Fall 2025: WRTG 105, 105A, 105E Course Sections
| Section | Instructional Format | Description | All Instructors | Meeting Patterns | Locations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WRTG 105-03 - Illness as Narrative/Narrating Illness | Lecture | Illness is a universal experience. But our embodied experiences of illness, and the narratives we use to make sense of those experiences, differ widely. In this course, we will consider, through writing, the complex relations between illness and narrative. What are the different genres and forms in which illness has been, and can be, narrated? How do identities and histories shape narratives of illness and the way we understand those narratives? How might narratives facilitate, hinder, or otherwise affect the movement from illness to healing? To explore these questions, we will read and discuss creative and scholarly materials, and craft our own informed arguments via informal and formal writing assignments. Course texts will include Dana Walrath’s graphic memoir Aliceheimer’s; the movie Erin Brokovich; essays like “Illness as Metaphor” by Susan Sontag; case studies like the Bhopal Gas Tragedy; and scholarship from fields like disability studies, medical humanities, and political economy. Through our collective engagement with these texts, we will hone our writing, critical thinking, and research skills, and enter ongoing scholarly conversations about illness and its narratives. All formal writing will undergo a process of self-reflection, peer feedback, and revision to help students develop course-theme-related arguments that will culminate in an 8-10-page argumentative research paper. To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. |
Apoorv Pandey | Mon/Wed | 11:50 AM - 1:05 PM | Lechase Room 182 |
| WRTG 105-04 - What Is Human Nature? | Lecture | Who are we? Why are we here? What, after all, is human nature? As a species, we have long wondered what drives us, what makes us unique, why we are the way we are. In this class, we will examine the question of human nature from various perspectives, including science, religion, philosophy, psychology, sociology, and animal studies. We will analyze these viewpoints using writing, critical reading, and discussion, drawing from authors like Edward O. Wilson, Simone de Beauvoir, Michel Foucault, Charles Darwin, and William James, as well as texts ranging from academic scholarship and popular journalism to fiction and film. Students will take part in informal writing, peer response, writer reflection, and revision. The course will culminate in an 8-10 page argumentative research paper.To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. | Adam Stauffer | Mon/Wed | 12:30 PM - 1:45 PM | Bausch & Lomb Room 315 |
| WRTG 105-05 - Urban Legends and the Manufacturing of Fear | Lecture | What are our deepest-rooted societal fears? How are these fears disseminated? Through various formal and informal writing projects this class will examine how urban legends reflect America’s societal anxieties, such as crime, the “racial other,” and the “disintegration of nuclear families.” These fears and more are depicted in urban legends: stories that share similar plots and characteristics, yet transcend boundaries of time, place, and culture, such as “The Vanishing Hitchhiker” or “Sex Bracelets.” We will consider urban legends from cultural, political, and historical viewpoints through the lenses of literary criticism, psychology, philosophy, and film studies. Students will reflect on their own relationships to various urban legends through personal reflections and analytical writings. The course will draw from an array of critical and fictional sources, including the urban legend anthologies and criticisms of Jan Harold Brunvand and Alan Dundes, podcast episodes from American Hysteria and You’re Wrong About, the documentary Killer Legends, and the horror film Urban Legends. Students will hone their research and writing skills and examine cultural fears and biases through class discussions, informal assignments, and three formal assignments that progress through a series of revision, peer feedback, and writer reflection, culminating in an 8-10 argumentative page research paper. To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. |
Caroline Warrick-Schkolnik | Mon/Wed | 4:50 PM - 6:05 PM | Rush Rhees Library Room 304E |
| WRTG 105-06 - Being Homo Sapiens: The Brain, The Mind, The Heart and Full Catastrophe | Lecture | We call ourselves Homo sapiens sapiens: a knowing species that knows it knows. But why and when does the mind also go on autopilot, as noted by behavioral medicine, neuroscience, as well as ancient meditative traditions? How does this human awareness, or lack of it, inform stance and opinions? In the face of catastrophe, how may mindful awareness of one’s reactions help reveal important information about oneself, including feelings, needs, goals, relationships? We will consider these questions together by exploring poetry from that of Rumi to Mary Oliver to Derek Walcott and films such as E.T. and Ghost in the Shell. Other readings include studies on how the brain, mind, and heart work subtly to create realities—ones as fleeting as they can be profound and consequential. We invite everyone to join our interdisciplinary inquiry while cultivating academic writing skills through class discussion, formal and informal writing, peer review, revision, writer reflection, and a final argumentative research paper.To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. | Stella Wang | Tues/Thurs | 12:30 PM - 1:45 PM | Lechase Room 181 |
| WRTG 105-07 - All Fun and Games | Lecture | When was the last time you truly had fun? How has “fun” been understood across cultures and time? In our increasingly busy lives, are we having enough fun? In this course, students will research, write, and reflect on these questions by integrating personal experiences with popular and academic readings. Scholars in neuroscience, anthropology, economics, philosophy, and cultural studies view fun as a fundamental part of the human experience that informs our biological drive and helps us to form social connections. Students will sharpen their writing skills by entering into conversations with scholars of fun, engaging with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's concept of "flow," Gary Alan Fine’s work on the sociology of fun, Catherine Price’s research on the role of play in fun, as well as texts like Ferris Bueller's Day Off and short stories from David Foster Wallace and Ursula K. LeGuin. Through informal writing, short essays, and a final 8–10 page argumentative research paper, students will learn to develop their own inquiries on fun. All formal assignments will progress through drafting, revision, writer reflection, and peer feedback, strengthening students’ ability to construct persuasive arguments while discovering the joy in writing itself. To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. |
Emmarae Stein | Tues/Thurs | 3:25 PM - 4:40 PM | Frederick Douglass Room 403 |
| WRTG 105-08 - Video Games & Play | Lecture | Play and games have been at the heart of the human experience for centuries. When we play, we learn, and video games are increasingly a part of this tradition. What conversations are we having about games and play in our society, and why do they matter? Where does power lie in the world of games, design, and development? How do we perform identity when we play? How are games impacting social change and behavior? Students will raise authentic questions as they write about games from a variety of lenses: design, narrative, psychology, gender, genre, and more. We will not only play video games as primary texts, but also discuss, analyze, evaluate, and write about our interactions with and stances towards video games. Our work will involve writing exercises, multimodal elements, peer feedback, formal essays, reflection, revision, and a supportive writing environment. We will analyze peer-reviewed articles, Ralph Koster’s illustrated book A Theory of Fun, and literature from game-studies luminaries such as Gee, Squire, McGonigal, and Ito. Students will culminate their efforts towards becoming better writers in an 8-10 page argumentative research paper. All disciplines and levels of interest in critiquing games are welcome, no expertise is required. To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. |
Kristana Textor | Mon/Wed | 2:00 PM - 3:15 PM | Rettner Hall Room 307 |
| WRTG 105-09 - Disease & Society | Lecture | In 2013, health care spending consumed 17 percent of the United States of America’s Gross Domestic Product. Societies must make choices about spending, balancing the desire to achieve the best possible health for everyone with the reality of limited resources. Underlying these decisions are ethical and practical concerns, and any policy requires answers to many questions. For instance, which diseases get the most attention? Are contagious diseases in a different class from heart disease and cancer? When may we infringe on someone’s rights in the name of better health? We will examine these questions, drawing on newspaper articles, TED talks, policy blogs, and scholarly sources that examine the sociological, psychological, economic, ethical, and medical aspects of these questions. You will develop and refine your ideas through critical reading, visual mapping, writing, discussion, peer feedback, reflection, and revision, and share them in the form of two short papers. To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. | Katherine Schaefer | Tues/Thurs | 12:30 PM - 1:45 PM | Meliora Room 205 |
| WRTG 105-10 - Venturing Out: Making Meaning and Finding Adventure in the Outdoors | Lecture | In this class, you will explore what outdoor adventure has meant to others, and what it means to you. To explore this question, we ask two related questions. First, how does the type of activity and the space in which it takes place shape an understanding of Nature and humanity’s relation to it? Second, how does an activity relate to sociopolitical forces like capitalism or colonialism?To explore these questions, you will read and write about a range of outdoor activities, including hiking, forest bathing, and urban exploration. You will read about famous 19th-century naturalists like John Muir, and about modern-day “ski bums” and “dirt bag” climbers. You will watch films about epic cross-country adventures (Into the Wild), and films about finding adventure in your backyard (Beau Miles). Additionally, you will read what sociologists, psychologists and historians have said about our topic.A requirement will be to spend one hour per week outside. Reflecting on these activities in discussions and short essays, you will develop responses to the course’s guiding question. This culminates in an argumentative, 8-10 page research project in which you will plan, research, and document your own outdoor adventure. The writing process involves drafting, peer-response and reflection.To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. | Justin Coyne | Tues/Thurs | 9:40 AM - 10:55 AM | Lechase Room 122 |
| WRTG 105-11 - Queer and Trans* Narratives: From Memoire to Metaphor | Lecture | This course significantly and in a sustained way addresses issues of diversity, equity, inclusion. Sharing stories is fundamental in shaping identity, but what does it mean to be queer and/or trans* when narrating an experience? What does it mean to inherit the trauma of the past? How can a reclamation of coded identity be invoked? When does storytelling end and living begin? Through a series of formal and informal assignments, peer review, writer reflection, and a final 8-10 page argumentative research paper, we will begin to understand the boundaries of space and time in queer and trans* narratives. We will examine and apply the rhetorical style of writing with academics like Rossenwasser, Booth, and Ballinger to answer an authentic research question. We will also critically examine LGBTQIA+ history and the untold or often overlooked stories using visual media, the written word, and social media. As we walk this temporal path, we will engage with scholars like Eve Sedgwick, Sara Ahmed, and Teagan Bradway to interrogate what it means to claim space as queer and trans* individuals. Join me on this path of (re)discovering queer and trans* history as we apply those stories to the act of living authentically as one’s true self.To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. | Liam Kusmierek | Tues/Thurs | 3:25 PM - 4:40 PM | Goergen Hall Room 110 |
| WRTG 105-13 - Man, Machine, and Morality | Lecture | Human culture and machine/technology culture are becoming more and more entangled in recent decades. In this course, we will engage a variety of questions regarding the social, political, and moral implications of this entanglement. Should autonomous systems be permitted in warfare? Should human enhancement technologies be controlled by parents or by governments? Should humanity strive to throw off the constraints of biological existence for something else entirely? What are genetic "diseases" and should we try to eliminate them? We will use the tools of research, writing, argument, and discussion to hone our views on these complex issues and learn to communicate our conclusions through writing. Students will develop two analytical and argumentative essays during this course. Successful completion of the course will prepare students for the research proposal and 8-10 page argumentative research paper.To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. | James Otis | Tues/Thurs | 12:30 PM - 1:45 PM | Lattimore Room 431 |
| WRTG 105-14 - Man, Machine, and Morality | Lecture | Human culture and machine/technology culture are becoming more and more entangled in recent decades. In this course, we will engage a variety of questions regarding the social, political, and moral implications of this entanglement. Should autonomous systems be permitted in warfare? Should human enhancement technologies be controlled by parents or by governments? Should humanity strive to throw off the constraints of biological existence for something else entirely? What are genetic "diseases" and should we try to eliminate them? We will use the tools of research, writing, argument, and discussion to hone our views on these complex issues and learn to communicate our conclusions through writing. Students will develop two analytical and argumentative essays during this course. Successful completion of the course will prepare students for the research proposal and 8-10 page argumentative research paper.To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. | James Otis | Mon/Wed | 12:30 PM - 1:45 PM | Todd Union Room 202 |
| WRTG 105-15 - Belonging | Lecture | What is “belonging”? What does it do for individuals physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially? Scholars in a variety of disciplines have studied and recognized belonging as a fundamental human need with a profound impact on individuals’ well-being. Still, people understand and experience belonging differently. How do individuals differently experience belonging? And how does it affect them? How could individuals create a sense of belonging in different contexts, such as family, college, the workplace, social media, and society? And what does it take to create a culture of belonging in these contexts? In this class, we will focus on the intricacies of belonging and explore these questions through reading, discussions, and writing. Course texts will include a range of scholarly articles, op-eds, U of R’s diversity and inclusion statements, essays and books by writers such as bell hooks and Amy Tan, and short films such as Pixar’s Purl. You will also learn to research, reflect, and write to develop your own inquiries and engage with yourself and others in both informal and formal writing. Through a process of drafting, peer response, and revision, you will develop and support your ideas in shorter formal assignments and a final 8-10 page argumentative research paper. To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. | Xinyue Wang | Tues/Thurs | 4:50 PM - 6:05 PM | Hylan Building Room 307 |
| WRTG 105-16 - Impacts of Engineering | Lecture | Advancements in engineering affect almost every aspect of our society, but what is the nature of this impact? How do engineering solutions influence the social, cultural, and environmental contexts within which they are implemented? Students will explore questions such as these by using writing as a tool for inquiry, discovery, and knowledge construction. In constructing new knowledge, students will also learn how to navigate ethical issues around proper attribution of ideas, as this is important to both writers and engineers. Class discussions, readings, and informal assignments will work together to inform the drafting and revision of two short argumentative essays, an 8-10 page research paper, and a multimodal composition for a public audience. Through peer response and self-assessment, students will learn how to effectively communicate with a variety of audiences. To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. | Liz Tinelli | Tues/Thurs | 11:05 AM - 12:20 PM | Lechase Room 141 |
| WRTG 105-19 - American Horror Stories | Lecture | Haunted houses. Blood-sucking vampires. Spell-casting witches. Undead zombie hordes. As a genre (and collection of subgenres), horror is rife with familiar story conventions. While many of these transcend cultural boundaries, what each culture does with them speaks to the experiences of the people within that culture. So what does it mean to call a scary story an “American” horror story? How do horror stories, and the tropes they rely on, reflect fears and anxieties about social issues and questions of identity in American culture? Can those same tropes also be used by writers and filmmakers to critique those fears and anxieties? In this class, students will explore such questions as a way of developing as college-level writers and thinkers. We will read stories such as Poe’s William Wilson and watch movies such as The Shining and Candyman, and confront arguments about horror’s role in American culture from multiple disciplines and multiple genres (like op-eds and podcasts). Students will join in the discussion about these issues, composing a series of informal responses and short formal assignments leading up to an 8-10pp argumentative research paper. The class will emphasize all aspects of the writing process, including peer and instructor feedback, revision, and writer-reflection.To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. | Dustin Hannum | Tues/Thurs | 9:40 AM - 10:55 AM | Hylan Building Room 306 |
| WRTG 105-20 - Uncertainty | Lecture | It might seem on first glance that knowledge requires certainty, but with a little reflection it comes to seem instead that we know quite a bit while being certain of extremely little. Experts are sometimes wrong, the data can be misleading or, more radically, we could be living in a Descartes-style massive delusion where our experiences do not match up to reality at all. In this class, we’ll use writing to investigate the role of uncertainty in academic research and our everyday lives. We’ll ask general questions such as: If certainty and knowledge are not synonymous, what is the value of certainty? Is certainty something to be sought after or avoided? How do certainty and uncertainty function in research across the humanities, social, and natural sciences? We will begin with immersive virtual reality experiences to test our senses of certainty. We will engage with a range of popular sources, including a podcast about Lyme disease and the scientific process, and work through research, primarily from philosophy and psychology, on knowledge, experience, and information exchange. Students will be expected to write several argumentative essays, which will go through a process of peer-response, self-reflection, and revision, culminating in an 8-10 page argumentative research paper.To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. | Kate Phillips | Tues/Thurs | 11:05 AM - 12:20 PM | Hylan Building Room 306 |
| WRTG 105-21 - Shapeshifters | Lecture | What is it about shapeshifting that has so fascinated us throughout human history? Who and what are our shapeshifters? In what ways does the figure of the shapeshifter reveal our own anxieties, desires, and fantasies about becoming something unfamiliar, something otherwise, something new? How are the very political, scientific, and identity-based questions we ask today shaped by the notion of shapeshifting? Through open conversation and exploratory writing about our course texts, we will work through these questions and other inquiries we discover together. From cyborgs and tricksters to new wrinkles and the changing of seasons, we will see the many ways in which shapeshifting shifts through our everyday lives by way of movies, literature, scholarly articles, podcasts, and music: including acclaimed works such as Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira, Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis”, and Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass. Finally, we will familiarize ourselves with the writing process through informal and formal writing, peer feedback, reflection, and guided revisions. By the end of the semester, we will use these processes to write an 8-10 page argumentative research paper. To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. |
Arthur Tapia | Mon/Wed | 3:25 PM - 4:40 PM | Meliora Room 218 |
| WRTG 105-23 - The Role of Aesthetics in Sympathy | Lecture | Sympathy plays a role in our social interactions and moral decisions. It is—arguably—affected by aesthetics (i.e., the styles/ways in which things present themselves to us). In this course, we will use writing to investigate what sympathy is and explore its connections with aesthetics. For instance, does aesthetics affect how we give (or withhold) sympathy? What happens when aesthetic choices encourage audiences to sympathize with an unsympathetic character, or a “moral monster” (Humbert Humbert from Lolita, for example)? Is it possible to think of sympathy without aesthetics? What are the social consequences that result from the connection between aesthetics and sympathy? These questions will be explored through class dialogue, writing, and case examples: Susan Sontag’s work on war photography, David Foster Wallace’s meditation on the ethics of eating lobsters, Adam Smith’s theory of moral sentiments, etc. We will investigate the connections between aesthetics and sympathy through writing that will range from informal exploratory writing to formal writing that will follow a process of drafting, revision, peer feedback and self-reflection. Students will learn and apply the conventions of academic writing, culminating in an 8-10-page argumentative research paper as a final formal assignment, one that can be approached from multiple disciplines. To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. | Yash Chitrakar | Mon/Wed | 12:30 PM - 1:45 PM | Meliora Room 224 |
| WRTG 105-27 - Perspectives on Death and Mourning | Lecture | How do our knowledges of the end of life inform the way we navigate the present? How do we narrativize and make sense of experiences of large-scale loss? How do people mourn things like the vanishing environment, or bygone ways of life? This class will explore how people have sought to understand death and mourning in various contexts. Additionally, we will explore key debates in contemporary life about how death and mourning relate to things like health and medicine, activism, environmental conservation, and indigenous rights. While completing formal and informal writing assignments designed to introduce students to college-level writing, including an argumentative 8–10-page research paper on a topic related to the course, we will read things like Leo Tolstoy’s “The Death of Ivan Ilyich,” Danez Smith’s poetry collection Don’t Call Us Dead, a memoir about zine-making, mourning, and music, and documents from the AIDS crisis. Peer feedback workshops and writer reflection assignments will also accompany written work so that students can think about their ongoing development as writers and thinkers. People may contact the instructor directly with any questions about this course’s content and the different issues that the course will address. To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. |
Luke Jarzyna | Tues/Thurs | 3:25 PM - 4:40 PM | Lechase Room 161 |
| WRTG 105-30 - The Meaning of Life | Lecture | What is the meaning of life? For centuries, a variety of thinkers, cultural traditions, and social movements have attempted to answer this question. In this class, we will consider “the meaning of life” as both a theoretical problem and lived experience using critical reading and discussion, drawing from texts by philosophers, journalists, and literary figures like Susan R. Wolf, Friedrich Nietzsche, Donna Haraway, Jill Lepore, and Albert Camus, as well as works ranging from academic scholarship and religious writings to fiction and film. This course invites students to enter this existential conversation by formulating their own ideas through discussion, in-class writing, and formal assignments, and drawing parallels between readings and the dilemmas we face in everyday life. Students will also take part in informal writing, peer response, writer reflection, and revision. The course will culminate in an 8-10 page argumentative research paper.To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. | Adam Stauffer | Tues/Thurs | 9:40 AM - 10:55 AM | Lechase Room 163 |
| WRTG 105-31 - American Horror Stories | Lecture | Haunted houses. Blood-sucking vampires. Spell-casting witches. Undead zombie hordes. As a genre (and collection of subgenres), horror is rife with familiar story conventions. While many of these transcend cultural boundaries, what each culture does with them speaks to the experiences of the people within that culture. So what does it mean to call a scary story an “American” horror story? How do horror stories, and the tropes they rely on, reflect fears and anxieties about social issues and questions of identity in American culture? Can those same tropes also be used by writers and filmmakers to critique those fears and anxieties? In this class, students will explore such questions as a way of developing as college-level writers and thinkers. We will read stories such as Poe’s William Wilson and watch movies such as The Shining and Candyman, and confront arguments about horror’s role in American culture from multiple disciplines and multiple genres (like op-eds and podcasts). Students will join in the discussion about these issues, composing a series of informal responses and short formal assignments leading up to an 8-10pp argumentative research paper. The class will emphasize all aspects of the writing process, including peer and instructor feedback, revision, and writer-reflection.To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. | Dustin Hannum | Tues/Thurs | 11:05 AM - 12:20 PM | Lechase Room 143 |
| WRTG 105-32 - What Is Human Nature? | Lecture | Who are we? Why are we here? What, after all, is human nature? As a species, we have long wondered what drives us, what makes us unique, why we are the way we are. In this class, we will examine the question of human nature from various perspectives, including science, religion, philosophy, psychology, sociology, and animal studies. We will analyze these viewpoints using writing, critical reading, and discussion, drawing from authors like Edward O. Wilson, Simone de Beauvoir, Michel Foucault, Charles Darwin, and William James, as well as texts ranging from academic scholarship and popular journalism to fiction and film. Students will take part in informal writing, peer response, writer reflection, and revision. The course will culminate in an 8-10 page argumentative research paper.To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. | Adam Stauffer | Mon/Wed | 10:25 AM - 11:40 AM | Hylan Building Room 206 |
| WRTG 105-33 - Uncertainty | Lecture | It might seem on first glance that knowledge requires certainty, but with a little reflection it comes to seem instead that we know quite a bit while being certain of extremely little. Experts are sometimes wrong, the data can be misleading or, more radically, we could be living in a Descartes-style massive delusion where our experiences do not match up to reality at all. In this class, we’ll use writing to investigate the role of uncertainty in academic research and our everyday lives. We’ll ask general questions such as: If certainty and knowledge are not synonymous, what is the value of certainty? Is certainty something to be sought after or avoided? How do certainty and uncertainty function in research across the humanities, social, and natural sciences? We will begin with immersive virtual reality experiences to test our senses of certainty. We will engage with a range of popular sources, including a podcast about Lyme disease and the scientific process, and work through research, primarily from philosophy and psychology, on knowledge, experience, and information exchange. Students will be expected to write several argumentative essays, which will go through a process of peer-response, self-reflection, and revision, culminating in an 8-10 page argumentative research paper.To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. | Kate Phillips | Tues/Thurs | 2:00 PM - 3:15 PM | Meliora Room 206 |
| WRTG 105-34 - Problems in Authority and Expertise | Lecture | One of the greatest intellectual problems of modern existence is knowing who and what to believe. Even as we pride ourselves on skepticism and independent thinking, we recognize the limits of our own knowledge and the pragmatic need to take some information on authority. Deferring to the judgment of experts may be a generally sound rule to follow, but applying this rule can get complicated. Is it possible for the work of experts to be corrupt, biased, or philosophically misguided? When are outsiders of an academic field intellectually justified in criticizing the conclusions of insiders? How can we distinguish legitimate criticism of authority from that which results from ignorance, paranoia, vested interest, or political bias? The readings for this course will include passages from works like Naomi Oreskes’s and Erik M. Conway’s Merchants of Doubt (2010) and Marion Nestle’s Unsavory Truth (2018). We will explore a variety of controversies in areas as diverse as human health, economics, law, and art criticism. Assignments will include both informal responses and formal essays, culminating with an argumentative research paper. Expectations include commitment to self-assessment, revision, and peer feedback. To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. | Rob Rich | Mon/Wed | 6:15 PM - 7:30 PM | Meliora Room 219 |
| WRTG 105-35 - Venturing Out: Making Meaning and Finding Adventure in the Outdoors | Lecture | In this class, you will explore what outdoor adventure has meant to others, and what it means to you. To explore this question, we ask two related questions. First, how does the type of activity and the space in which it takes place shape an understanding of Nature and humanity’s relation to it? Second, how does an activity relate to sociopolitical forces like capitalism or colonialism?To explore these questions, you will read and write about a range of outdoor activities, including hiking, forest bathing, and urban exploration. You will read about famous 19th-century naturalists like John Muir, and about modern-day “ski bums” and “dirt bag” climbers. You will watch films about epic cross-country adventures (Into the Wild), and films about finding adventure in your backyard (Beau Miles). Additionally, you will read what sociologists, psychologists and historians have said about our topic.A requirement will be to spend one hour per week outside. Reflecting on these activities in discussions and short essays, you will develop responses to the course’s guiding question. This culminates in an argumentative, 8-10 page research project in which you will plan, research, and document your own outdoor adventure. The writing process involves drafting, peer-response and reflection.To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. | Justin Coyne | Tues/Thurs | 12:30 PM - 1:45 PM | Lechase Room 122 |
| WRTG 105-37 - Monsters Everywhere | Lecture | Whether immersed in fiction, enshrined in architecture, resting in the annals of myth, detailed in a bestiary, or hiding under our childhood beds, monsters are everywhere. Monstrous narratives are used to teach children to behave; monster narratives are also used to explore good and evil, our connection with nature, or our relationship with fear and the unknown. In this course, students will be tasked with exploring their own relationship with monsters through writing, critical analysis and argument. Students will discuss and reflect on the role monsters play in different media; these discussions will be further refined through short formal papers and informal response pieces. Students will revise the formal papers through self-reflection and peer feedback. Our subjects will be drawn from mythology, excerpts from literature such as Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, monsters in film and television like Lord of the Rings or Spirited Away, games like Monster Hunter and Dungeons & Dragons as well as scholarly articles like Boyer’s “The Anatomy of a Monster: The Case of Slender Man." Using the course theme, students will compose an 8–10-page argumentative research paper, using the same process of reflection and feedback as the shorter formal papers.To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. | Harry Golborn | Tues/Thurs | 9:40 AM - 10:55 AM | Lechase Room 143 |
| WRTG 105-41 - The Values and Ethics of Language | Lecture | Language is everywhere in human life, and using it raises questions about values. How should we write and speak to others? What things are immoral or inappropriate to say? Should there be limits on speech? How does language shape our understanding of truth, and, in turn, our political ideology? How will, and how should, AI technology influence our use of language? (Btw, can I use “lol” in an academic paper?) This course aims to instill an understanding of the basic principles of academic writing by analyzing questions like these from a variety of intellectual perspectives. Spanning the fields of psychology, philosophy, political science, computer science, and linguistics, our investigation will center around the values at stake in communicating with others. To stimulate the process of drafting, peer feedback, reflection, and revision, we will engage with scholarly texts such as N.J. Enfield’s Language vs. Reality and George Orwell’s classic essay “Politics and the English Language.” In short analytical papers, as well as a final 8- to 10-page research paper, we will use academic writing to discover, test, examine, and communicate our thoughts.To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. | Zachary Barber | Tues/Thurs | 2:00 PM - 3:15 PM | Rush Rhees Library Room G108 |
| WRTG 105-43 - Our Different Mirrors: Multitude in the American Experience | Lecture | What does it mean to contain multitudes? Whether defined as “a number of things” or “a collective body or unit,” how do we make meaning of those definitions in relation to us? How might writing be used to further understand the multitudes contained within us? We’ll explore these questions from an array of literary, philosophical, sociological, and psychological perspectives. Using America (a “melting pot” of cultures and collectives) as our setting, we’ll discuss major socially-constructed categories—such as race, gender, and class—and the ways writers define and defy those categories through their writing. The texts we’ll analyze and write about range from individual, personal experiences in America to manuscripts examining the country on a broader scale; examples include excerpts of Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself” (1892) and Gloria Anzaldua’s La Frontera to Childish Gambino’s “This is America” (2018) to Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s Everything, Everywhere, All at Once (2022). Along with class discussions, students will sharpen their writing skills (and expression of their multitudes) through informal and formal writing assignments. Formal writing assignments will undergo a process of reflection, peer feedback, and revision, culminating in an 8-10 page argumentative research paper in relation to the course’s themes.To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. | Micah Williams | Mon/Wed | 4:50 PM - 6:05 PM | Meliora Room 218 |
| WRTG 105-44 - “Posthuman” Future: The Intersection of A.I., Identity, and Ethics | Lecture | This course is an exploration of the possibilities of our technological future, inviting students to question, think, debate, and write about what it means to be human in a world where Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) is increasingly integrated into our lives. With a focus on posthumanism, students will explore the philosophical movement that considers the implications of surpassing traditional human limitations through advanced technologies. Posthumanism challenges established notions of what it means to be human in the context of A.I., biotechnology, and cybernetics, leading to new forms of identity and ethical frameworks. With this in mind, students will reflect on the intersection of A.I.,identity, and ethics. Students will read a variety of critical scholarly works, including Donna Haraway and Katherine Hayles. We will also experience interaction with A.I. models such as “Call Annie,” and watch films like The Age of A.I.. The writing assignments include three 2- to 3-page formal, creative, and speculative essays and an 8- to 10-page formal argumentative research paper. All formal assignments will undergo a rigorous process of drafting, peer review, and revision, emphasizing the development of strong writing skills and critical thinking.To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. | Adma Gama-Krummel | Mon/Wed | 11:50 AM - 1:05 PM | Lechase Room 161 |
| WRTG 105-45 - Writing, Photography and Artificial Intelligence | Lecture | In this course, we will explore how the synergy of writing, photography, and AI enhances storytelling and creative expression. We will engage with two pivotal questions: How do photography and writing, each with its unique way of capturing and depicting reality, interweave to complement one another? And, in what ways does AI redefine the boundaries, potentialities, and intersections of these creative expressions? You will explore on-campus/online exhibitions, take photos in photo walks around the campus, and write formal and informal papers such as photo essays, blogs, etc. Readings will include texts such as On Writing with Photography by Beckman and Weissberg and The Perception Machine: Our Photographic Future between the Eye and AI by Joanna Zylinska. You will also explore how notable photojournalists and AI artists, like Graeme Green and Boris Eldagsen, use these mediums for their creative and professional pursuits. As you reflect on these activities in discussions and writings, you will develop your own response to the issues pertaining to the course theme. This will culminate in an 8-10-page argumentative final research paper. The formal assignments, including the research paper, will undergo peer feedback, reflection, and revision before submission.To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. | Md Mamunur Rashid | Tues/Thurs | 12:30 PM - 1:45 PM | Lechase Room 182 |
| WRTG 105-46 - Know Thyself: The Idea of Humanity | Lecture | What informs our understanding of what it means to be human? This course will explore the question of how we understand our own humanity using writing as a dialogic tool to engage with course themes. Through texts from the Western tradition, such as those of Plato, the Book of Genesis, and Renaissance discourses such as those of Pico della Mirandola, we will examine the ideological components of the Western “Human,” as well as how it is imagined, and challenged, in current discourse. These investigations will feature contemporary texts which include films like Downsizing and Bladerunner, the fiction of Richard Powers and Ursula K. LeGuin, and the criticism of Sylvia Wynter, Alan Watts, and other scholarship from within a Buddhist and post-humanist paradigm. Students will explore course concerns through a range of informal and formal writing, including an argument-based research paper of 8-10 pages that speaks to course themes. Formal assignments will incorporate a process that includes peer feedback, reflection, and revision. Ultimately, this course aims to enable students to use writing as a process of self-expression and reflection which uncovers that which is hidden in our own self-understanding. To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. | Diana Davis | Mon/Wed | 4:50 PM - 6:05 PM | Hylan Building Room 306 |
| WRTG 105-47 - The Self-Help Genre: From Confucius to Contemporary Culture | Lecture | What is self-help? Why is there a growing demand for practical literature that aims to move us towards becoming better versions of ourselves? How do self-help books promote a specific mode of reading? Does advice-giving still hold a place amongst the many uses of literature? In this course, we will investigate the self-help genre through dialogue, discussion, and academic writing. We will chart the origins of the genre from its earlier roots such as The Analects of Confucius and Seneca’s Letters from a Stoic to its modern turn popularized by books such as Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People and Jordan Peterson’s 12 Rules for Life. We will observe how self-help has resonated with different groups throughout history while drawing the ire and condescension of others who refuse to consider it as serious literature. Through formal and informal writing, students will learn to formulate well-structured and coherent arguments. Formal assignments will be refined through a process of reflection, peer review, and instructor feedback. Our work will culminate in an 8-10 page argumentative research paper that demonstrates student ability to engage in a critical conversation around the self-help genre.To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. | Abdullah Shaikh | Tues/Thurs | 3:25 PM - 4:40 PM | Hylan Building Room 307 |
| WRTG 105-49 - Paying Attention: The Power Of Focus In A Chaotic World | Lecture | We live in a world of notifications, advertisements, social media, AI content, and news stories, all demanding our immediate and sustained attention. Indeed, attention seems to be an endangered resource, with consequences for our mental health, ability to learn, and personal agency. Through reading, discussion, and writing, we will explore the following increasingly difficult questions: how can we regain control of our attention, and what should we use it for? Engaging with research from neuroscientists (e.g., Barbara Shinn-Cunningham), clinical perspectives, and yogic texts (e.g., the Bhagavad Gita), you will develop a multifaceted understanding of attention as a cognitive resource for not only productivity but also personal growth, happiness, and societal change. Practically, attention will serve as a useful tool in refining your own writing process to succeed in this course and beyond. Alongside smaller, informal assignments designed to support your exploration of the course theme and development as a writer, you will complete formal assignments, including an 8-10-page-argumentative research paper on a relevant topic of your choice, involving in-class discussion, self-reflection, and peer and instructor feedback. To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. |
Maddy Cappelloni | Mon/Wed | 9:00 AM - 10:15 AM | Meliora Room 209 |
| WRTG 105-51 - Sports as Politics: The Convergence of Sports and Political Argument in Contemporary United States | Lecture | In what scholars have dubbed “The Age of Fracture,” it is no surprise that sports and fandom are increasingly shaped by political values. In the past couple of years sports fans have argued over boycotting different sports leagues, kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality, and changing racially insensitive team names and logos. How has this politicization changed what it means to be a sports fan? Why are these questions debated through sports? Are sports inherently political? This course will explore these and other implications of the growing politicization of American sports. In order to do so, students will read, watch, listen to, and compare modern sports and political journalism from a wide range of media outlets including ESPN, theringer.com, CNN, Fox News, etc. In class discussion and through journals and other short writing assignments, students will be asked to analyze the format of this coverage and the perspectives and underlying assumptions that shape it. Students will also write 3 short papers developing ideas raised throughout the semester with each paper undergoing peer response, instructor feedback, and reflection. The course will culminate in an 8-10 page argumentative research paper on a sports debate of the student’s choosing. To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. |
Justin Grossman | Mon/Wed | 2:00 PM - 3:15 PM | Genesee Hall Room 309 |
| WRTG 105-52 - The Fame Monster | Lecture | Andy Warhol famously said, “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” In a world of reality TV, influencer-celebrities, and virality, Warhol’s claim seems prophetic. But what role does fame play in our culture? What are the costs of fame? Does it serve as a surrogate for religion in an increasingly secular world? These questions will be explored through an ongoing process of inquiry and writing across a variety of disciplines: cultural studies, film, literature, anthropology, political science, and economics (amongst others). We will encounter popular texts like Britney Spears’s celeb-memoir The Woman in Me, Lady Gaga’s album The Fame Monster, and George Cukor’s version of A Star is Born along with scholarly meditations by Jonathan Goldman and David Schmid. By foregrounding strategies such as revision, personal reflection, peer response, and more, the course will call on students to develop their critical writing and communication abilities while exploring how fame shapes us and our larger world(s). The culmination of each student’s work will be an 8-10-page argumentative research paper on course themes, as well as a multimodal project designed to engage audiences beyond the classroom.To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. | Matt Bayne | Mon/Wed | 10:25 AM - 11:40 AM | Rush Rhees Library Room 304E |
| WRTG 105-53 - Unraveling Urban Spaces | Lecture | What spaces make you wonder, enchant, or intimidate you? Which are meaningful to you, and how? Is it a hipster café, an old bookstore or a homeless tent? As we inhabit and shape space, we infuse it with layers of meaning. If you wish to unravel meanings behind the cityscapes of Rochester, this course is one way in. No special background is needed; any scholarly perspectives on urban sprawl can guide your inquiry. First, adopting walking ethnographic interview by Evans & Jones 2011, we run a short pilot study on a campus spot together, trying out a range of lenses, e.g., what happens if we take on a tourist gaze following sociologist Urry, or give it a visual spin relying on art historian Berger or consider exclusion of the poor inspired by social cartographer Vaughn? These early explorations involve some short formal and informal writing. Then, the students apply the method to individually explore a Rochester site of choice. Thus, the pilot study is transformed into an 8-10 page argumentative research paper. Through drafting and redrafting, writer’s reflections, peer responses and engaging with sources on urban cityscape, we arrive at a compilation of our research papers on the local urban gems. To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. |
Solveiga Armoskaite | Mon/Wed | 10:25 AM - 11:40 AM | Lechase Room 122 |
| WRTG 105-66 - Writing and Mindfulness as Tools for Living | Lecture | WRTG 105 introduces students to academic writing at the college level and an awareness of variations across the disciplines. The course offers instruction in small sections that focus on the act of writing. It provides instruction and practice in clear and effective writing and in constructing cogent and compelling arguments, as students draft and revise numerous compositions of different forms and lengths. These assignments introduce some of the genres students are expected to produce later in their college careers as well as in their public and professional lives after graduation. The subject of the course is writing, but since writing is about something, each section of WRTG 105 focuses on a unique theme. Within this theme, students analyze, discuss, and engage with a range of texts in order to construct their own arguments and a final argumentative research paper. Students consider the roles of audience and purpose in shaping the organization, style and argumentative strategies of their papers, and they learn to become self-aware readers of their writing through reflection, peer response, revision, and editing. All sections include writing instruction, workshops, and practice in core writing principles and strategies needed to meet the course learning objectives and to become successful writers in and beyond college. | Zachary Barber | Groveland Correctional Facility, Sonyea, NY On-Site | |
| WRTG 105A-01 - Contemplating Mindfulness in Writing and Beyond | Lecture | What does it mean to be mindful? How does it help during the writing process? What are the practices of a mindful writer? Mindfulness refers to the mental state of directing one’s attention to the present moment, and its benefits expand to a variety of domains, such as emotional well-being and cognition. This course will broadly focus on these benefits while primarily examining the act of being mindful as a writing tool. Students will take part in mindful practices including reflexive writing, focused attention exercises, and light mediation to support the writing process. They will also learn about mindfulness perspectives from Ellen Langer, Jon Kabat-Zinn, and other scholars in the field. This course emphases the importance of argument development through informal and formal writing assignments and contemplative practices, such as writer reflection, peer feedback, and revision. By the end of the course, students will have compiled mindful techniques to use in a variety of writing contexts.To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. | Suzanne Woodring | Tues/Thurs | 9:40 AM - 10:55 AM | Hylan Building Room 305 |
| WRTG 105A-02 - Language as Window into Mind | Lecture | This course significantly and in a sustained way addresses issues of diversity, equity, inclusion.Language lets us share with others thoughts once trapped inside our own mind, but it’s also been argued to shape or constrain those thoughts. Are our minds shaped by the language we speak? Does language make the human mind special? How should we think about developments in AI and machine translation that have brought machines closer to using language? Could these machines have minds, and how would we know? Our interdisciplinary inquiry will consider a wide variety of perspectives — from psychology, linguistics, philosophy, neuroscience, and AI — and also explore how these themes play out in TV, movies, and literature. These discussions and readings will inform the drafting and revision of two short argumentative papers. We’ll draw upon concepts from cognitive science to develop ideas about how to produce effective written arguments that are clear and engaging for readers, and work to ensure each student builds confidence in their role as academic writers.To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. | Whitney Gegg-Harrison | Tues/Thurs | 9:40 AM - 10:55 AM | Lechase Room 160 |
| WRTG 105A-03 - Man, Machine, and Morality | Lecture | Human culture and machine/technology culture are becoming more and more entangled in recent decades. In this course, we will engage a variety of questions regarding the social, political, and moral implications of this entanglement. Should autonomous systems be permitted in warfare? Should human enhancement technologies be controlled by parents or by governments? Should humanity strive to throw off the constraints of biological existence for something else entirely? What are genetic "diseases" and should we try to eliminate them? We will use the tools of research, writing, argument, and discussion to hone our views on these complex issues and learn to communicate our conclusions through writing. Students will develop two analytical and argumentative essays during this course. Successful completion of the course will prepare students for the research proposal and 8-10 page argumentative research paper.To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. | James Otis | Mon/Wed | 10:25 AM - 11:40 AM | Genesee Hall Room 323 |
| WRTG 105A-04 - Belonging | Lecture | What is “belonging”? What does it do for individuals physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially? Scholars in a variety of disciplines have studied and recognized belonging as a fundamental human need with a profound impact on individuals’ well-being. Still, people understand and experience belonging differently. How do individuals experience belonging differently? And how does it affect them? How could individuals create a sense of belonging in different contexts, such as family, college, the workplace, social media, and society? In this class, we will focus on the intricacies of belonging and explore these questions through reading, discussions, and writing. Course texts will include a range of news and scholarly articles and essays by writers such as Amy Tan, Trevor Noah, and Adrienne Rich, as well as films such as Pixar’s Purl and Legally Blonde. You will learn academic writing strategies to develop your own inquiries and engage with yourself and others in both informal and formal writing. Through weekly writing workshops, peer responses, self-reflection, and a process of drafting and revising, you will develop and support your ideas in two shorter argumentative essays. This course will prepare you for the research proposal and an 8-10 page argumentative research paper you will write for WRTG 105B To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. |
Xinyue Wang | Mon/Wed | 12:30 PM - 1:45 PM | Wegmans Room 1005 |
| WRTG 105A-05 - Queer and Trans* Narratives: From Memoir to Metaphor | Lecture | Sharing stories is fundamental in shaping identity, but when does storytelling end and living begin? What does it mean to inherit the trauma of the past? How does language affect these experiences? What does it mean to be queer and/or trans* when narrating an experience? Through a series of in-class discussions, informal group assignments, peer feedback, reflection, revision, and short analytical writing exercises, we will start to understand the boundaries of space and time in queer and trans* narratives. We will apply these skills twice during the semester when writing two formal essays. Academic texts teaching a rhetorical writing style include Rossenwasser, Booth, and Ballinger. In this slow-paced environment, we critically examine queer and trans* history using visual media, the written word, and social media. Some texts include writers Susan Stryker, Jose Muñoz, and Sara Ahmed. We will also watch the movie Cloud Atlas. Join me on this path of (re)discovering queer and trans* history as we apply those stories to the act of living authentically as one’s true self. To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher in both 105A and 105B. To proceed from WRTG 105A to WRTG 105B, students must earn a grade of “C” or higher. WRTG 105B should be taken the semester directly after completing WRTG 105A with a C or better. |
Liam Kusmierek | Mon/Wed | 4:50 PM - 6:05 PM | Frederick Douglass Room 302 |
| WRTG 105E-03 - Thinking about Thinking: The Human Brain at Work | Lecture | YOU MUST REGISTER FOR RECITATION WRTG 105E-04 WHEN REGISTERING FOR THIS SECTION The brain is complex. It is responsible for countless functions from storage and retrieval of memories to reflexive responses to stimuli. How does it allow us to interact with the world through sensory input and active output as we think, speak, and write? What happens in the brain when we shift between these everyday tasks? In this course, we will explore how these intertwined functions compare cognitively and how each contributes to communication from neurological, cognitive, and behavioral perspectives. The works of Steven Pinker, V. S. Ramachandran, as well as other scholarly and popular sources will be investigated through informal and formal writing experiences. This course emphasizes the importance of the writing process through writer-reflection, peer feedback, and revision. The culmination is an 8 to 10 page research paper where you will develop an argument that is informed by your perspective and the existing research. You will also highlight your findings through a multimodal presentation. YOU MUST REGISTER FOR RECITATION WRTG 105E-04 WHEN REGISTERING FOR THIS SECTION To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. | Suzanne Woodring | Mon/Wed | 10:25 AM - 11:40 AM | Genesee Hall Room 321 |
| WRTG 105E-04 - Thinking about Thinking: The Human Brain at Work | Recitation | The brain is complex. It is responsible for countless functions from storage and retrieval of memories to reflexive responses to stimuli. How does it allow us to interact with the world through sensory input and active output as we think, speak, and write? What happens in the brain when we shift between these everyday tasks? In this course, we will explore how these intertwined functions compare cognitively and how each contributes to communication from neurological, cognitive, and behavioral perspectives. The works of Steven Pinker, V. S. Ramachandran, as well as other scholarly and popular sources will be investigated through informal and formal writing experiences. This course emphasizes the importance of the writing process through writer-reflection, peer feedback, and revision. The culmination is an 8 to 10 page research paper where you will develop an argument that is informed by your perspective and the existing research. You will also highlight your findings through a multimodal presentation.To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. | Suzanne Woodring | Friday | 10:25 AM - 11:15 AM | Hylan Building Room 306 |
| WRTG 105E-05 - Language as Window into Mind | Lecture | YOU MUST REGISTER FOR RECITATION WRTG 105E-06 WHEN REGISTERING FOR THIS SECTIONThis course significantly and in a sustained way addresses issues of diversity, equity, inclusion.Language lets us share with others thoughts once trapped inside our own mind, but it’s also been argued to shape or constrain those thoughts. Are our minds shaped by the language we speak? Does language make the human mind special? How should we think about developments in AI and machine translation that have brought machines closer to using language like humans? Could these machines have minds, and how would we know? Our interdisciplinary inquiry will consider a wide variety of perspectives — from psychology, linguistics, philosophy, neuroscience, and AI — and also explore how these themes play out in TV, movies, and literature. We’ll draw upon concepts from cognitive science and linguistics to learn to produce effective written arguments that are clear and engaging for readers, working towards a research project in which you develop an argument connecting the interdisciplinary themes of the class to your own interests.YOU MUST REGISTER FOR RECITATION WRTG 105E-06 WHEN REGISTERING FOR THIS SECTIONTo fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. | Whitney Gegg-Harrison | Tues/Thurs | 11:05 AM - 12:20 PM | Meliora Room 219 |
| WRTG 105E-06 - Language as Window into Mind | Recitation | This course significantly and in a sustained way addresses issues of diversity, equity, inclusion.Language lets us share with others thoughts once trapped inside our own mind, but it’s also been argued to shape or constrain those thoughts. Are our minds shaped by the language we speak? Does language make the human mind special? How should we think about developments in AI and machine translation that have brought machines closer to using language like humans? Could these machines have minds, and how would we know? Our interdisciplinary inquiry will consider a wide variety of perspectives — from psychology, linguistics, philosophy, neuroscience, and AI — and also explore how these themes play out in TV, movies, and literature. We’ll draw upon concepts from cognitive science and linguistics to learn to produce effective written arguments that are clear and engaging for readers, working towards a research project in which you develop an argument connecting the interdisciplinary themes of the class to your own interests.To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. | Whitney Gegg-Harrison | Friday | 10:25 AM - 11:15 AM | Lechase Room 104 |
| WRTG 105E-07 - Being Homo Sapiens: The Brain, The Mind, The Heart and Full Catastrophe | Lecture | YOU MUST REGISTER FOR RECITATION WRTG 105E-07 WHEN REGISTERING FOR THIS SECTION This course significantly and in a sustained way addresses issues of diversity, equity, inclusion.We call ourselves Homo sapiens sapiens: a knowing species. But how does the human consciousness work? Why does the mind also wander afield and go on autopilot, as noted by neuroscience, behavioral medicine, and meditative traditions? In catastrophe, how might mindfulness of our behaviors reveal important information about the individuals and the species? We will consider these questions by exploring poetry by writers from Rumi to Mary Oliver to Derek Walcott and films such as Ghost in the Shell and The Matrix. Other readings probe how the brain, mind, and heart work subtly to create realities—realities as fleeting as they can be profound and consequential. We invite everyone to join our interdisciplinary inquiry while cultivating academic writing skills through discussion, formal and informal writing, peer review, revision, writer reflection, and a final argumentative research paper. YOU MUST REGISTER FOR RECITATION WRTG 105E-07 WHEN REGISTERING FOR THIS SECTION To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. |
Stella Wang | Tues/Thurs | 9:40 AM - 10:55 AM | Wegmans Room 1005 |
| WRTG 105E-08 - Being Homo Sapiens: The Brain, The Mind, The Heart and Full Catastrophe | Recitation | This course significantly and in a sustained way addresses issues of diversity, equity, inclusion.We call ourselves Homo sapiens sapiens: a knowing species. But how does the human consciousness work? Why does the mind also wander afield and go on autopilot, as noted by neuroscience, behavioral medicine, and meditative traditions? In catastrophe, how might mindfulness of our behaviors reveal important information about the individuals and the species? We will consider these questions by exploring poetry by writers from Rumi to Mary Oliver to Derek Walcott and films such as Ghost in the Shell and The Matrix. Other readings probe how the brain, mind, and heart work subtly to create realities—realities as fleeting as they can be profound and consequential. We invite everyone to join our interdisciplinary inquiry while cultivating academic writing skills through discussion, formal and informal writing, peer review, revision, writer reflection, and a final argumentative research paper.To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. | Stella Wang | Monday | 10:25 AM - 11:15 AM | Hylan Building Room 306 |
| WRTG 105E-09 - Impacts of Engineering | Lecture | YOU MUST REGISTER FOR RECITATION WRTG 105E-10 WHEN REGISTERING FOR THIS SECTION Advancements in engineering affect almost every aspect of our society, but what is the nature of this impact? How do engineering solutions influence the social, cultural, and environmental contexts within which they are implemented? Students will explore questions such as these by using writing as a tool for inquiry, discovery, and knowledge construction. In constructing new knowledge, students will also learn how to navigate ethical issues around proper attribution of ideas, as this is important to both writers and engineers. Class discussions, readings, and informal assignments will work together to inform the drafting and revision of two short argumentative essays, an 8-10 page research paper, and a multimodal composition for a public audience. Through peer response and self-assessment, students will learn how to effectively communicate with a variety of audiences. YOU MUST REGISTER FOR RECITATION WRTG 105E-10 WHEN REGISTERING FOR THIS SECTION To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. | Liz Tinelli | Tues/Thurs | 12:30 PM - 1:45 PM | Lechase Room 184 |
| WRTG 105E-10 - Impacts of Engineering | Recitation | Advancements in engineering affect almost every aspect of our society, but what is the nature of this impact? How do engineering solutions influence the social, cultural, and environmental contexts within which they are implemented? Students will explore questions such as these by using writing as a tool for inquiry, discovery, and knowledge construction. In constructing new knowledge, students will also learn how to navigate ethical issues around proper attribution of ideas, as this is important to both writers and engineers. Class discussions, readings, and informal assignments will work together to inform the drafting and revision of two short argumentative essays, an 8-10 page research paper, and a multimodal composition for a public audience. Through peer response and self-assessment, students will learn how to effectively communicate with a variety of audiences.To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. | Liz Tinelli | Friday | 10:25 AM - 11:15 AM | Hylan Building Room 206 |
| WRTG 105E-13 - Comics and Culture | Lecture | YOU MUST REGISTER FOR RECITATION WRTG 105E-15 WHEN REGISTERING FOR THIS SECTION In the US, comics are often relegated to the Sunday Funnies or denigrated as cartoons for children. But images can express ideas that are difficult to articulate in words, and comics can bring these modes together in beautiful and startling ways. But how do comics “work”? Why do we think of comics as kids’ books while most readers are adults? Are there stories that can only be told in comics? To answer these questions, we will engage in scholarly research and analyze exemplary texts including the biographical Holocaust narrative, Maus, and superheroes facing apocalypse in Watchmen. Through reading, writing, and discussion we will explore comics in terms of form and narrative; we’ll look at the specific strengths of comics in relation to other media. Alongside this exploration, students will develop academic writing strategies through reflection, peer response, and revision. Assignments will include an 8-10 page argumentative research paper and will culminate in a multimodal project of their own design. YOU MUST REGISTER FOR RECITATION WRTG 105E-15 WHEN REGISTERING FOR THIS SECTION To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. |
Karl Mohn | Tues/Thurs | 12:30 PM - 1:45 PM | Lechase Room 124 |
| WRTG 105E-14 - Comics and Culture | Lecture | YOU MUST REGISTER FOR RECITATION WRTG 105E-16 WHEN REGISTERING FOR THIS SECTION In the US, comics are often relegated to the Sunday Funnies or denigrated as cartoons for children. But images can express ideas that are difficult to articulate in words, and comics can bring these modes together in beautiful and startling ways. But how do comics “work”? Why do we think of comics as kids’ books while most readers are adults? Are there stories that can only be told in comics? To answer these questions, we will engage in scholarly research and analyze exemplary texts including the biographical Holocaust narrative, Maus, and superheroes facing apocalypse in Watchmen. Through reading, writing, and discussion we will explore comics in terms of form and narrative; we’ll look at the specific strengths of comics in relation to other media. Alongside this exploration, students will develop academic writing strategies through reflection, peer response, and revision. Assignments will include an 8-10 page argumentative research paper and will culminate in a multimodal project of their own design. YOU MUST REGISTER FOR RECITATION WRTG 105E-16 WHEN REGISTERING FOR THIS SECTION To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. |
Karl Mohn | Tues/Thurs | 3:25 PM - 4:40 PM | Hylan Building Room 206 |
| WRTG 105E-15 - Comics and Culture | Recitation | In the US, comics are often relegated to the Sunday Funnies or denigrated as cartoons for children. But images can express ideas that are difficult to articulate in words, and comics can bring these modes together in beautiful and startling ways. But how do comics “work”? Why do we think of comics as kids’ books while most readers are adults? Are there stories that can only be told in comics? To answer these questions, we will engage in scholarly research and analyze exemplary texts including the biographical Holocaust narrative, Maus, and superheroes facing apocalypse in Watchmen. Through reading, writing, and discussion we will explore comics in terms of form and narrative; we’ll look at the specific strengths of comics in relation to other media. Alongside this exploration, students will develop academic writing strategies through reflection, peer response, and revision. Assignments will include an 8-10 page argumentative research paper and will culminate in a multimodal project of their own design. To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. | Karl Mohn | Wednesday | 3:25 PM - 4:15 PM | 08/25/2025 - 12/17/2025 | Lattimore Room 413 |
| WRTG 105E-16 - Comics and Culture | Recitation | In the US, comics are often relegated to the Sunday Funnies or denigrated as cartoons for children. But images can express ideas that are difficult to articulate in words, and comics can bring these modes together in beautiful and startling ways. But how do comics “work”? Why do we think of comics as kids’ books while most readers are adults? Are there stories that can only be told in comics? To answer these questions, we will engage in scholarly research and analyze exemplary texts including the biographical Holocaust narrative, Maus, and superheroes facing apocalypse in Watchmen. Through reading, writing, and discussion we will explore comics in terms of form and narrative; we’ll look at the specific strengths of comics in relation to other media. Alongside this exploration, students will develop academic writing strategies through reflection, peer response, and revision. Assignments will include an 8-10 page argumentative research paper and will culminate in a multimodal project of their own design. To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. | Karl Mohn | Wednesday | 4:50 PM - 5:40 PM | Lattimore Room 413 |
| WRTG 105E-17 - Utopia on the Page, in Practice, and in Theory | Lecture | YOU MUST REGISTER FOR RECITATION WRTG 105E-18 WHEN REGISTERING FOR THIS SECTION What is a utopia? How are utopias imagined, and what are the motivations, methods, and consequences of imagining them? If we can actually build utopias, should we? Can utopian communities ever be sustainable? Through our inquiry, discussion, and writing, we will explore these questions and investigate the concept of utopia more broadly. To do so, we will encounter fictional utopias through speculative literature, learn about global utopian communities through academic and popular sources like articles and podcasts, and consider philosophical writings on utopia. We will read “Sultana’s Dream” by Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, stories by Ursula Le Guin and N.K. Jemisin, and scholarly works by Lyman Tower Sargent and others. In informal and formal writing assignments, students will respond creatively and critically to these works and to each other, writing reflections and developing arguments to enter into the larger conversation. Formal assignments, including an 8-10 page argumentative research paper, will involve peer feedback, revision, and writer-reflection. Through these endeavors, students will learn and apply the conventions of academic writing. Students are also invited to explore questions of utopia through any disciplines that they are familiar with or interested in such as technology, art, and biology, to name just a few. YOU MUST REGISTER FOR RECITATION WRTG 105E-18 WHEN REGISTERING FOR THIS SECTION To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. |
Claire Corbeaux | Tues/Thurs | 2:00 PM - 3:15 PM | Lechase Room 121 |
| WRTG 105E-18 - Utopia on the Page, in Practice, and in Theory | Recitation | What is a utopia? How are utopias imagined, and what are the motivations, methods, and consequences of imagining them? If we can actually build utopias, should we? Can utopian communities ever be sustainable? Through our inquiry, discussion, and writing, we will explore these questions and investigate the concept of utopia more broadly. To do so, we will encounter fictional utopias through speculative literature, learn about global utopian communities through academic and popular sources like articles and podcasts, and consider philosophical writings on utopia. We will read “Sultana’s Dream” by Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, stories by Ursula Le Guin and N.K. Jemisin, and scholarly works by Lyman Tower Sargent and others. In informal and formal writing assignments, students will respond creatively and critically to these works and to each other, writing reflections and developing arguments to enter into the larger conversation. Formal assignments, including an 8-10 page argumentative research paper, will involve peer feedback, revision, and writer-reflection. Through these endeavors, students will learn and apply the conventions of academic writing. Students are also invited to explore questions of utopia through any disciplines that they are familiar with or interested in such as technology, art, and biology, to name just a few. To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. | Claire Corbeaux | Monday | 2:00 PM - 2:50 PM | Lechase Room 148 |
| WRTG 105E-19 - A Beast of a Trope: Examining the Beauty and the Beast Trope in Media | Lecture | YOU MUST REGISTER FOR RECITATION WRTG 105E-20 WHEN REGISTERING FOR THIS SECTION Though Disney is often what we initially associate with the phrase “beauty and the beast,” when we peer a bit closer, we can see that this beauty and the beast trope is prevalent in many forms of media. Through reading a translation of the original fairytale written by Gabrielle- Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, and exploring other popular retellings, like Hayao Miyazaki’s Howl’s Moving Castle and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera, we will investigate, through reflective and argumentative informal and formal writing assignments, the following questions: What constitutes a beauty and the beast story? What is it about this trope that we find compelling? How does its repetition affect us? When and how do we define something or someone as “beautiful,” as “beastly”? Over the course of the semester, we will attempt to answer these questions, and others through various critical lenses like gender and sexuality, psychology, anthropology, and disability studies, while engaging with and producing diverse forms of written work. This class collaboration will provide students with the necessary skills, like peer response, self-reflection, and revision, to produce several formal writing assignments, including a final 8-10-page argumentative research paper by the semester’s end. YOU MUST REGISTER FOR RECITATION WRTG 105E-20 WHEN REGISTERING FOR THIS SECTION To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. |
Abbie Boudreaux | Tues/Thurs | 4:50 PM - 6:05 PM | Frederick Douglass Room 420 |
| WRTG 105E-20 - A Beast of a Trope: Examining the Beauty and the Beast Trope in Media | Recitation | Though Disney is often what we initially associate with the phrase “beauty and the beast,” when we peer a bit closer, we can see that this beauty and the beast trope is prevalent in many forms of media. Through reading a translation of the original fairytale written by Gabrielle- Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, and exploring other popular retellings, like Hayao Miyazaki’s Howl’s Moving Castle and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera, we will investigate, through reflective and argumentative informal and formal writing assignments, the following questions: What constitutes a beauty and the beast story? What is it about this trope that we find compelling? How does its repetition affect us? When and how do we define something or someone as “beautiful,” as “beastly”? Over the course of the semester, we will attempt to answer these questions, and others through various critical lenses like gender and sexuality, psychology, anthropology, and disability studies, while engaging with and producing diverse forms of written work. This class collaboration will provide students with the necessary skills, like peer response, self-reflection, and revision, to produce several formal writing assignments, including a final 8-10-page argumentative research paper by the semester’s end. To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. |
Abbie Boudreaux | Friday | 2:00 PM - 2:50 PM | Frederick Douglass Room 420 |
| WRTG 105E-25 - “Getting Back” to Nature: The Relationship between Humans and the Natural World | Lecture | YOU MUST REGISTER FOR RECITATION WRTG 105E-26 WHEN REGISTERING FOR THIS SECTION How is the relationship between humans and nature depicted in different cultures, disciplines, and times? How do we perceive ourselves as part of nature or separate from it? Through critically analyzing, discussing, and writing about texts from popular culture, the humanities, and the sciences, we will explore a range of attitudes toward nature, such as the need to heal ourselves through nature, to protect it from afar as a “pristine wilderness,” or even to conquer and subdue its unruliness. Drawing on these lines of inquiry and others we develop together, we will seek to better understand multifaceted human-nature relationships. Course materials include scholarly and popular articles, fiction, and social media, drawing on the work of Robin Wall Kimmerer, Merlin Sheldrake, Hayao Miyazaki, and Marie de France, among others. Group work, discussions, and informal and formal writing assignments will help us explore our ideas about humans and nature and will drive inquiry about this relationship and what it means to us. Because writing is a process of refining and clarifying ideas, all formal assignments will undergo drafts, peer feedback, and reflection. One formal assignment will be an 8-10-page argumentative research paper developed from your own interests in the course topic. YOU MUST REGISTER FOR RECITATION WRTG 105E-26 WHEN REGISTERING FOR THIS SECTION To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. |
Ashley Conklin | Tues/Thurs | 12:30 PM - 1:45 PM | Genesee Hall Room 323 |
| WRTG 105E-26 - “Getting Back” to Nature: The Relationship between Humans and the Natural World | Recitation | How is the relationship between humans and nature depicted in different cultures, disciplines, and times? How do we perceive ourselves as part of nature or separate from it? Through critically analyzing, discussing, and writing about texts from popular culture, the humanities, and the sciences, we will explore a range of attitudes toward nature, such as the need to heal ourselves through nature, to protect it from afar as a “pristine wilderness,” or even to conquer and subdue its unruliness. Drawing on these lines of inquiry and others we develop together, we will seek to better understand multifaceted human-nature relationships. Course materials include scholarly and popular articles, fiction, and social media, drawing on the work of Robin Wall Kimmerer, Merlin Sheldrake, Hayao Miyazaki, and Marie de France, among others. Group work, discussions, and informal and formal writing assignments will help us explore our ideas about humans and nature and will drive inquiry about this relationship and what it means to us. Because writing is a process of refining and clarifying ideas, all formal assignments will undergo drafts, peer feedback, and reflection. One formal assignment will be an 8-10-page argumentative research paper developed from your own interests in the course topic.To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. | Ashley Conklin | Friday | 11:50 AM - 12:40 PM | Genesee Hall Room 321 |
| WRTG 105E-33 - Not Boring Nonfiction | Lecture | YOU MUST REGISTER FOR RECITATION WRTG 105E-34 WHEN REGISTERING FOR THIS SECTION Nonfiction can often get a bad rap for being more boring than fiction, but is that really always the case? Throughout this course, we’re going to work with a number of nonfiction texts which show why the answer to that question is a resounding “No!”, and what we, as communicators, can learn from these texts which both inform and entertain us. From Hunter S. Thompson’s drug-addled escapades through Las Vegas to Jia Tolentino’s uneasy examination of Cocomelon, we’ll see how nonfiction writers follow, bend, and break traditional conventions around writing to create not-boring nonfiction. Along the way, we’ll break some of our own conventions about nonfiction, too, by examining how podcasts like Serial, Instagram posts and their comment sections, and even Reddit threads operate as effective and informative nonfiction texts. With these varied texts as reference points, students will develop writing skills which will equip them to effectively draft, research, and revise their own ideas for both academic and non-academic contexts. Class discussion, reflection and feedback, and formal and informal assignments will inform this practice, with student work culminating in an 8-10 page argumentative and not-boring research paper integrating course themes with individual interests. YOU MUST REGISTER FOR RECITATION WRTG 105E-34 WHEN REGISTERING FOR THIS SECTION To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. |
Marcie Woehl | Mon/Wed | 3:25 PM - 4:40 PM | Meliora Room 209 |
| WRTG 105E-34 - Not Boring Nonfiction | Recitation | Nonfiction can often get a bad rap for being more boring than fiction, but is that really always the case? Throughout this course, we’re going to work with a number of nonfiction texts which show why the answer to that question is a resounding “No!”, and what we, as communicators, can learn from these texts which both inform and entertain us. From Hunter S. Thompson’s drug-addled escapades through Las Vegas to Jia Tolentino’s uneasy examination of Cocomelon, we’ll see how nonfiction writers follow, bend, and break traditional conventions around writing to create not-boring nonfiction. Along the way, we’ll break some of our own conventions about nonfiction, too, by examining how podcasts like Serial, Instagram posts and their comment sections, and even Reddit threads operate as effective and informative nonfiction texts. With these varied texts as reference points, students will develop writing skills which will equip them to effectively draft, research, and revise their own ideas for both academic and non-academic contexts. Class discussion, reflection and feedback, and formal and informal assignments will inform this practice, with student work culminating in an 8-10 page argumentative and not-boring research paper integrating course themes with individual interests. To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher. | Marcie Woehl | Wednesday | 4:50 PM - 5:40 PM | Genesee Hall Room 308 |