Undergraduate

Undergraduate students enrolled at the University of Rochester who are not in EAPP (English for Academic Purposes Program) but wish to take EAPP classes should contact the EAPP director, Paige Sloan (gsloan@ur.rochester.edu ).

This course builds upon the lessons from WRTG 101: EAPP Communication across Contexts I, and it is designed to help undergraduate non-native speakers of English improve their English oral communication and listening skills in preparation for academic and social interactions. Students will practice taking notes, summarizing, repeating, and critiquing key information from recorded lectures and presentations with an emphasis on the discourse most prevalent in undergraduate university courses. Students will also practice communicating in different academic, social, and cultural contexts as they engage in classroom conversation, debates, interviews, speaking to formal audiences, and giving academic presentations in English. Class work will take place in and out of the classroom with the collaboration of native and non-native speakers of English in formal and informal settings.

Prerequisite: A grade of C or better is required in WRTG 101: EAPP Communication across Contexts I, or permission from the EAPP Program director for non-EAPP Program students. WRTG 102 is an integrated course that supports WRTG 104: EAPP Research, Reading, and Writing coursework.

Location

Hylan Building Room 307 (F 9:00AM - 10:15AM)

Undergraduate students enrolled at the University of Rochester who are not in EAPP (English for Academic Purposes Program) but wish to take EAPP classes should contact the EAPP director, Paige Sloan (gsloan@ur.rochester.edu ).

This course builds upon the lessons from WRTG 101: EAPP Communication across Contexts I, and it is designed to help undergraduate non-native speakers of English improve their English oral communication and listening skills in preparation for academic and social interactions. Students will practice taking notes, summarizing, repeating, and critiquing key information from recorded lectures and presentations with an emphasis on the discourse most prevalent in undergraduate university courses. Students will also practice communicating in different academic, social, and cultural contexts as they engage in classroom conversation, debates, interviews, speaking to formal audiences, and giving academic presentations in English. Class work will take place in and out of the classroom with the collaboration of native and non-native speakers of English in formal and informal settings.

Prerequisite: A grade of C or better is required in WRTG 101: EAPP Communication across Contexts I, or permission from the EAPP Program director for non-EAPP Program students. WRTG 102 is an integrated course that supports WRTG 104: EAPP Research, Reading, and Writing coursework.

Location

Rush Rhees Library Room 304E (F 10:25AM - 11:40AM)

Undergraduate students enrolled at the University of Rochester who are not in EAPP (English for Academic Purposes Program) but wish to take EAPP classes should contact the EAPP director, Paige Sloan (gsloan@ur.rochester.edu ).

This course builds upon the lessons from WRTG 101: EAPP Communication across Contexts I, and it is designed to help undergraduate non-native speakers of English improve their English oral communication and listening skills in preparation for academic and social interactions. Students will practice taking notes, summarizing, repeating, and critiquing key information from recorded lectures and presentations with an emphasis on the discourse most prevalent in undergraduate university courses. Students will also practice communicating in different academic, social, and cultural contexts as they engage in classroom conversation, debates, interviews, speaking to formal audiences, and giving academic presentations in English. Class work will take place in and out of the classroom with the collaboration of native and non-native speakers of English in formal and informal settings.

Prerequisite: A grade of C or better is required in WRTG 101: EAPP Communication across Contexts I, or permission from the EAPP Program director for non-EAPP Program students. WRTG 102 is an integrated course that supports WRTG 104: EAPP Research, Reading, and Writing coursework.

Location

Lechase Room 182 (F 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

Undergraduate students enrolled at the University of Rochester who are not in EAPP (English for Academic Purposes Program) but wish to take EAPP classes should contact the EAPP director, Paige Sloan (gsloan@ur.rochester.edu ).

This course builds upon the lessons from WRTG 101: EAPP Communication across Contexts I, and it is designed to help undergraduate non-native speakers of English improve their English oral communication and listening skills in preparation for academic and social interactions. Students will practice taking notes, summarizing, repeating, and critiquing key information from recorded lectures and presentations with an emphasis on the discourse most prevalent in undergraduate university courses. Students will also practice communicating in different academic, social, and cultural contexts as they engage in classroom conversation, debates, interviews, speaking to formal audiences, and giving academic presentations in English. Class work will take place in and out of the classroom with the collaboration of native and non-native speakers of English in formal and informal settings.

Prerequisite: A grade of C or better is required in WRTG 101: EAPP Communication across Contexts I, or permission from the EAPP Program director for non-EAPP Program students. WRTG 102 is an integrated course that supports WRTG 104: EAPP Research, Reading, and Writing coursework.

Location

Lattimore Room 431 (F 9:00AM - 10:15AM)

Undergraduate students enrolled at the University of Rochester who are not in EAPP (English for Academic Purposes Program) but wish to take EAPP classes should contact the EAPP director, Paige Sloan (gsloan@ur.rochester.edu ).

WRTG 104 extends the critical reading and writing skills learned in WRTG 103: EAPP Critical Reading, Reasoning, and Writing to the act of research. Research may include traditional library sources and academic journals, but it may also include primary research such as fieldwork, surveys, and interviews. A variety of texts will be analyzed and discussed in preparation for constructing extended argumentative essays and a final argumentative research paper. Reading and responding critically to texts will be practiced. Students will learn to incorporate source material into research writing and integrate one's ideas with those from other texts. Collaboration is an important part of learning; therefore, students will work together as they learn to critique their work and the work of peers. Attention will be given to writing beyond the classroom, such as communicating with faculty and staff across the college.

Prerequisites: A grade of C or better is required in WRTG 103: EAPP Critical Reading, Research, and Writing, or permission of EAPP Program for non-EAPP Program students.

Location

Hylan Building Room 307 (TR 9:40AM - 12:20PM)

Undergraduate students enrolled at the University of Rochester who are not in EAPP (English for Academic Purposes Program) but wish to take EAPP classes should contact the EAPP director, Paige Sloan (gsloan@ur.rochester.edu ).

WRTG 104 extends the critical reading and writing skills learned in WRTG 103: EAPP Critical Reading, Reasoning, and Writing to the act of research. Research may include traditional library sources and academic journals, but it may also include primary research such as fieldwork, surveys, and interviews. A variety of texts will be analyzed and discussed in preparation for constructing extended argumentative essays and a final argumentative research paper. Reading and responding critically to texts will be practiced. Students will learn to incorporate source material into research writing and integrate one's ideas with those from other texts. Collaboration is an important part of learning; therefore, students will work together as they learn to critique their work and the work of peers. Attention will be given to writing beyond the classroom, such as communicating with faculty and staff across the college.

Prerequisites: A grade of C or better is required in WRTG 103: EAPP Critical Reading, Research, and Writing, or permission of EAPP Program for non-EAPP Program students.

Location

Lechase Room 121 (MW 9:00AM - 11:40AM)

Undergraduate students enrolled at the University of Rochester who are not in EAPP (English for Academic Purposes Program) but wish to take EAPP classes should contact the EAPP director, Paige Sloan (gsloan@ur.rochester.edu ).

WRTG 104 extends the critical reading and writing skills learned in WRTG 103: EAPP Critical Reading, Reasoning, and Writing to the act of research. Research may include traditional library sources and academic journals, but it may also include primary research such as fieldwork, surveys, and interviews. A variety of texts will be analyzed and discussed in preparation for constructing extended argumentative essays and a final argumentative research paper. Reading and responding critically to texts will be practiced. Students will learn to incorporate source material into research writing and integrate one's ideas with those from other texts. Collaboration is an important part of learning; therefore, students will work together as they learn to critique their work and the work of peers. Attention will be given to writing beyond the classroom, such as communicating with faculty and staff across the college.

Prerequisites: A grade of C or better is required in WRTG 103: EAPP Critical Reading, Research, and Writing, or permission of EAPP Program for non-EAPP Program students.

Location

Rush Rhees Library Room 304E (TR 2:00PM - 4:40PM)

Undergraduate students enrolled at the University of Rochester who are not in EAPP (English for Academic Purposes Program) but wish to take EAPP classes should contact the EAPP director, Paige Sloan (gsloan@ur.rochester.edu ).

WRTG 104 extends the critical reading and writing skills learned in WRTG 103: EAPP Critical Reading, Reasoning, and Writing to the act of research. Research may include traditional library sources and academic journals, but it may also include primary research such as fieldwork, surveys, and interviews. A variety of texts will be analyzed and discussed in preparation for constructing extended argumentative essays and a final argumentative research paper. Reading and responding critically to texts will be practiced. Students will learn to incorporate source material into research writing and integrate one's ideas with those from other texts. Collaboration is an important part of learning; therefore, students will work together as they learn to critique their work and the work of peers. Attention will be given to writing beyond the classroom, such as communicating with faculty and staff across the college.

Prerequisites: A grade of C or better is required in WRTG 103: EAPP Critical Reading, Research, and Writing, or permission of EAPP Program for non-EAPP Program students.

Location

Rush Rhees Library Room G108 (TR 2:00PM - 4:40PM)

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.

Location

Attica Correctional Facility On-Site ( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

What is a citizen? How do we experience citizenship in our political, economic and social lives? In this class, we will hone our communication and argument skills through the lens of citizenship. We will explore the notion of citizenship through a variety of texts. For example, we will think about how Fredrick Douglass’s autobiography My Bondage and My Freedom tussles with the right to vote as being so crucial to citizenship. We will also consider how the TV show Scandal and Jhumpa Lahiri’s short stories showcase citizenship through their own lenses. Theoretical texts will include Judith Shklar’s American Citizenship: The Quest for Inclusion and Laurent Berlant’s The Queen of America goes to Washington City. These materials and our class discussion will inform our research questions, and formal and informal writing assignments will allow us to develop our writing skills. Through writer reflection, peer feedback and revision which each formal assignment incorporates, we will improve our abilities of writing cohesively and persuasively. The 8-10 pages argumentative research paper addressing class themes will demonstrate our ability of writing for an academic audience.

To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher.

Location

Genesee Hall Room 309 (MW 10:25AM - 11:40AM)

New opportunities for artistic expression have disseminated to the masses at an unprecedented rate through access to social media. Instagram photographers, Wordpress poets, YouTube comedians, Soundcloud rappers—amongst others—are now common in our everyday lives. But how has access to these massive digital communities and new platforms of expression influenced the arts as a whole? To answer this question we’ll explore the intricacies of social media platforms and their relationship to long-standing artistic traditions. We’ll base our discussions around influencers, artists, platforms, and genres that you’re interested in, and engage with critical works from writers like Guy Debord, Jean Baudrillard, and numerous scholarly articles. This complicated relationship between the arts and technology will be explored through writing and discussion, focusing on reflection, revision, and peer feedback. We’ll write several short papers, an 8-10 page argumentative research paper, and design one multi-modal project.

To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher.

Location

Hylan Building Room 102 (MW 4:50PM - 6:05PM)

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.

Location

Groveland Correctional Facility, Sonyea, NY On-Site ( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

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.

Location

Lechase Room 122 (TR 9:40AM - 10:55AM)

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.

Location

Lechase Room 143 (TR 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

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.

Location

Lechase Room 104 (MW 3:25PM - 4:40PM)

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.

Location

Lechase Room 103 (TR 9:40AM - 10:55AM)

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.

Location

Rush Rhees Library Room 304E (MW 4:50PM - 6:05PM)

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.

Location

Lechase Room 103 (MW 9:00AM - 10:15AM)

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.

Location

Lechase Room 161 (TR 3:25PM - 4:40PM)

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.

Location

Frederick Douglass Room 403 (MW 10:25AM - 11:40AM)

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.

Location

Lechase Room 161 (TR 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

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.

Location

Rettner Hall Room 307 (TR 3:25PM - 4:40PM)

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.

Location

Hylan Building Room 307 (MW 11:50AM - 1:05PM)

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.

Location

Genesee Hall Room 309 (TR 9:40AM - 10:55AM)

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.

Location

Lechase Room 104 (TR 3:25PM - 4:40PM)

Location

Hylan Building Room 305 (TR 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

Have you felt ‘butterflies in your stomach’ or ‘the weight of the world on your shoulders’? Have you ‘fallen for someone’ ‘head over heels’? Have you felt a physical rush when expressing rage in profanity you could not believe you even knew? Whether we choose to ignore or embrace them, emotions manifest themselves. Using writing as a mode of thinking, we explore how emotions converge in verbal and non-verbal communication, and how they shape us and the world we live in. We will consider a range of sources on language and body; e.g. whether vulnerability is at the heart of courage (psychology, Brown 2018), whether anything is conveyed through touch (tactile communication, Classen 2020) and whether silence or lack of movement are tough to interpret (cultural studies, Donahue 2020). To reflect on an emotion of your choice, the students produce an informal podcast. The podcast exchange will open research questions. Next, we forge a research proposal with an annotated bibliography. Finally, the proposal will grow into an 8-10 page argumentative research paper. The drafting of papers increasing in complexity, writer-reflection as well as peer and instructor’s response will help us hone academic writing as scholarly dialogue.

To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher.

Location

Rush Rhees Library Room G108 (MW 9:00AM - 10:15AM)

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.

Location

Meliora Room 209 (MW 10:25AM - 11:40AM)

Technology changes education in significant ways. Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, like Chat GPT, translate text, provide a human-like response to texts, write codes, and compose papers. Some AI robots read to students and even teach them. In this writing course, we explore the potential of AI in education and address two main questions: What are the implications of AI in education? What AI technologies can be adopted in education, and what are the inherent complexities of doing so? Students will also have ample opportunity to explore their own questions about AI and education. Using formal and short informal writings, students will reflect on the use of AI in education by reading chapters from books like AI and the Future of Education by Selwyn, Robot Ethics, by Lin et al., and scholarly articles from the fields of philosophy, psychology, neuropsychology, engineering, social sciences, and others. Popular media, including podcasts like The Harvard EdCast, TED Talks, Twitter threads, and blogs will enrich our exploration. These explorations will culminate in an 8-10-page argumentative research paper that explores questions related to AI and education. All formal assignments, including the final argumentative research paper, will involve rigorous peer feedback, reflection, and revision before final submission.

To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher.

Location

Meliora Room 218 (TR 11:05AM - 12:20PM)

There is a common belief that the state of modernity is a thoroughly disenchanted one—that society has replaced a need for magic with cold steel and microchips, and that fairy tales are only fit for children. Yet fairy tales, folklore, and fantasy are alive and well in popular culture and public discourse. How does fantasy, whether understood as a genre or as a particular function of the imagination, operate within our various cultural landscapes? What is the value of enchantment in our supposedly “disenchanted” world? Students will explore these and other research questions through their writing, while recognizing writing itself as a means of producing new knowledge within different academic communities. We will progress through a series of short assignments, peer feedback, reflection and revision, culminating in an 8-10 page argumentative research paper at the end of the semester. Assigned texts will include Hayao Miyazaki’s Howl’s Moving Castle, fairy tales and folklore from around the world, and a selection of scholarly articles and criticism by writers like J.R.R. Tolkien, Ursula K. Le Guin, and N.K. Jemisin.

To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher.

Location

Frederick Douglass Room 403 (MW 11:50AM - 1:05PM)

New opportunities for artistic expression have disseminated to the masses at an unprecedented rate through access to social media. Instagram photographers, Wordpress poets, YouTube comedians, Soundcloud rappers—amongst others—are now common in our everyday lives. But how has access to these massive digital communities and new platforms of expression influenced the arts as a whole? To answer this question we’ll explore the intricacies of social media platforms and their relationship to long-standing artistic traditions. We’ll base our discussions around influencers, artists, platforms, and genres that you’re interested in, and engage with critical works from writers like Guy Debord, Jean Baudrillard, and numerous scholarly articles. This complicated relationship between the arts and technology will be explored through writing and discussion, focusing on reflection, revision, and peer feedback. We’ll write several short papers, an 8-10 page argumentative research paper, and design one multi-modal project.

To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher.

Location

Hylan Building Room 305 (TR 4:50PM - 6:05PM)

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.

Location

Lattimore Room 431 (TR 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

When the printing press was invented in the 1400s, it revolutionized how people produced, distributed, and consumed books. Not only the physical books themselves, but the contents of those books began to change, as authors responded to a readership larger and more diverse than ever before. Now, as the Internet extends into every corner of our lives, we are seeing a similar revolution in terms of the stories we tell and the ways in which we tell them. Collaborative storytelling, fanfiction, and interactive narratives are only a few examples of forms of storytelling that, while existing long before the World Wide Web, have taken off in new and (arguably) surprising ways in the Internet Age. But is it too much to speak of a “revolution?” Isn’t it possible that the Internet has merely created more spaces in which to tell the same old stories that have captivated humans since we first huddled around a campfire together? We will explore these and other research questions as we analyze a variety of storytelling forms popularized through the Internet, from fanfiction and podcasts to interactive video games and tabletop RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons. Students will hone their own writing skills while recognizing writing itself as a means of producing new knowledge within different academic communities. We will progress through a series of short assignments, peer feedback, reflection and revision, culminating in an 8-10 page argumentative research paper at the end of the semester.

To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher.

Location

Bausch & Lomb Room 315 (MW 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

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.

Location

Bausch & Lomb Room 269 (MW 4:50PM - 6:05PM)

In 2020, Parasite became the first foreign-language film to win Best Picture at the Oscars. In 2019, Blackpink became the first K-pop group to perform at Coachella, while BTS made history in 2020 as the first all-South Korean band to have a song top the Billboard Hot 100 list. Within 12 days of airing, Squid Game became the most popular show on Netflix. Korean cuisine, skincare, webtoons and other products have experienced a similar surge in international popularity. The Korean Wave, or hallyu, is now a well-established global phenomenon. But how did South Korea become the pop-culture powerhouse that it is today? What social, economic, and political factors went into the emergence of hallyu as a cultural force to be reckoned with? Students will explore these and other research questions through their writing, while recognizing writing itself as a means of producing new knowledge within different academic communities. We will progress through a series of short assignments, peer feedback, reflection and revision, culminating in an 8-10 page argumentative research paper at the end of the semester. Assigned texts will include Parasite, episodes from dramas including Squid Game and Descendants of the Sun, music videos, short fiction, historical documents, and a selection of scholarly articles.

To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher.

Location

Lechase Room 104 (MW 9:00AM - 10:15AM)

Location

Genesee Hall Room 309 (TR 11:05AM - 12:20PM)

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.

Location

Meliora Room 209 (TR 9:40AM - 10:55AM)

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.

Location

Frederick Douglass Room 420 (TR 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

If you could change the past, would you? Would that change who you are today? Who you'll be tomorrow? In the wide genre of "time warp" stories, characters relive the same day, travel back and forth in time, experience events out of sync and challenge our assumptions about the world, history, and ourselves. But how exactly do these stories work? What makes them so popular? How do they reflect and revise our perspectives? We will explore the motives, tools, and opportunities involved in constructing time travel narratives from expressions in ancient folklore to modern fiction, film, and music. Course texts include views of time and narrative from a variety of scholarly fields, alongside H. G. Well's The Time Machine, Denis Villeneuve's Arrival, and Makoto Shinkai's Your Name. Our investigations of time travel rhetoric will unfold as we develop our own rhetorical techniques through discussion, peer response, self-reflection & revision leading to a final 8-10 page argumentative research paper.

To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher.

Location

Rush Rhees Library Room G108 (MW 3:25PM - 4:40PM)

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.

Location

Rush Rhees Library Room G108 (MW 11:50AM - 1:05PM)

What do the imaginary worlds of fantasy literature reveal about how we conceptualize our own reality? In this course, students select a work (or works) of fantasy literature about which to write, exploring connections with a social or scientific issue present in the real world, and developing their ability to engage meaningfully with the world via writing. Students will examine their own critical writing process while engaging with Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings, N.K. Jemisin’s The Ones Who Stay and Fight, Hajime Isayama’s Attack on Titan, CD Projekt’s The Witcher 3, and other works in the fantasy genre. Students can also expect to read critical articles centered on fantasy by prominent thinkers like Verlyn Flieger and J.R.R. Tolkien. In their own process, students may choose to incorporate approaches from ecology, anthropology, psychology, and/or other disciplines. By integrating strategies such as structured revision, personal reflection, peer response, and more, the course allows students to develop their critical writing and communication abilities while exploring how reality shapes fantasy (and vice versa!). The culmination of each student’s work will be an 8-10 page argumentative research paper, 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.

Location

Lechase Room 161 (MW 9:00AM - 10:15AM)

How do you define friendship? Develop it? Practice it? Maintain it? Scholars in science, economics, and anthropology approach friendship as both socially and biologically valuable, studying its role in evolutionary survival, consumerism, social bonding, and community. How does friendship affect how we cooperate and compete, spend our money, and forge kinship? Students will explore such questions as a way of developing their own inquiries into friendship’s place in shaping personal and social identity. Course texts will include a range of scholarly articles; "Struggle for Existence" by Charles Darwin; "It's Who You Know" by John Terrell; "People Who Can Be Friends: Selves and Social Relationships" by James G. Carrier; and Big Friendship by Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman. Students will research, write, and reflect in order to develop their own inquiries and enter into a scholarly conversation. Through informal writing, peer response, and revision, students will engage their own and others’ questions in order to develop and support their ideas in shorter 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.

Location

Frederick Douglass Room 403 (TR 11:05AM - 12:20PM)

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.

Location

Hylan Building Room 206 (MW 10:25AM - 11:40AM)

Since its rise to popularity in the 1990s with hit shows like The Real World and Big Brother, reality TV has captured the attention–and often the outrage–of audiences worldwide. Few would argue that popular reality shows like Naked and Afraid or Kitchen Nightmares reflect reality as most people experience it. What is it, then, that these shows do reflect? Put another way: what is the relationship between this genre and the reality it claims to represent? In this course, we will approach this central question through watching, discussing, reading about, and writing about reality TV. In the process, students will draft, revise, reflect and, ultimately, learn to effectively express ideas and defend arguments about mass culture, consumerism, postmodernity, and more. They will hear from thinkers ranging from 20th-century philosophers like Guy Debord and Theodore Adorno to contemporary journalists like Aubrey Gordon and Michael Hobbes. As the semester unfolds, students will explore, develop, and refine their ideas through formal and informal assignments culminating in an 8-10-page argumentative research paper. Each assignment constitutes an opportunity for students to engage further with a course-related topic that they find particularly perplexing, compelling, or–perhaps–outraging.

To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher.

Location

Hylan Building Room 105 (TR 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

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 a few short analytical and argumentative essays before working on an 8-10 page argumentative research essay. Those who successfully complete this course will be prepared to research and write for audiences across academic disciplines.

To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher.

Location

Lechase Room 141 (MW 11:50AM - 1:05PM)

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.

Location

Lechase Room 161 (MW 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

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.

Location

Lechase Room 122 (MW 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

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 self-reflection, peer review, 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.

Location

Bausch & Lomb Room 315 (TR 11:05AM - 12:20PM)

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 self-reflection, peer review, 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.

Location

Hylan Building Room 306 (TR 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

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.

Location

Meliora Room 209 (TR 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

If you could change the past, would you? Would that change who you are today? Who you'll be tomorrow? In the wide genre of "time warp" stories, characters relive the same day, travel back and forth in time, experience events out of sync and challenge our assumptions about the world, history, and ourselves. But how exactly do these stories work? What makes them so popular? How do they reflect and revise our perspectives? We will explore the motives, tools, and opportunities involved in constructing time travel narratives from expressions in ancient folklore to modern fiction, film, and music. Course texts include views of time and narrative from a variety of scholarly fields, alongside H. G. Well's The Time Machine, Denis Villeneuve's Arrival, and Makoto Shinkai's Your Name. Our investigations of time travel rhetoric will unfold as we develop our own rhetorical techniques through discussion, peer response, self-reflection & revision leading to a final 8-10 page argumentative research paper.

To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher.

Location

Rush Rhees Library Room G108 (MW 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

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.

Location

Morey Room 504 (TR 9:40AM - 10:55AM)

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.

Location

Morey Room 205 (MW 6:15PM - 7:30PM)

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.

Location

Lechase Room 161 (TR 9:40AM - 10:55AM)

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.

Location

Hylan Building Room 303 (TR 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

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.

Location

Hylan Building Room 206 (MW 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

Say, a student looks out the window briefly while a class is afoot. Just then they spot a bird and cannot help paying attention to its plumage. The teacher catches them in the act and scolds them for not paying attention to her lesson. Here, though both the teacher and the student are concerned with attention, their objects of attention are different. One thing is clear though: both the teacher and the student think that attention matters because attention determines which object is more important at a given point of time. How then do we come to decide on our objects of attention and how does that decision influence our relations to the world? We will explore these two primary questions via fictional works by Conan Doyle, Antoine de Saint-Exupery; and philosophical and psychological works by William James, Iris Murdoch, among others. Throughout the semester you will have various informal assignments and written formal assignments to refine your understanding of attention apropos of what others have said about attention. For each formal assignment we will investigate our ideas by utilizing peer feedback, self-reflection, and revision; and the course will culminate in a final 8-10-page written argumentative research paper.

To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher.

Location

Hylan Room 301 (MW 11:50AM - 1:05PM)

WRTG 105A (Fall) and WRTG 105B (Spring) distribute the work of WRTG 105E across two semesters, with WRTG 105A covering the first half of WRTG 105E. WRTG 105A immerses students in the experience of academic writing, with a particular emphasis on analyzing, using, and documenting scholarly and non-scholarly texts. It provides instruction and practice in constructing cogent and compelling arguments, as students draft and revise two short argumentative essays. Students will develop and test their ideas through discussion, informal writing, peer critiques and reflections. All sections of WRTG 105A&B revolve around a theme and include a weekly writing group in which students do the work of writing with immediate support from the course instructor. T

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.

Location

Wegmans Room 1005 (TR 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

The second-half of the WRTG 105A-WRTG 105B sequence, WRTG 105B immerses students in the experience of academic writing, with a particular emphasis on analyzing, using, and documenting scholarly and non-scholarly texts. It provides instruction and practice in constructing cogent and compelling arguments, as students draft and revise a proposal and an 8-10 page argumentative research paper. Students will develop and test their ideas through discussion, informal writing, peer critiques and reflections. All sections of WRTG 105A&B revolve around a theme and include a weekly writing group in which students do the work of writing with immediate support from the course instructor. WRTG 105B students who have worked diligently but have not attained a grade of “B-“ or higher may take an incomplete and sign up for the Extension, a weekly workshop and tutorial program that allows students to continue working on their writing, raise their final grades, and satisfy the Primary Writing Requirement.

WRTG 105B should be taken the semester directly after completing WRTG 105A with a C or better.

To enroll in WRTG 105B, a student must earn a grade of C or higher in WRTG 105A.

To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher.

Location

Rush Rhees Library Room 304E (TR 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

The second-half of the WRTG 105A-WRTG 105B sequence, WRTG 105B immerses students in the experience of academic writing, with a particular emphasis on analyzing, using, and documenting scholarly and non-scholarly texts. It provides instruction and practice in constructing cogent and compelling arguments, as students draft and revise a proposal and an 8-10 page argumentative research paper. Students will develop and test their ideas through discussion, informal writing, peer critiques and reflections. All sections of WRTG 105A&B revolve around a theme and include a weekly writing group in which students do the work of writing with immediate support from the course instructor. WRTG 105B students who have worked diligently but have not attained a grade of “B-“ or higher may take an incomplete and sign up for the Extension, a weekly workshop and tutorial program that allows students to continue working on their writing, raise their final grades, and satisfy the Primary Writing Requirement.

WRTG 105B should be taken the semester directly after completing WRTG 105A with a C or better.

To enroll in WRTG 105B, a student must earn a grade of C or higher in WRTG 105A.

To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher.

Location

Rush Rhees Library Room 304E (TR 9:40AM - 10:55AM)

The second-half of the WRTG 105A-WRTG 105B sequence, WRTG 105B immerses students in the experience of academic writing, with a particular emphasis on analyzing, using, and documenting scholarly and non-scholarly texts. It provides instruction and practice in constructing cogent and compelling arguments, as students draft and revise a proposal and an 8-10 page argumentative research paper. Students will develop and test their ideas through discussion, informal writing, peer critiques and reflections. All sections of WRTG 105A&B revolve around a theme and include a weekly writing group in which students do the work of writing with immediate support from the course instructor. WRTG 105B students who have worked diligently but have not attained a grade of “B-“ or higher may take an incomplete and sign up for the Extension, a weekly workshop and tutorial program that allows students to continue working on their writing, raise their final grades, and satisfy the Primary Writing Requirement.

WRTG 105B should be taken the semester directly after completing WRTG 105A with a C or better.

To enroll in WRTG 105B, a student must earn a grade of C or higher in WRTG 105A.

To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher.

Location

Lechase Room 121 (TR 9:40AM - 10:55AM)

The second-half of the WRTG 105A-WRTG 105B sequence, WRTG 105B immerses students in the experience of academic writing, with a particular emphasis on analyzing, using, and documenting scholarly and non-scholarly texts. It provides instruction and practice in constructing cogent and compelling arguments, as students draft and revise a proposal and an 8-10 page argumentative research paper. Students will develop and test their ideas through discussion, informal writing, peer critiques and reflections. All sections of WRTG 105A&B revolve around a theme and include a weekly writing group in which students do the work of writing with immediate support from the course instructor. WRTG 105B students who have worked diligently but have not attained a grade of “B-“ or higher may take an incomplete and sign up for the Extension, a weekly workshop and tutorial program that allows students to continue working on their writing, raise their final grades, and satisfy the Primary Writing Requirement.

WRTG 105B should be taken the semester directly after completing WRTG 105A with a C or better.

To enroll in WRTG 105B, a student must earn a grade of C or higher in WRTG 105A.

To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher.

Location

Genesee Hall Room 308 (TR 3:25PM - 4:40PM)

The second-half of the WRTG 105A-WRTG 105B sequence, WRTG 105B immerses students in the experience of academic writing, with a particular emphasis on analyzing, using, and documenting scholarly and non-scholarly texts. It provides instruction and practice in constructing cogent and compelling arguments, as students draft and revise a proposal and an 8-10 page argumentative research paper. Students will develop and test their ideas through discussion, informal writing, peer critiques and reflections. All sections of WRTG 105A&B revolve around a theme and include a weekly writing group in which students do the work of writing with immediate support from the course instructor. WRTG 105B students who have worked diligently but have not attained a grade of “B-“ or higher may take an incomplete and sign up for the Extension, a weekly workshop and tutorial program that allows students to continue working on their writing, raise their final grades, and satisfy the Primary Writing Requirement.

WRTG 105B should be taken the semester directly after completing WRTG 105A with a C or better.

To enroll in WRTG 105B, a student must earn a grade of C or higher in WRTG 105A.

To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher.

Location

Hylan Building Room 303 (MW 10:25AM - 11:40AM)

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-23 WHEN REGISTERING FOR THE MAIN SECTION

To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher.

Location

Meliora Room 206 (MW 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

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.

Location

Rush Rhees Library Room G108 (F 10:25AM - 11:15AM)

YOU MUST REGISTER FOR RECITATION WRTG 105E-2 WHEN REGISTERING FOR THIS SECTION

What makes popular nonfiction compelling rather than boring? The writer’s style? Their voice? Their eye for topics capable of widespread intrigue? And how can we successfully utilize those rhetorical strategies in our own writing? In this course, we’ll take a deep dive into popular nonfiction, analyzing how the way one writes affects what is learned, who the audience is, and why a text strikes a chord with a multitude of readers. We’ll look at chart-topping nonfiction writers like the “poet laureate of medicine” Oliver Sacks, Joan Didion, Malcolm Gladwell, and the producers behind Serial, seeing how these writers became famous, in part, for making their complex ideas profoundly engaging to the larger public. While we use these works to underpin our informal and formal writing assignments and discussion, we’ll also use them as models as we practice writing in styles and genres that suit audiences from trained academics to casual readers. Through peer feedback, reflection, and revision, you will develop writing skills fit for a variety of contexts, with your work culminating in an 8-10 page argumentative research paper integrating course themes and individual interests.

YOU MUST REGISTER FOR RECITATION WRTG 105E-2 WHEN REGISTERING FOR THIS SECTION

To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher.

Location

Lattimore Room 413 (MW 3:25PM - 4:40PM)

What makes popular nonfiction compelling rather than boring? The writer’s style? Their voice? Their eye for topics capable of widespread intrigue? And how can we successfully utilize those rhetorical strategies in our own writing? In this course, we’ll take a deep dive into popular nonfiction, analyzing how the way one writes affects what is learned, who the audience is, and why a text strikes a chord with a multitude of readers. We’ll look at chart-topping nonfiction writers like the “poet laureate of medicine” Oliver Sacks, Joan Didion, Malcolm Gladwell, and the producers behind Serial, seeing how these writers became famous, in part, for making their complex ideas profoundly engaging to the larger public. While we use these works to underpin our informal and formal writing assignments and discussion, we’ll also use them as models as we practice writing in styles and genres that suit audiences from trained academics to casual readers. Through peer feedback, reflection, and revision, you will develop writing skills fit for a variety of contexts, with your work culminating in an 8-10 page argumentative research paper integrating course themes and individual interests.

To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher.

Location

Meliora Room 206 (W 4:50PM - 5:40PM)

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.  

YOU MUST REGISTER FOR RECITATION WRTG 105E-28 WHEN REGISTERING FOR THE MAIN SECTION

To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher.

Location

Lechase Room 124 (TR 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

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.

Location

Lechase Room 143 (F 9:00AM - 9:50AM)

YOU MUST REGISTER FOR RECITATION WRTG 105E-33 WHEN REGISTERING FOR THIS SECTION

*Content Warning*

What made you laugh today? Has comedy ever helped you through a difficult time? Has it offended you? Humor plays an inescapable role in our everyday lives and in society writ large, but why is it important? This course will explore these questions through the process of analytical writing. Using various psychological, philosophical, and scientific theories of humor, we will explore different styles and inflections of comedy through discussion and writing. Content will include selections from written works such as B.J. Novak’s One More Thing and Freud’s Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious, as well digital materials like the stand-up comedy of Hannah Gadsby and Bo Burnham. We will also examine short fiction from authors like Vonnegut and Chaucer, films, screenplays, and television media including the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Through these materials, students will navigate why/how humor affects them as individuals and the role it plays within society. Class discussions will lead to a variety of formal and informal writing assignments. Formal projects will include brief writing assignments and a final 8-10 page argumentative research paper. Students will workshop these formal projects throughout the semester through drafting, revision, peer review, open discussion, and feedback from the instructor.  

YOU MUST REGISTER FOR RECITATION WRTG 105E-33 WHEN REGISTERING FOR THIS SECTION

To fulfill the primary writing requirement, a student must earn a grade of C or higher.

Location

Lechase Room 143 (MW 10:25AM - 11:40AM)

Location

Genesee Hall Room 309 (F 10:25AM - 11:15AM)

Offers ongoing practice and instruction in writing and critiquing writing. Students meet weekly with a writing center consultant to work on forms of academic writing relevant to their spring coursework. These forms may include summaries, critical responses, argumentative essays, and lab reports, among others. Students may also choose to revise essays completed in previous semesters or work on other non-fiction projects. Guided by a writing center consultant, students plan, draft and revise their writing, critique each other's work, assess their own writing, and participate in group session on common writing issues. The semester's work will culminate in a final portfolio that features polished essays and an overall self-assessment.

Location

Frederick Douglass Room 307 (W 2:00PM - 2:50PM)

This course offers ongoing support, practice, and tutoring in writing. Students meet weekly with writing consultants to work on academic writing from other courses. Forms of writing may include summaries, critical responses, argumentative essays, and lab reports, among others. Students will participate in writing groups to plan, draft and revise their writing, as well as engage regularly in one-on-one tutoring sessions with consultants. This course serves to support students in writing rigorously at the college level, and thus it is particularly encouraged for students concurrently enrolled in writing-intensive courses.

Location

Attica Correctional Facility On-Site ( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

Prepares selected sophomores, juniors, and eligible first-year students for work as Speaking Fellows. This course focuses not only on the skill of public speaking, but also on peer tutoring and assisting students with their own forms of spoken communication. In this course, we will examine various components of presentations, including effective use of visual aids and professional delivery styles. We will also explore several types of spoken communication for different purposes and audiences, including argumentative and descriptive speeches, interviews, and group presentations. Through analyzing, studying the construction of, and creating and delivering their own presentations, students will improve their own speaking styles and develop the skills necessary to aid their peers in constructing and revising presentations. By the end of the semester, students should be ready to take on their own hours as peer tutors. This course satisfies a requirement for the Citation for Achievement in College Leadership.

Restrictions: Instructor's permission required

Location

Lechase Room 184 (MW 10:25AM - 11:40AM)

This course is a comprehensive review of the grammar of Modern Standard English. The course will be of interest to those who wish to sharpen their language skills, or to know more about the workings of the English language whether for practical, cognitive or creative ends. Drawing on work in mostly pre-theoretical, descriptive linguistics this course reveals the mechanics of Standard English structure, with occasional detours into the finesse of usage across registers (dialect to slang). Students will learn to develop the ability to see patterns in grammar, as well as its structural possibilities and limits. Assignments will regularly involve reflection on form, usage and speaker judgments. Through a final project, students will investigate some aspect of an English variety available to them. Throughout, students will be working with their data samples of English to explore how speaker choices lead to particular grammatical structures or yield ungrammaticality. Background in linguistics or grammar not needed.

Location

Hylan Building Room 203 (MW 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

While the term copyediting may be associated with journalism or literary fiction, in fact it is a vital component of the publication of almost any textual materials from scholarly and popular publishing in arts and sciences to corporate and technical communications. So what do copy editors do? Is copyediting simply about enforcing rules of correctness? When is it okay to break those rules, or to allow others to do so, and what guides such decisions? How do copy editors understand and negotiate the relationships and interests of readers, writers, and the publications they work for? How has the information age changed the way copy editors think about and approach textual editing? In this class we will address both the principles and practices of copyediting. Students will learn the principles that guide copy editors, and then put these principles into use in a workshop setting, practicing copyediting in a variety of contexts, including digital communications.

Prerequisite: Completion of the Primary Writing Requirement.

Location

Goergen Hall Room 110 (MW 11:50AM - 1:05PM)

The purpose of writing in a digital world is to engage with a broader community around a topic of interest and contribute to public knowledge. In this course, students are invited to dig deeply into a question of interest, write for a public audience, and use the Internet as an archive of information waiting to be discovered, analyzed, and written about. Students can draw on pre-existing research interests from their majors or develop a line of inquiry stemming from class discussions, writing, and research. In order to gain experience writing to a range of readers, students will engage in a writing process informed by peer review, self-assessment, and revision. Shorter writing assignments will help students develop and refine ideas as they transform texts for different audiences. The final research project will be multimodal, published for a public audience, and should demonstrate your ability to think critically about a topic and effectively communicate that knowledge to a range of readers.

Prerequisite: Completion of the Primary Writing Requirement.

Location

Goergen Hall Room 110 (WF 10:25AM - 11:40AM)

Drawing on the concepts of discourse community and rhetorical genre analysis (e.g., Bazerman, Berkenhotter & Huckin, Swales), this course investigates ways of understanding the choices writers make when communicating about the natural, social, or applied sciences, with the goal of better understanding how to read and write as an insider in your chosen discipline. You will develop a technical vocabulary and set of skills that allow you to describe recurring patterns and writer choices within those patterns. Using these tools, and talking to experts in your chosen discipline(s), you will investigate disciplinary and interdisciplinary boundaries, how writers convey meaning in different situations, and why they make the writing choices they do. Through a final research project of your choice, you will practice using what you have learned to communicate the results of your own research. This course is especially suitable for dual-major students, or those heading to graduate or health professions schools.

Prerequisite: Completion of the Primary Writing Requirement

Location

Rush Rhees Library Room G108 (TR 4:50PM - 6:05PM)

This course takes up translation process as an object of study. How do translators work? What opportunities and constraints are present for freelance, specialist, or professional translators? To what extent do translators not only transmit but actively create knowledge and build community via their work of interpreting and adapting? We'll explore a range of potentially high-stakes cases involving textual, audiovisual, and multimodal renditions of a source text. These may include translating an ad or museum label; subbing a TED Talk or performance; dubbing in anime or games; interpreting for business, medical, or other purposes. Along with course readings and short experimental translations, students will work with our paraprofessional consultants and community partners in SW Rochester to craft final projects that provide a meaningful extension of course learning to real-world issues (Counts toward the Citation in Community-Engaged Scholarship; see Authentically Urban, Virtually Global: Southwest Rochester).

Location

Hylan Building Room 206 (TR 9:40AM - 10:55AM)

We will investigate broad models of argument and evidence from the interdisciplinary field of argumentation theory. Students will apply these models to specific academic and social contexts of their choice. Some questions we might ask are: Can argument or evidence be understood absent context? What do arguments in STEM fields have in common with those in the humanities? For instance, is there common ground in how we argue about English literature and how biologists argue about the natural world? How do audience and purpose in disciplines such as psychology, physics and philosophy shape what counts as an argument in their respective fields? Does political argument resemble academic argument? What strategies will enable experts to communicate more effectively with public audiences in fields such as public health and the environmental humanities? Students will write frequent reflections, develop several short papers, and the semester will culminate in the construction of a final project of the student’s own design (for example, a research paper, a website, a podcast…) that can focus on any aspect of academic, professional, or political argumentation.

Location

Lechase Room 122 (TR 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

We say that the pen is mightier than the sword, implying that writing can change human history and culture. This course is designed to examine this idea and put it into practice. How can, and how should, words be used to shape the social and political world? Through a variety of media—books and articles, YouTube and TikTok, documentaries and Hollywood films—students will engage with activism about various issues such as institutional racism, mass incarceration, immigration, climate change, gender politics, and animal rights. The course will prompt reflection on both the ethics of these issues and the efficacy of the activism behind them. How can we become more effective and thoughtful writer-activists with the tools of scholarship at our disposal? As one component of the course, students can choose to provide anonymous feedback on the writing of incarcerated people, working to empower a disempowered population through words. This course meets the citation for community-engaged scholarship as students will produce various public-facing activist writing projects.

Prerequisite: Completion of the Primary Writing Requirement

Location

Morey Room 205 (TR 3:25PM - 4:40PM)

This interactive course teaches 'real life' communication skills and strategies that help students present their best professional selves and develop a fulfilling career. Students will explore and articulate their internship, career and graduate school goals for distinct audiences and purposes as they develop a professional communication portfolio of materials such as resumes, cover letters, statements of purpose, electronic communications, elevator pitches, project descriptions and abstracts, and online profiles (i.e., LinkedIn). Students will revise and refine their written and spoken work across the semester based on feedback from peers, instructors, and alumni. By the semester's end, students will have gained extensive experience with the communication skills expected in today's competitive environment. The class is suitable for juniors and seniors and can be used to fulfill 1 of the 2 required Upper-Level Writing experiences in biology. Courses in the WRTG 27X series may not be taken more than once for credit.

Prerequisite: Completion of the Primary Writing Requirement

Location

Bausch & Lomb Room 315 (T 9:40AM - 10:55AM)

This interactive course teaches 'real life' communication skills and strategies that help students present their best professional selves and develop a fulfilling career. Students will explore and articulate their internship, career and graduate school goals for distinct audiences and purposes as they develop a professional communication portfolio of materials such as resumes, cover letters, statements of purpose, electronic communications, elevator pitches, project descriptions and abstracts, and online profiles (i.e., LinkedIn). Students will revise and refine their written and spoken work across the semester based on feedback from peers, instructors, and alumni. By the semester's end, students will have gained extensive experience with the communication skills expected in today's competitive environment. The class is suitable for juniors and seniors and can be used to fulfill 1 of the 2 required Upper-Level Writing experiences in biology. NOTE: every other class will take place online. Courses in the WRTG 27X series may not be taken more than once for credit.

Prerequisite: Completion of the Primary Writing Requirement

Location

Hylan Building Room 306 (W 3:25PM - 4:40PM)

Prerequisite: Completion of the Primary Writing Requirement

This interactive course teaches 'real life' communication skills and strategies that help students present their best professional selves and develop a fulfilling career. Students will explore and articulate their internship, career and graduate school goals for distinct audiences and purposes as they develop a professional communication portfolio of materials such as resumes, cover letters, statements of purpose, electronic communications, elevator pitches, project descriptions and abstracts, and online profiles (i.e., LinkedIn). Students will revise and refine their written and spoken work across the semester based on feedback from peers, instructors, and alumni. By the semester's end, students will have gained extensive experience with the communication skills expected in today's competitive environment. This course is suitable for sophomores and juniors in the Hajim School; all others require permission of the instructor. Students must have completed a minimum of two engineering or CS courses in their major. Courses in the WRTG 27X series may not be taken more than once for credit.

Location

Hylan Building Room 105 (W 3:25PM - 4:40PM)

This interactive course teaches 'real life' communication skills and strategies that help students present their best professional selves and develop a fulfilling career. Students will explore and articulate their internship, career and graduate school goals for distinct audiences and purposes as they develop a professional communication portfolio of materials such as resumes, cover letters, statements of purpose, electronic communications, elevator pitches, project descriptions and abstracts, and online profiles (i.e., LinkedIn). Students will revise and refine their written and spoken work across the semester based on feedback from peers, instructors, and alumni. By the semester's end, students will have gained extensive experience with the communication skills expected in today's competitive environment. This course is suitable for sophomores and juniors in the Hajim School; all others require permission of the instructor. Students must have completed a minimum of two engineering or CS courses in their major. Courses in the WRTG 27X series may not be taken more than once for credit.

Prerequisite: Completion of the Primary Writing Requirement

Location

Hylan Building Room 303 (T 3:25PM - 4:40PM)

This interactive course teaches 'real life' communication skills and strategies that help students present their best professional selves and develop a fulfilling career. Students will explore and articulate their internship, career and graduate school goals for distinct audiences and purposes as they develop a professional communication portfolio of materials such as resumes, cover letters, statements of purpose, electronic communications, elevator pitches, project descriptions and abstracts, and online profiles (i.e., LinkedIn). Students will revise and refine their written and spoken work across the semester based on feedback from peers, instructors, and alumni. By the semester's end, students will have gained extensive experience with the communication skills expected in today's competitive environment. This course is suitable for sophomores and juniors in the Hajim School; students should have completed a minimum of 2 engineering or computer science courses in their major. All others require permission of the instructor. Courses in the WRTG 27X series may not be taken more than once for credit.

Prerequisite: Completion of the Primary Writing Requirement

Location

Lechase Room 143 (F 10:25AM - 11:40AM)

This interactive course teaches 'real life' communication skills and strategies that help students present their best professional selves and develop a fulfilling career. Students will explore and articulate their internship, career and graduate school goals for distinct audiences and purposes as they develop a professional communication portfolio of materials such as resumes, cover letters, statements of purpose, electronic communications, elevator pitches, project descriptions and abstracts, and online profiles (i.e., LinkedIn). Students will revise and refine their written and spoken work across the semester based on feedback from peers, instructors, and alumni. By the semester's end, students will have gained extensive experience with the communication skills expected in today's competitive environment. This course is suitable for sophomores and juniors in the Hajim School; all others require permission of the instructor. Students must have completed a minimum of two engineering or CS courses in their major. Courses in the WRTG 27X series may not be taken more than once for credit.

Prerequisite: Completion of the Primary Writing Requirement

Location

Meliora Room 206 (R 11:05AM - 12:20PM)

This interactive course teaches 'real life' communication skills and strategies that help students present their best professional selves and develop a fulfilling career. Students will explore and articulate their internship, career and graduate school goals for distinct audiences and purposes as they develop a professional communication portfolio of materials such as resumes, cover letters, statements of purpose, electronic communications, elevator pitches, project descriptions and abstracts, and online profiles (i.e., LinkedIn). Students will revise and refine their written and spoken work across the semester based on feedback from peers, instructors, and alumni. By the semester's end, students will have gained extensive experience with the communication skills expected in today's competitive environment. This course is suitable for sophomores and juniors in the Hajim School; students should have completed a minimum of 2 engineering or computer science courses in their major. All others require permission of the instructor. Courses in the WRTG 27X series may not be taken more than once for credit.

Prerequisite: Completion of the Primary Writing Requirement

Location

Goergen Hall Room 110 (T 9:40AM - 10:55AM)

This interactive course teaches 'real life' communication skills and strategies that help students present their best professional selves and develop a fulfilling career. Students will explore and articulate their internship, career and graduate school goals for distinct audiences and purposes as they develop a professional communication portfolio of materials such as resumes, cover letters, statements of purpose, electronic communications, elevator pitches, project descriptions and abstracts, and online profiles (i.e., LinkedIn). Students will revise and refine their written and spoken work across the semester based on feedback from peers, instructors, and alumni. By the semester's end, students will have gained extensive experience with the communication skills expected in today's competitive environment. This course is suitable for sophomores and juniors in the Hajim School; students should have completed a minimum of 2 engineering or computer science courses in their major. All others require permission of the instructor. Courses in the WRTG 27X series may not be taken more than once for credit.

Prerequisite: Completion of the Primary Writing Requirement

Location

Hylan Building Room 303 (W 11:50AM - 1:05PM)

This interactive course teaches 'real life' communication skills and strategies that help students present their best professional selves and develop a fulfilling career. Students will explore and articulate their internship, career and graduate school goals for distinct audiences and purposes as they develop a professional communication portfolio of materials such as resumes, cover letters, statements of purpose, electronic communications, elevator pitches, project descriptions and abstracts, and online profiles (i.e., LinkedIn). Students will revise and refine their written and spoken work across the semester based on feedback from peers, instructors, and alumni. By the semester's end, students will have gained extensive experience with the communication skills expected in today's competitive environment. This course is suitable for sophomores and juniors in the Hajim School; students should have completed a minimum of 2 engineering or computer science courses in their major. All others require permission of the instructor. Courses in the WRTG 27X series may not be taken more than once for credit.

Prerequisite: Completion of the Primary Writing Requirement

Location

Frederick Douglass Room 404 (F 11:50AM - 1:05PM)

This interactive course teaches 'real life' communication skills and strategies that help students present their best professional selves and develop a fulfilling career. Students will explore and articulate their internship, career and graduate school goals for distinct audiences and purposes as they develop a professional communication portfolio of materials such as resumes, cover letters, statements of purpose, electronic communications, elevator pitches, project descriptions and abstracts, and online profiles (i.e., LinkedIn). Students will revise and refine their written and spoken work across the semester based on feedback from peers, instructors, and alumni. By the semester's end, students will have gained extensive experience with the communication skills expected in today's competitive environment. This course is suitable for sophomores and juniors in the Hajim School; students should have completed a minimum of 2 engineering or computer science courses in their major. All others require permission of the instructor. Courses in the WRTG 27X series may not be taken more than once for credit.

Prerequisite: Completion of the Primary Writing Requirement

Location

Hylan Building Room 105 (F 11:50AM - 1:05PM)

This interactive course teaches 'real life' communication skills and strategies that help students present their best professional selves and develop a fulfilling career. Students will explore and articulate their internship, career and graduate school goals for distinct audiences and purposes as they develop a professional communication portfolio of materials such as resumes, cover letters, statements of purpose, electronic communications, elevator pitches, project descriptions and abstracts, and online profiles (i.e., LinkedIn). Students will revise and refine their written and spoken work across the semester based on feedback from peers, instructors, and alumni. By the semester's end, students will have gained extensive experience with the communication skills expected in today's competitive environment. This course is suitable for sophomores and juniors in the Hajim School; all others require permission of the instructor. Students must have completed a minimum of two engineering or CS courses in their major.

Prerequisite: Completion of the Primary Writing Requirement

Location

Meliora Room 209 (W 11:50AM - 1:05PM)

This interactive course teaches 'real life' communication skills and strategies that help students present their best professional selves and develop a fulfilling career. Students will explore and articulate their internship, career and graduate school goals for distinct audiences and purposes as they develop a professional communication portfolio of materials such as resumes, cover letters, statements of purpose, electronic communications, elevator pitches, project descriptions and abstracts, and online profiles (i.e., LinkedIn). Students will revise and refine their written and spoken work across the semester based on feedback from peers, instructors, and alumni. By the semester's end, students will have gained extensive experience with the communication skills expected in today's competitive environment. This course is suitable for sophomores and juniors in the Hajim School; all others require permission of the instructor. Students must have completed a minimum of two engineering or CS courses in their major.

Prerequisite: Completion of the Primary Writing Requirement

Location

Hylan Room 301 (T 11:05AM - 12:20PM)

This interactive course teaches 'real life' communication skills and strategies that help students present their best professional selves and develop a fulfilling career. Students will explore and articulate their internship, career and graduate school goals for distinct audiences and purposes as they develop a professional communication portfolio of materials such as resumes, cover letters, statements of purpose, electronic communications, elevator pitches, project descriptions and abstracts, and online profiles (i.e., LinkedIn). Students will revise and refine their written and spoken work across the semester based on feedback from peers, instructors, and alumni. By the semester's end, students will have gained extensive experience with the communication skills expected in today's competitive environment. This course is suitable for sophomores and juniors in the Hajim School; all others require permission of the instructor. Students must have completed a minimum of two engineering or CS courses in their major. Courses in the WRTG 27X series may not be taken more than once for credit.

Prerequisite: Completion of the Primary Writing Requirement

Location

Hylan Building Room 306 (M 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

This interactive course teaches 'real life' communication skills and strategies that help students present their best professional selves and develop a fulfilling career. Students will explore and articulate their internship, career and graduate school goals for distinct audiences and purposes as they develop a professional communication portfolio of materials such as resumes, cover letters, statements of purpose, electronic communications, elevator pitches, project descriptions and abstracts, and online profiles (i.e., LinkedIn). Students will revise and refine their written and spoken work across the semester based on feedback from peers, instructors, and alumni. By the semester's end, students will have gained extensive experience with the communication skills expected in today's competitive environment. This course is suitable for sophomores and juniors in the Hajim School; all others require permission of the instructor. Students must have completed a minimum of two engineering or CS courses in their major. Courses in the WRTG 27X series may not be taken more than once for credit.

Prerequisite: Completion of the Primary Writing Requirement

Location

Hylan Building Room 303 (W 3:25PM - 4:40PM)

This interactive course teaches 'real life' communication skills and strategies that help students present their best professional selves and develop a fulfilling career. Students will explore and articulate their internship, career and graduate school goals for distinct audiences and purposes as they develop a professional communication portfolio of materials such as resumes, cover letters, statements of purpose, electronic communications, elevator pitches, project descriptions and abstracts, and online profiles (i.e., LinkedIn). Students will revise and refine their written and spoken work across the semester based on feedback from peers, instructors, and alumni. By the semester's end, students will have gained extensive experience with the communication skills expected in today's competitive environment. This course is suitable for sophomores and juniors in the Hajim School; all others require permission of the instructor. Students must have completed a minimum of two engineering or CS courses in their major. Courses in the WRTG 27X series may not be taken more than once for credit.

Prerequisite: Completion of the Primary Writing Requirement

Location

Meliora Room 219 (R 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

This interactive course teaches 'real life' communication skills and strategies that help students present their best professional selves and develop a fulfilling career. Students will explore and articulate their internship, career and graduate school goals for distinct audiences and purposes as they develop a professional communication portfolio of materials such as resumes, cover letters, statements of purpose, electronic communications, elevator pitches, project descriptions and abstracts, and online profiles (i.e., LinkedIn). Students will revise and refine their written and spoken work across the semester based on feedback from peers, instructors, and alumni. By the semester's end, students will have gained extensive experience with the communication skills expected in today's competitive environment. This course is suitable for sophomores and juniors in the Hajim School; all others require permission of the instructor. Students must have completed a minimum of two engineering or CS courses in their major. Courses in the WRTG 27X series may not be taken more than once for credit.

Prerequisite: Completion of the Primary Writing Requirement

Location

Meliora Room 219 (R 3:25PM - 4:40PM)

This interactive course teaches 'real life' communication skills and strategies that help students present their best professional selves and develop a fulfilling career. Students will explore and articulate their internship, career and graduate school goals for distinct audiences and purposes as they develop a professional communication portfolio of materials such as resumes, cover letters, statements of purpose, electronic communications, elevator pitches, project descriptions and abstracts, and online profiles (i.e., LinkedIn). Students will revise and refine their written and spoken work across the semester based on feedback from peers, instructors, and alumni. By the semester's end, students will have gained extensive experience with the communication skills expected in today's competitive environment. The class can be used to fulfill 1 of 2 required Upper-Level Writing experiences in psychology, and is suitable for junior and senior psychology majors; all others require instructor permission.

Prerequisite: Completion of the Primary Writing Requirement

Location

Bausch & Lomb Room 315 (W 3:25PM - 4:40PM)

This interactive course teaches real life communication skills and strategies that help students present their best professional selves and develop a fulfilling career. Students will explore and articulate their internship, career and graduate school goals for distinct audiences and purposes as they develop a professional communication portfolio of materials such as resumes, cover letters, statements of purpose, electronic communications, elevator pitches, project descriptions and abstracts, and online profiles (i.e., LinkedIn). Students will revise and refine their written and spoken work across the semester based on feedback from peers, instructors, and alumni. By the semester's end, students will have gained extensive experience with the communication skills expected in today's competitive environment. This course is suitable for second-semester sophomores, juniors and first-semester seniors; all others require permission of the instructor. All majors welcome. Courses in the WRTG 27X series may not be taken more than once for credit.

Prerequisite: Completion of the Primary Writing Requirement

Location

Lechase Room 160 (R 11:05AM - 12:20PM)

What does it mean to be a writer in a world where AI systems like ChatGPT or Claude can produce text that is at least sometimes indistinguishable from text written by a human? In this course, we will explore a variety of AI tools with the goal of understanding how these tools might fit into the writing process and where the possible pitfalls lie. We’ll learn how to interpret articles about AI in the media with a critical eye and discuss what would be necessary for media to do a better job of writing about AI. But we’ll also experiment with AI tools to explore what it means to write with AI. Throughout the semester, we’ll dive deeper into what it is that we humans do when we write, from brainstorming all the way through final drafts, and we’ll probe what happens when we add AI to the mix at each of those stages in a series of reflective assignments. These will build towards a final project in which students offer a research-based proposal for a specific way in which AI could be effectively and ethically used by writers.

Location

Hylan Building Room 303 (TR 12:30PM - 1:45PM)