College Writing Program

Reasoning & Writing in the College:
CAS 105
Spring 2003

Writing about English Language and Literature

Women Warriors: Examining Cultural Representations From Britomart to G.I. Jane and Beyond…
Jennifer Ailles, Department of English
TR 11:05 - 12:20 CRN 12036

Women warriors, both real and fictional, have long been fighting wars upon the cultural battlefield. Often women have fought just for the right to fight for what they believe in. But what makes a woman a warrior? Are women warriors really different from their masculine counterparts? How are women warriors imagined, specifically in literature, film, and other visual media, over time and in different milieus? In this course we will examine a multiplicity of cultural representations of women warriors ranging from the undefeated Britomart in Spenser's Faerie Queene to Demi Moore's sacrificial marine in G.I. Jane, and beyond to some real-life fighters. We will also look at classical antecedents such as the Goddess Diana and the Amazons and some of the most recent configurations of mercenaries and spies such as Charlie's Angels, Mulan, and Laura Croft. Through critical readings, film screenings, class discussion, and four written essays, we will address issues of gender, race, biology, class, and cultural politics that are raised through examining representations of women warriors. Students will be required to engage critically with the material and to actively strengthen their argumentative skills though journals, peer reviews, essay revisions, self-assessments, and in-class writing workshops.

Creating History and Heroes: Manipulations of Biography
Anjili Babbar, Department of English
TR 2:00 - 3:15 CRN 12072

William Wallace was a Scottish hero with impeccable morals and physical strength bordering on the superhuman; Charles Van Doren was a tremendously attractive yet naive university professor who was manipulated into destroying his own career by the television industry; the Marquis de Sade was a raving lunatic with a penchant for abusing women and a perpetual erection--or so modern cinema would have us believe. Eighteenth-century poet Thomas Chatterton was an angelic and "marvellous boy," victimized by a cruel and class-centered literary community, or a philandering scoundrel, depending on which biography one chooses to peruse. In this course, we will examine the distance between fact and representation with regard to biography. If we have learned anything from television shows such as "Hollywood versus History," it is that liberties are frequently taken with biographical representation. What might be the motivation for such distortions of life stories? Do they serve a political, social or literary agenda? What is the difference between a manipulation of facts for the purpose of making a point and a fallacy? We will begin by comparing historical accounts of a variety of biographies with their distorted literary or cinematic counterparts and creating journal entries which reflect our perceptions of the differences between the two and the potential reasons for those differences. Through revision, editing, peer workshops, and class discussions, these reactions will be developed into several short papers. One longer, final research paper will consider the history of biographical representation of a particular figure.

Adaptation: Writing amidst Changes in Technological Circumstance
Marty Boyden, Department of English
MW 6:15 - 7:30 CRN 12047

Foremost, this course aims to assist students in adapting to university writing expectations. Put more broadly, through formal writing assignments of varying lengths, readings in a variety of media, and exercises in research, peer review, self evaluation, and revision, this course will enable students to fit or suit their thoughts, talents, and writing abilities to the various forms of writing they will face over their education and in their professional lives. That's not to say this is a course in conformity or adherence to some sort of template. Rather, students should conceive of this course as an opportunity for development through the exploration and negotitation of their writing environment

In working toward this goal, this course will look at the theme of adaptation in a broader context, examining a range of texts illustrating a variety of responses, shifts, and adjustments (in the arts, politics, and culture) brought about by technological innovation. Some will be media specific, considering, for example, how theatre changes with developments in radio and sound recording technology. Others will address broader cultural considerations, such as a civilization's response to the advent of the atomic bomb. A few will even seem almost mundane, such as the
telephone's transformation of interpersonal relationships. Ultimately, our interest will be in how human ideas such as a self can be maintained or evolved in a world which, by our own invention, refuses to remain static.

"Don't Mean Nothin'": The Literature, Films, and Music of the Vietnam War
Daniel Donaghy, Department of English
TR 4:50 - 6:05 CRN 12115
http://www.courses.rochester.edu/donaghy/

In written and spoken arguments, students will analyze matters of gender, race, and class in relationship to the American soldier's role in the Vietnam War. Students will also examine questions of truth and responsibility, which often take the form of a struggle between private thought and public speech. Throughout the course, they will observe the effects of the experience gap between veterans and civilians, both during war and after soldiers return home. Students will write several short papers and one long research paper in addition to revisions, informal writing, peer reviews, and self-assessments. Student participation is critical; the success of a course like this depends on students' enthusiastic commitment to both written assignments and oral participation.

Cultural/Historical Representations of Race and Gender
Amy Fenstermaker, Department of English
MW 2:00 – 3:15 CRN 12173
http://www.courses.rochester.edu/fenstermaker/

As its title suggests, this writing course will focus on a variety of cultural and historical representations of race and gender, ranging from 20th century fiction to contemporary advertising, television and film. The course will be guided by, but not limited to, the following questions: how have early 20th century, as well as contemporary authors represented gender and/or race in their fictional work? How is an author’s representation of gender and/or race affected by his/her own gender and/or race? How do these representations compare to those found in contemporary advertising, television, and film? What do these representations suggest about their respective cultural and historical contexts? Based on these representations of gender and race, have we made any progress towards equality? Students will be asked to do in-class presentations, as well as informal/exploratory writing. Students will write a variety of papers of roughly 4-5 pages, one on each of the four media mentioned above. One of these will be an 8-10 page research paper. In the writing and revising of each of these papers, peer-feedback and self-assessment will play a prominent role.

Literature To Popular Film
Tina Giovanielli, Department of English
TR 11:05 - 12:20 CRN 12121

This course will explore late nineteenth and twentieth century literature and its adaptation to film. We will address such questions as: What appeals to readers about each work, and what makes it appropriate for film? What are the limits or possibilities of the adaptation? How does the transformation from the printed page to the silver screen alter the story, the characters, or the message of the work…and why?

Students will have the opportunity to address some of these questions and create others through a series of short papers, a longer research paper, peer and individual revising, and class participation. We will focus on forming arguments drawn from and supported by both the texts and the films, as well as secondary sources. The goal of this course is to learn about these media while at the same time acquiring writing skills that can be used across all disciplines. Texts and their corresponding films will be taken from the following list: H.G. Wells' The Time Machine, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence, Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day, Nick Hornby's High Fidelity, Alex Garland's The Beach and J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

Detective Fiction
Joanna Grant, Department of English
MWF 1:00 - 1:50 CRN 12168

From its beginnings, the detective novel has fostered a unique relationship with its readers. While it seduces us with colorful characters and distracting details, it challenges us to exercise our powers of logic, of critical thinking, and of the examination of conflicting evidence in order to answer the burning questions of Whodunit? And Why?! Let us savor the fact that "forensics" is a term encompassing the seemingly disparate fields of rhetoric and debate and the scientific disciplines of fact-finding and analysis practiced by medical examiners and other detectives. Indeed, the techniques of analysis common to both disciplines are essential to one and all in a world composed of floods of information and mere trickles of knowledge. In this class, we will not only engage in "Watching the Detectives" of the hard-boiled and film noir traditions as they grapple with issues of race, class, gender, sexuality, nationality, and (dis)ability as played out against the backdrops of their historical moments; we will become detectives ourselves, employing the tools of literary research skills, seminar discussions, writing workshops and peer reviews as methods of developing and clarifying ideas and arguments and expressing them in clear and lucid prose. The writing projects assigned in this class are designed to enable students to analyze their own strengths and weaknesses as writers and to generate strategies for self-improvement and for the constructive criticism of their peers' work. Students will assess their own and their colleagues' drafts in writing as part of the peer review process. The skills perfected in these workshops will help students as they prepare the analytical essays and the argumentative research paper that comprise the bulk of the class's assignments.

Crumbling Castles and Fainting Maidens: the Essential British Gothic Literature
Annie Heckel, Department of English
MW 2:00 - 3:15 CRN 12184
http://www.courses.rochester.edu/heckel/

It's a scene with which we're all very familiar: the young woman is all alone in some exotic location, disheveled and wearing a flimsy dress. Suddenly she looks up, gasping in shock as someone-- a vampire, a stitched-up monster, a dark-haired and sinister man-- enters the room, gazes at her for a moment, then strides quickly over just in time to catch her as she faints in terror. Beautiful maiden, foreign locale, threatening male figure: this triad has proved a fascinating combination for audiences everywhere. So where did it all begin? Gothic Literature.

Through writing, research, and discussion, this course will explore the crumbling spires and cobweb-festooned hallways of the British Gothic genre. Through books such as Matthew Lewis' The Monk, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, and Anne Radcliffe's Mysteries of Udolpho, we will critically examine the ways in which the genre utilizes gender roles, locale, and monstrosity in order to achieve its effect. Several short papers and one long research paper will be required, and students will revise papers after meetings with the instructor and peer review groups.

Writing in Camelot
Emily Huber, Department of English
MW 3:25 - 4:40 CRN 12201
http://www.courses.rochester.edu/huber/

Arthurian literature and film is, perhaps more than any other story-telling cycle in our culture, an organic and constantly growing entity. It has consistently expanded from 1136 —the date of the composition of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s History of the Kings of Britain,—and is still growing today. The motif is as much a part of contemporary popular culture as it is a part of our medieval heritage. From this viewpoint, we will read modern adaptations of the Arthurian legend by T.H. White, Bernard Cornwell, and Wendy Mnookin, as well as excerpts by Mary Stewart and Marion Zimmer Bradley, and through these readings enter into a context of writing and research. How does one write about popular culture in an academic fashion? Especially in such a sprawling body of sources, how can one narrow a topic for discussion in a paper or presentation, and keep that topic focused so as to promote the most effective argument? The University of Rochester is home to fantastic resources for Arthurian subjects and our course will include strategies in online and library research, utilizing the Camelot Project and the Robbins Library. Students will have the opportunity to explore the modern adaptations’ connections with their medieval sources through an oral report. Additional assignments will consist of three short papers, peer reviews, in-class revisions, and a longer research paper.

Tolkien, Crichton, and Godwin: Medievalism and the (Re)imagining of the Middle Ages
Michael Livingston, Department of English
MW 2:00 - 3:15 CRN 12150
http://www.courses.rochester.edu/livingston/

Reading list: Beowulf (trans. Liuzza), Saga of the Volsungs (trans. Byock), The Hobbit (Tolkien), Eaters of the Dead (Crichton), Tower of Beowulf (Godwin), secondary materials provided online or through course reserve.

In this course we will investigate the medieval roots of Fantasy Literature by focusing on critical readings of two medieval texts -- Beowulf and Saga of the Volsungs -- and beginning to understand how modern authors such as J.R.R. Tolkien, Michael Crichton, and Parke Godwin have reinterpreted those texts in the formation of their own works. We will discuss both medieval literature and the history of its interpretation in order to develop a more informed understanding of the place of Fantasy Literature in the Western Canon; and we will write extensively on these same concepts. Assignments include short papers responding to both primary and secondary texts, informal writing of both a creative and discursive kind, peer reviews, and a formal research paper. The over-arching aim of the course, therefore, is not only to learn new ways of approaching and engaging primary materials but also to learn how to convey newfound knowledge within a professional or academic environment. Class participation and attendance are, of course, mandatory.

Imagination and Materiality
Chuck Ripley, Department of English
MW 2:00 - 3:15 CRN 12020
http://www.courses.rochester.edu/ripley/CAS105/

Imagination is usually conceived of as expressive and subjective, belonging to a realm that is in many ways transcendent or beyond the reach of reason. Through class discussions, in-class writings, and papers, this writing class will interrogate the limits of this view, exploring how different media, genres, and audiences change the way imagination works, is conceived, and understood. These issues will be used as a springboard to exercise students' academic voices, which will be done in informal and formal writings, peer reviews, and self-assessments, with the goal of writing several clear analytical essays and a cogently argued research paper. Our primary text will be large excerpts from the comic, The Sandman, but we will also be examining movies, myths, two of Shakespeare's plays, and critical essays that will help us engage the material foundations of creativity and show how imagination is built from the materials of the everyday.

Cross Dressing in Western Literature, from Rome to the Renaissance
John Sutton, Department of English
TR 12:30 - 1:45 CRN 12303

There is a lively tradition of cross dressing in European literature. This course will examine a wide range of works in which women dress as men and men dress as women. We will take a roughly chronological approach, with units covering pre-Christian Roman writers, early Christian saints' lives, Joan of Arc and other cross-dressing heroines of the High Middle Ages, and the gender-bending aspects of Renaissance drama (including Shakespeare's As You Like It and Twelfth Night); finally, we will close with a unit dealing with twentieth-century interpretations of pre-modern cross dressing.

The course will focus on two central questions: why people in pre-modern times cross dressed, and how different elements of society (ordinary people, the Catholic Church, etc.) viewed cross dressing. Students will explore these questions in class discussions and written assignments (four formal papers, each with peer reviews and self-assessments, as well as daily in-class writing exercises). All of the written assignments, meanwhile, will be geared toward assisting students in honing writing skills that will benefit them both in college and in their future careers. Other assorted requirements for this course include class participation and faithful attendance. There will be no midterm or final exam, and no prior background in gender studies is necessary.

Murder, Madness, and Mayhem: Deciphering Detective Fiction
Dana Symons, Department of English
TR 2:00 - 3:15 CRN 12089

What do Sherlock Holmes and Hannibal Lecter have in common? At the border between the insane and the rational, both illustrate the satisfactions and pitfalls of analysis. In its many guises crime fiction seems to offer to make sense of life, as the detective ties up loose ends and locks up miscreants. At the same time, such stories often subtly expose the irrationalities of criminal, victim, and sleuth alike. Through a selection of short stories, novels, and films we will probe detective stories to discover what possibilities analysis holds for us as readers and writers. We will act as "literary detectives," investigating crime fiction as a genre, with a set of conventions, and as the ultimate questing and questioning narrative that raises issues about social ideals, values, and relations. Examining these texts' preoccupation with interpretation will help focus our discussions on reevaluating assumptions about writing, reading, and analysis. Discussions will in turn provide the groundwork for the writing required for this course. Revision, peer review, and self-assessments, crucial components of the course, will strengthen your access to the writing process and help you acquire the skills to evaluate your own work.

How She Did Whodunit Right: The Works of Agatha Christie
Gina D. Tonogbanua, Department of English
TR 2:00 - 3:15 CRN 12216

Who says "she done it right"? Just about everyone. Outsold only by Shakespeare and the Bible, Agatha Christie’s popularity and influence have spanned almost a century. In reading her works, we will examine how Christie uses the genre of detective fiction to address issues of race, class, and gender. We will read essays debating the feminist (and anti-feminist) interpretation of Christie’s works as well as of the genre itself. We will also read works by authors who have been influenced by Christie or have adapted her stage plays into novels. How have these authors taken Christie’s voice and made it their own? What does it mean to be a pseudo-Christie? What does it mean to take a finished work and recreate it in another genre? In a series of response papers, essays, and a final research project, you will evaluate and respond to issues raised in both primary and critical texts and come up with original arguments. Peer review sessions, small group activities, and general class discussions will allow you to participate in a critical dialogue and develop the skills you need to formulate clear and convincing arguments. In other words, get ready to use "your little gray cells."

Writing Pilgrimage: "...for to seken straunge strondes."
Andrew Wadoski, Department of English
TR 11:05 - 12:20 CRN 12139

Writing, like pilgrimage, is a process defined by a beginning and an end. We start in one place and move inexorably towards some goal. While the end points give definition and coherence, it is the journey betwixt and between that gives these end points significance. This course will examine writing as a process, a pilgrimage from one fixed point to another, and the ways the journey itself provides meaning and significance to its contextual frame. In doing so, we will situate our own writing within the context of narratives concerning pilgrimages and journeys, including Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas; William Faulkner’s The Big Woods; and St. Bonaventure’s Mind’s Journey to God. Through the readings, class discussion, essays, and a research paper, we will explore the idea of the journey, the relationship between beginning, middle, and end, and how this relationship is established in scholarly writing.

Man and the Natural World
Anne Zanzucchi, Department of English
MWF 9:00 - 9:50 CRN 12295

This course will examine representations of nature via a series of argumentative essays and a final research paper, all of which will be drafted, assessed and revised. Topics will include traditions of nature writing, human relations with the natural world, and depictions of animals that confirm or contest our humanity. Since sympathy for animals and ecological attitudes are relatively modern sensibilities, we will explore changing perspectives of the natural world from the eighteenth century to the present. We will discuss a variety of genres including fables, poetry, and short stories from an anthology, A Forest of Voices, and J. M. Coetzee's novel Disgrace.

Writing about Film

Women Directors, Women's Films, Women's Issues
Joseph Cameron, Department of English
TR 4:50 - 6:05 CRN 12329
http://www.courses.rochester.edu/cameron/

Despite their relative absence from standard film history textbooks, women directors played in integral role in the development of cinema. Many of their products - from the work of Alice Guy-Blache (often considered the first director) to Coralie Trinh Thi and Virginie Despentes's controversial Baise-Moi - address women-centered issues neglected by the patriarchal mainstream. This course will examine the issues within and the rhetorical strategies of an eclectic sampling of seminal films by equally important women directors; further, the semester will be designed as more of a thematic than an historical survey. We will consider issues such as prostitution, women's place(s) in history, and sexuality/lesbianism among others. Throughout the course, we will critically evaluate films (without resorting to "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" assessments) and utilize these films as catalysts for enhancing our reasoning skills. Simultaneously, we will implement these reasoning skills both orally and, in particular, in written form (through formal and informal writing assignments). In doing so, we will reconsider and reevaluate our own perspectives in favor of a larger, inclusive outlook. Through self-critiques, we will also become increasingly aware of our own writing and reasoning. Throughout the semester, students will engage diverse readings on the issues in question as well as critical analyses used to spark students' consideration of particular films.

Admirable Abjection: Monsters and Misfits in Film and Literature
April Miller, Department of English
MW 2:00 – 3:15 CRN 12196
http://www.courses.rochester.edu/miller

The abject is that which "does not respect borders, positions, rules. The in-between, the ambiguous, the composite." Abject, monstrous bodies are beings that deviate from the "norm" in form, structure, behavior, or character. As hybrids, they define the limits of cultures and respond specifically to cultural anxieties. They represent what we find both fascinating and frightening. This course aims to introduce students to the concept of monstrosity and abjection from an inter-disciplinary approach. We will analyze representations of abjection and monstrosity in nonfiction, poetry, fiction, and film. By examining numerous narrative forms, students will develop the critical reading, writing and research skills necessary to construct a diverse portfolio of writing, including an extended argumentative essay and a final research paper. Through peer evaluation, self-evaluation, editing seminars and on-going revision, students will strengthen this portfolio throughout the term. Assessment will emphasize the importance of the revision process and participation in class discussion and writing workshops. The goal is to have students emerge from this class as more confident writers who are capable of handling the diverse tasks in composition they will be asked to perform as both students and professionals.

Writing about History

Truth-Tellers and Other Rabble-Rousers: Dissident Voices from Totalitarian Europe
Julia Goodwin, Department of History
MWF 10:00 - 10:50 CRN 12238

In the totalitarian political climate typified by Nazi Germany, Stalinist Russia, and its Eastern Bloc satellites, words, especially words committed to paper, could be a life or death matter. Despite rigorous censorship and threats of imprisonment, exile and execution, creative individuals like Russian poet Anna Akhmatova and Czech Playwright Vaclav Havel dared to think and write critically. Placing personal conscience above dogmatic loyalty to the State they and their fellow dissidents revealed a deep-rooted need to bear witness to the life-shattering events of their time and reaffirm the power of truth. Students in this course will have the opportunity to explore the literature of dissent by reading, discussing, and most importantly, writing about representative works encompassing a variety of literary genres (poetry, essays, memoirs, and novels). Written assignments will include in-class writing, response papers, and three short papers designed to help students interact with the material as well as place it in political and historical contexts. Peer review and revision of these shorter assignments will be an intrinsic part of the course leading to a final research paper, which will enable students to build upon their earlier work, thereby further facilitating the revision process essential to effective writing.

The Holocaust in Literature
Jonathan Koehler, Department of History
TR 9:40 - 10:55 CRN 12283
http://www.courses.rochester.edu/koehler/cas105/

In his book The Drowned and the Saved, the Holocaust survivor Primo Levi described a civil society as one that safeguards the well-being of its most vulnerable members. The Holocaust was, from this perspective, one of the greatest tragedies of human history. This course teaches argumentative writing using auto-biographical narratives of the Holocaust -- such as Levi's --, while challenging students to critically analyze and evaluate sources using a variety of literary genres, as well as art, music, and film. Course themes will focus on the role of literature in defining the identity of victims and perpetrators, and will include sufficient historical background to contextualize the material. You will be expected to write three shorter essays of 4-5 pages each. Revisions of these first three essays, which will be facilitated through class workshops, peer review, and self-assessments, will enable you to understand the interaction between interpretation of texts, writing, and the critical reading of your (and your peers') work. The course work will culminate in a clearly constructed, well-argued research paper from 8-10 pages on a topic of your choice, but within the scope of the course.

Writing about Music

Punk Rock: Politics, Philosophy, and Music
Drew Abrams, Department of Physics and Astronomy
MW 2:00 - 3:15 CRN 12227

This course will use the movement known as "punk" to explore not only the music, but the philosophy and the politics surrounding the music. We will start with a brief history of punk and ask, "What circumstances in the US and Britain led to the development of punk rock as a genre of music?" From there, we will look closer at the culture of punk and examine issues such as anarchy, media representation, and DIY. Finally, the current state of punk will be analyzed and we will ask, "Is punk dead?" This course will emphasize writing throughout with workshops, peer-evaluations, self-evaluations, student journals, and, in particular, a comparison of punk to other musical genre and an analysis of the message the songwriter is trying to send through his/her music.

Jazz and Writing
Rodman King, Department of Philosophy
MWF 11:00 - 11:50 CRN 12107

Jazz is a unique form of American music characterized by syncopated rhythms and improvisation. Good pieces of jazz music have a set of common qualities (e.g., originality, harmonic diversity, compositional innovations, etc.). Likewise, good pieces of writing have a set of common qualities (e.g., clarity, conciseness, grammatical soundness, etc.). In this section of CAS 105, we will explore the elements of good writing through a study of aesthetic philosophy, music, and literature. The focus of this course is on improving your ability to organize and present your thoughts in a clear and concise manner. Students will be required to participate in revision and editing workshops, and read texts on writing and jazz. Writing assignments will consist of formal and informal analytical essays, and a final argumentative research paper. It is hoped that by the end of this course you will be able to express your thoughts in words and phrases in much the same way that John Coltrane expressed his thoughts in notes and measures. No prior musical or philosophical training is required for this course.

From Woody Guthrie to Ani DiFranco: Historical Perspectives on Recent American Folk Music
Tara McCarthy, Department of History
TR 9:40 - 10:55 CRN 12274
TR 11:05 - 12:20 CRN 12063

Historians reconstruct and interpret the past by studying sources. In this class, your sources will be folk songs (defined fairly broadly). We will explore folk/protest music in its social and political context through analysis of lyrics, study of themes in recent American history, and discussion of contemporary concerns. Some artists will be familiar but many will not be. We will listen. We will argue. We will write. As part of your development as writers, this class places particular emphasis on revision, and on your participation in the revising process of your classmates. Writing will be both an individual and a group project.

Writing about Philosophy

Writing to Effect Social Change
Jacqueline Augustine, Department of Philosophy
TR 9:40 - 10:55 CRN 12091
http://www.courses.rochester.edu/augustine/

When the internal reactions to societal injustices are powerful, translating those feelings into words can seem a daunting task. The leaders of many moral movements put their own feelings into words that not only resonated with others, but also served as an inspiration and catalyst for action. Through an examination of the personal and political writings of influential thinkers, this course will not only explore the power of the written word, but will challenge students to harness their own thoughts on contemporary issues into compelling and well-reasoned essays. These short papers will be subject to peer review as well as critical self-assessment to gauge the effectiveness of the argument. Students will become adept at determining which writing styles are most appropriate in varying contexts and will direct the short essays to a variety of audiences, including a final research paper on a topic of the student’s choosing to be sent to an appropriately-chosen elected official. These short essays and culminating position paper will apply the principles of critical thinking and analytic writing to issues that evoke strong emotions within the students. This solidifies the message that the written word is not only a powerful means of self-expression but a necessary and effective component of social and political change.

Minds, Brains, and Science Fiction
Andrei Buckareff, Department of Philosophy
TR 11:05 - 12:20 CRN 67114
http://www.courses.rochester.edu/buckareff/

This course is devoted to considering some problems about the philosophy of mind that emerge in two works in science fiction--Anthony Burgess's A Clockwork Orange and Arthur C. Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey. We will focus on the nature of human action (including free will) and whether computers can think (philosophy of artificial intelligence). Our guide through the philosophical issues will be John Searle's Minds, Brains, and Science. Other essays on these topics in the philosophy of mind will also be read.

A result of taking the course should be that the students develop an appreciation for how a literary genre can motivate philosophical problems. Students ought to come away from the course valuing the process of researching and writing that is central to all researchers in any research community. Through reading, class discussion, writing, critiquing their peers, and self-critique, the students should learn how writing and argument are tools for investigating and improving their understanding of information and concepts. The students will write several short papers, one long research paper, and revisions on their research paper. The end result should be that the ability of students to communicate by writing, clear, well-organized argumentative essays will be improved.

Ethics and Animals Like Us
Nathan Nobis, Department of Philosophy
TR 12:30-1:45 CRN 12312
http://courses.ats.rochester.edu/nobis/animals/mainpage.html

Many animals are like us: they can experience pleasure and pain, suffering and happiness, and can have lives that can go well or poorly for them. Some humans, however, are like many animals: they cannot reason, and lack language and self-consciousness. But we eat animals, wear their skins, and perform experiments on them, and it is widely assumed that it is morally permissible that we do so and that it would be seriously wrong to do this to humans. This is an assumption that most of us make without trying to justify it.

In this course we will examine both attempts to justify and to challenge this assumption. We will focus on the ethical issues raised by existing practices of factory farming and scientific experimentation. We will evaluate arguments that vegetarianism is morally required for people in modern societies and that animal experimentation is unjust and ought to be abolished. Related issues that will be discussed include sexism, racism, and other forms of discrimination (e.g., species-ism), abortion and infanticide, and civil disobedience.

The course will provide an introduction to ethics, basic logic, and critical reading, reasoning and writing. It will equip you with skills to distinguish an argument from an undefended assertion, a vocabulary to better enable you to rationally evaluate arguments, and guidance on how to produce arguments that are well-supported by evidence and reasons. To write well is to communicate well. Since we know that we have communicated well only if we know that others have understood us, we will develop our skills at giving constructive and helpful feedback on each other's writings in order to improve our writings' clarity, organization, and effectiveness at supporting our positions on the issues. You will also learn to be more critical of your own writing and develop insight into how to improve your own writing so it will be better understood and appreciated by your readers.

Writing about Psychology

Adolescent Storm and Stress: Fact or Fiction?
Christopher Daddis, Department of Clinical and Social Psychology
MW 2:00 - 3:15 CRN 12054

The popular media and the general public have consistently perpetuated the notion that adolescence is a time of upheaval and conflict. In reality, most teens and parents maintain close, warm relationships and maintain positive communication. Through writing and research, this course will explore and interrogate these contrasting views of adolescence. Integration of both popular media and academic sources will result in a number of short papers, eventually culminating in a longer final term paper. Instruction will guide students in writing papers that demonstrate clear communication of ideas and the development of sound arguments. Additionally, students will be introduced to proper use of the American Psychological Association style of manuscript preparation, an important skill needed for all students in all disciplines, especially those studying psychology or other social sciences. Classroom activities will include discussions, peer reviews, and assessments of the student’s own writing processes.

Writing about Science and Technology

Being Digital/Digital Writing
Brandon Barr, Department of English
MW 2:00 - 3:15 CRN 12142
http://www.courses.rochester.edu/barr/cas105/

"Computing is not about computers anymore," writes Nicholas Negroponte of the MIT Media Lab. "It is about living." As we work and live in our increasingly digital age, we tend to ignore the gigantic transformations that are taking place. Sure, our correspondence is moving faster with e-mail, and 50 cable channels have exploded into 500. But the really important transformations are both more basic and more revolutionary than all that. As computers change the way we live, they will change the way we talk to one another, and they will alter the ways in which we write. This course will explore the possibilities of being digital—and, perhaps more importantly, writing digitally. Our readings—many written by researchers of computer technologies—will speculate on the social and artistic implications of technology. The class will experiment with different methods of writing both on- and off-line to determine the key principles for interesting and effective writing. Those experiments will be explored in three shorter papers and one longer research paper—all of which will be aimed at developing confidence as writers and thinkers in the new millennium. This course will be using computers throughout the semester, but no prior special knowledge of computers is expected.

Imagining the Internet
Frederic Bush, Department of English
TR 12:30 - 1:45 CRN 12330
http://www.courses.rochester.edu/bush/

Cyberspace. The Global Village. Hackers and hive minds.

Through written papers and discussions, we'll address how our ideas about mass communications and the Internet have been shaped by science fiction writers like William Gibson and philosophers like Marshall McLuhan. We'll discuss Neuromancer and other works of cyberpunk fiction and film, and at earlier philosophical concepts of mass communications. But while reading these texts, we can't forget the modern realities of chat rooms, email, and instant messenger, and our real-life experiences with these communications tools will also be a focus for the course (and for papers), allowing us to explore the pitfalls and pleasures of predictions. As we work on writing technique and discuss our writings in class, we'll think about whether our ideas about how to represent technology will be relevant to college students in 2052. The course will require several short papers as well as one long research paper, including both responses to the readings and personal reflections on the role of communications in our lives. We'll conduct peer review sessions during the writing and revision process, and learn how to assess our own writing.

CAS 105: Reasoning and Writing in the College is a course to familiarize you with the writing skills that you will need at the college level. We'll be working on several different sorts of papers, reflecting the variety of writing you'll be expected to produce throughout your undergraduate experience. In class, you'll learn to use class discussions and peer review groups to help you revise and improve your writing. By the end of the semester, we'll also have explored many of the online resources that the University of Rochester has to offer, as well as those of other online communities.

"Radio Radio": Analysis and Debate in Academic Circles
Sean Guerin, Department of History
MW 2:00 - 3:15 CRN 12252

Some scholars have attempted to dispassionately study the impact of radio on peoples' lives; other scholars have not only studied the impact of radio on peoples' lives, but also made claims (sometimes passionate ones) about what they think that impact should be. Should scholars place themselves on a pedestal and make Olympian pronouncements about the role that radio must play in our society? Or should they pretend merely to be neutral observers, with no real opinions of their own? And how have I manipulated my language, to make both choices seem unappealing?

As suggested by its title -- "Radio Radio" -- this course will take, as its theme, radio. We will read about radio in a variety of disciplines, including history, psychology, sociology, communication studies, anthropology, and political science. We will focus particularly on how scholars in these disciplines present their arguments, whether through factual claim, emotional appeal, or some combination of both. We will dig below the surface, to expose the underlying assumptions behind their arguments. And we (YOU) will work to make compelling arguments of your own. About radio. About scholars who write about radio.

You will be called upon continually to make self-assessments of your progress as writers. But you will not be alone. You will work together in peer review groups, on both formal and informal writing assignments; and by becoming an endless source of feedback, for each other, you will help each other to develop, revise, and communicate your ideas with clear, forceful (and if you'd like, passionate) prose.

last updated July 25, 2006