interdisciplinary field of South Asian politics. The central questions we will address are: Why has India been relatively stable and democratic while governments in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka have struggled to maintain political stability and democracy though they have similar colonial legacies? What explains the wide variation in ethnic rioting in India across states and over time? Why has democracy and the recent spurt in economic growth in India failed to diminish income inequality? Although the substantive focus of the course will be on the politics of South Asia, throughout our goal will be to develop academic writing skills that can be applied across disciplines. As developing writers, you will also have the unique opportunity to test these skills on critical audiences, including yourself, during in-class self-assessments and peer-reviews. The writing assignments for the course will include informal response pieces, short analytical essays, and an 8-10 page research paper. The paper should ask an original question concerning a currently ongoing ethnic conflict in South Asia and answer that question using evidence from English language news sources in the region.

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Extended Courses (105E) (Program Permission Required)

An Introduction to Scientific Argument
Ben Duncan, College Writing Program
CRN 89069 TR 9:40 - 10:55
**Students must register for recitation section F 12:00 - 12:50 (CRN 89052) when registering for this course**

Samuel Taylor Coleridge once said, "Science is the gratification of knowing; its opposite is ignorance." Assuredly, science and technology have been instrumental in the collaborative advance of humankind's search for knowledge and truth - for understanding who, what, and where we are. However, scientific discourse at nearly every stage of history has also met with controversy, opprobrium, and fervent argument. How can new principles be expressed, exposed, and clarified to a conventional audience? How can science be made intelligible to non-scientists, or worse, to scientists committed to presumptive facts? And what is the difference anyways between a fact, an opinion, and propaganda? During this section of WRT 105E, we will examine the role of writing in science's ability to alter human thought, perceptions, and presumptions. By readings of selected works from Aristotle, Ptolemy, Galileo, Da Vinci, Malthus, Darwin, Planck, Heisenberg, Einstein, Hubble, Watson & Crick, and other scientists of students' own choosing, we will examine how novel arguments build upon, elaborate, and/or contradict previous arguments. Throughout, we will contrast the objective principle inherent to the scientific method with the subjective nature of a human language filled with associations, nuances, and ambiguities. Above all, we will observe the explicit and implicit rules by which individuals argue, communicate, and gain acceptance into established communities of scientific discourse. And finally, we will see how and if new ideas shift the paradigm of prior consensus.

Through the readings and numerous in-class and at-home writing activities it is hoped that students will learn to consider the roles of audience, culture, and purpose in shaping the organization, style, and argumentative strategies of their own papers. Students will have the opportunity to refine and revise the ideas presented in each of their formal papers (three 3-5 page essays and one 8-10 page essay), which will undergo a sequence of peer feedback, self-assessment, and instructor comment.

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WRT 108

Workshop in Writing
CRN 89095 M 2:00 - 2:50 Katie VanWert, Department of English
CRN 89074 T 3:00 - 3:50 Shane Butterfield, Department of History
CRN 89100 W 12:00 - 12:50 Stefanie Sydelnik, Department of English
CRN 89083 R 12:00 - 12:50 Leah Haught , Department of English

 The Workshop in Writing offers ongoing practice and instruction in writing and critiquing writing.  Students work closely with experienced writing instructors to address their own specific writing needs and interests.  The small class size provides a supportive workshop environment that allows students to develop their writing and revising skills in order to become more confident and effective academic writers.  During weekly meetings guided by a writing instructor, students plan, draft and revise their writing, usually assignments for their spring courses. Those who aren’t taking spring courses that require a lot of writing may choose to revise essays completed in previous semesters or work on other non-fiction projects (lab reports, application essays, etc.).

PRE-REQUISITE:Successful completion of WRT 105 or 105E.
GRADING: This 2 credit course is graded pass/fail. Students are evaluated based on a portfolio of writing assignments completed throughout the semester. 

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