Starting in 2024 “writing-intensive” will be replaced with the language of “Foundational Ability 1.”
For a general description of the first-year writing requirement, all classes offered by the UWP, and the criteria of writing-intensive classes* see our Curriculum page.
For UWP faculty looking for additional guidelines on teaching first-year writing, see the UWP’s SharePoint site.
For all other faculty looking for resources on the teaching of writing in their disciplines, see the Teaching Writing Toolkit.
Course # (Section)
Title
Day/Times
Instructor
Location
Term
Course Details
AS.001.155 (01)
FYS: Is a Corporation a Person?
T 10:30AM - 1:00PM
O'Connor, Marisa T
Greenhouse 113
Fall 2023
Corporations are all around us. They interact with us every day in ways minute and profound. We work with them and for them. They have rights and freedoms, for instance, to speech and religious expression. They seem to have intentions, desires, voices, and goals. Yet, they can’t take a walk or feel the wind or smell the earth. If they do harm, they are notoriously hard to punish. When they come to an end, no one writes an obituary. This First-Year Seminar will query whether a corporation is a person across a range of sources and perspectives, including from law, politics, philosophy, literature, and popular culture. Can a corporation be a person? Who should decide and on what basis? What are the implications for our understanding of rights, agency, and morality and for pressing global issues such as climate change? And what are the implications for our own understanding of ourselves as “a person”?
×
FYS: Is a Corporation a Person? AS.001.155 (01)
Corporations are all around us. They interact with us every day in ways minute and profound. We work with them and for them. They have rights and freedoms, for instance, to speech and religious expression. They seem to have intentions, desires, voices, and goals. Yet, they can’t take a walk or feel the wind or smell the earth. If they do harm, they are notoriously hard to punish. When they come to an end, no one writes an obituary. This First-Year Seminar will query whether a corporation is a person across a range of sources and perspectives, including from law, politics, philosophy, literature, and popular culture. Can a corporation be a person? Who should decide and on what basis? What are the implications for our understanding of rights, agency, and morality and for pressing global issues such as climate change? And what are the implications for our own understanding of ourselves as “a person”?
Days/Times: T 10:30AM - 1:00PM
Instructor: O'Connor, Marisa T
Room: Greenhouse 113
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.001.158 (01)
FYS: Love, Anger, Fear, and Hope
Th 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Koullas, Sandy Gillian
Greenhouse 113
Fall 2023
In this First-Year Seminar, we will examine the roles of love, fear, anger, and hope in our lives. We’ll ask questions about their value, danger, and appropriateness or inappropriateness in our lives at both the individual level and the level of political life. Some examples of questions we’ll consider are these: Should we love those who have wronged us? Is enjoying a horror movie morally problematic? How is fear used in political rhetoric and how should we respond to it? Is anger acceptable, or perhaps even necessary, in protest? Is love necessary for meaningful social change? When and how is hope justifiable and useful? We’ll also draw connections between these emotions and engage with related concepts such as forgiveness and trust. While our engagement with these concepts will be primarily through philosophy, we will also consider works of art and think about the value of portraying and evoking these emotions through various forms of art. Students can expect to read philosophical texts, journalism, occasional fiction and poetry, and to watch at least one horror film, among the sources for the course. Possible authors include Berit Brogaard, Noël Carroll, Myisha Cherry, Raja Halwani, Stephen King, Adrienne Martin, Martha Nussbaum, Edgar Allan Poe, Jason Stanley, and Desmond Tutu. We will take at least one field trip to a location in Baltimore during the semester. Students will emerge from this course with a more nuanced understanding of these powerful and often controversial emotions, and the ability to talk about them in an academic and public context.
×
FYS: Love, Anger, Fear, and Hope AS.001.158 (01)
In this First-Year Seminar, we will examine the roles of love, fear, anger, and hope in our lives. We’ll ask questions about their value, danger, and appropriateness or inappropriateness in our lives at both the individual level and the level of political life. Some examples of questions we’ll consider are these: Should we love those who have wronged us? Is enjoying a horror movie morally problematic? How is fear used in political rhetoric and how should we respond to it? Is anger acceptable, or perhaps even necessary, in protest? Is love necessary for meaningful social change? When and how is hope justifiable and useful? We’ll also draw connections between these emotions and engage with related concepts such as forgiveness and trust. While our engagement with these concepts will be primarily through philosophy, we will also consider works of art and think about the value of portraying and evoking these emotions through various forms of art. Students can expect to read philosophical texts, journalism, occasional fiction and poetry, and to watch at least one horror film, among the sources for the course. Possible authors include Berit Brogaard, Noël Carroll, Myisha Cherry, Raja Halwani, Stephen King, Adrienne Martin, Martha Nussbaum, Edgar Allan Poe, Jason Stanley, and Desmond Tutu. We will take at least one field trip to a location in Baltimore during the semester. Students will emerge from this course with a more nuanced understanding of these powerful and often controversial emotions, and the ability to talk about them in an academic and public context.
Days/Times: Th 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Koullas, Sandy Gillian
Room: Greenhouse 113
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (01)
Reintroduction to Writing: Interrogating the Rhetoric of Belonging
TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM
Hull, Brittany Sabrina
Shaffer 304
Fall 2023
The phrase a seat at the table is often used to describe an instance where someone is included in an opportunity that has the potential to lead them to some form of success. The symbolism of pulling up a chair to a table represents a sense of belonging and inclusion that wasn’t extended previously for one reason or another. What happens when you get “a seat” that you’ve pursued for a long time? This course asks you to engage with feelings of inclusion/exclusion by drawing from your own experiences of negotiating and fighting for your seat.
One way to think about this is to consider how your potential major (or careers relating to your potential major) relate to your body and how you are expected to exist in these spaces. In these moments of expectation, what are you willing to give? What is an acceptable cost (changing how you dress, talk, think, etc.) for your success? How can you fight to protect yourself and be successful? Is it possible to do both?
Students can expect to explore these important questions via scaffolded writing activities which support the major assignments: rhetorical analysis essay, literature review, and research-based argument essay.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Interrogating the Rhetoric of Belonging AS.004.101 (01)
The phrase a seat at the table is often used to describe an instance where someone is included in an opportunity that has the potential to lead them to some form of success. The symbolism of pulling up a chair to a table represents a sense of belonging and inclusion that wasn’t extended previously for one reason or another. What happens when you get “a seat” that you’ve pursued for a long time? This course asks you to engage with feelings of inclusion/exclusion by drawing from your own experiences of negotiating and fighting for your seat.
One way to think about this is to consider how your potential major (or careers relating to your potential major) relate to your body and how you are expected to exist in these spaces. In these moments of expectation, what are you willing to give? What is an acceptable cost (changing how you dress, talk, think, etc.) for your success? How can you fight to protect yourself and be successful? Is it possible to do both?
Students can expect to explore these important questions via scaffolded writing activities which support the major assignments: rhetorical analysis essay, literature review, and research-based argument essay.
Days/Times: TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM
Instructor: Hull, Brittany Sabrina
Room: Shaffer 304
Status: Open
Seats Available: 2/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (02)
Reintroduction to Writing: Digital Doppelgangers
MW 4:30PM - 5:45PM
Schnitzler, Carly Elisabeth
Gilman 413
Fall 2023
Many of us have (at least) two selves: an analog or “real-life” self and a digital self. These doppelgangers can bear striking resemblance to our embodied selves—or not—and raise many questions around issues of representation, authenticity, and impersonation. So too, we leave digital traces of ourselves in the form of “data doubles,” extracted through clicks, scrolls, and other forms of tracked data. This double is frequently a target for manipulation and persuasion, but also can be a tool to enhance creativity and efficiency in our analog lives. In this course, we will investigate the concept of the digital doppelganger from three distinct perspectives, asking how our capacious digital identities are formed, changed, and controlled in commercial, political, and creative contexts. By crafting auto-ethnographies, policy briefs, and creative computational projects, students will develop critical thinking skills, learn to communicate with agility and precision across different genres, and reflect on how we create and know ourselves in a rapidly changing digital landscape.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Digital Doppelgangers AS.004.101 (02)
Many of us have (at least) two selves: an analog or “real-life” self and a digital self. These doppelgangers can bear striking resemblance to our embodied selves—or not—and raise many questions around issues of representation, authenticity, and impersonation. So too, we leave digital traces of ourselves in the form of “data doubles,” extracted through clicks, scrolls, and other forms of tracked data. This double is frequently a target for manipulation and persuasion, but also can be a tool to enhance creativity and efficiency in our analog lives. In this course, we will investigate the concept of the digital doppelganger from three distinct perspectives, asking how our capacious digital identities are formed, changed, and controlled in commercial, political, and creative contexts. By crafting auto-ethnographies, policy briefs, and creative computational projects, students will develop critical thinking skills, learn to communicate with agility and precision across different genres, and reflect on how we create and know ourselves in a rapidly changing digital landscape.
Days/Times: MW 4:30PM - 5:45PM
Instructor: Schnitzler, Carly Elisabeth
Room: Gilman 413
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (03)
Reintroduction to Writing: The Rhetoric of Digital Networks
MW 3:00PM - 4:15PM
Cui, Wenqi
Gilman 217
Fall 2023
How has the advent of digital networks influenced our culture, attitudes, and behaviors? How have these transformations affected our personal and civic lives, education, and professional endeavors? Increasingly growing digital sources and digital networks have profoundly changed every aspect of our lives. In this course, we will critically examine the influence of digital networks, analyzing online interactions, exploring digital cultures, and studying online communities. Students are encouraged to select a topic of personal and academic interest to investigate, such as digital literacy practices, AI in education, influencer culture, social support in online communities, algorithmic fairness, privacy and safety in digital spaces, or social activism like #BlackLivesMatter. Throughout this course, students will develop research skills and advance their writing proficiency in content, clarity, organization, and readability. This will be accomplished through readings, discussions, writing tasks, feedback, and reflections. Students will write various genres, including reading response, literacy narrative, research proposal, research-based argumentative essay, reflective journal, and presentation. By undertaking this course, students will cultivate critical thinking abilities, professional communication strategies, and lifelong learning skills necessary for success in both their academic pursuits and professional careers.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: The Rhetoric of Digital Networks AS.004.101 (03)
How has the advent of digital networks influenced our culture, attitudes, and behaviors? How have these transformations affected our personal and civic lives, education, and professional endeavors? Increasingly growing digital sources and digital networks have profoundly changed every aspect of our lives. In this course, we will critically examine the influence of digital networks, analyzing online interactions, exploring digital cultures, and studying online communities. Students are encouraged to select a topic of personal and academic interest to investigate, such as digital literacy practices, AI in education, influencer culture, social support in online communities, algorithmic fairness, privacy and safety in digital spaces, or social activism like #BlackLivesMatter. Throughout this course, students will develop research skills and advance their writing proficiency in content, clarity, organization, and readability. This will be accomplished through readings, discussions, writing tasks, feedback, and reflections. Students will write various genres, including reading response, literacy narrative, research proposal, research-based argumentative essay, reflective journal, and presentation. By undertaking this course, students will cultivate critical thinking abilities, professional communication strategies, and lifelong learning skills necessary for success in both their academic pursuits and professional careers.
Days/Times: MW 3:00PM - 4:15PM
Instructor: Cui, Wenqi
Room: Gilman 217
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (06)
Reintroduction to Writing: Interrogating the Rhetoric of Belonging
TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Hull, Brittany Sabrina
Shaffer 304
Fall 2023
The phrase a seat at the table is often used to describe an instance where someone is included in an opportunity that has the potential to lead them to some form of success. The symbolism of pulling up a chair to a table represents a sense of belonging and inclusion that wasn’t extended previously for one reason or another. What happens when you get “a seat” that you’ve pursued for a long time? This course asks you to engage with feelings of inclusion/exclusion by drawing from your own experiences of negotiating and fighting for your seat.
One way to think about this is to consider how your potential major (or careers relating to your potential major) relate to your body and how you are expected to exist in these spaces. In these moments of expectation, what are you willing to give? What is an acceptable cost (changing how you dress, talk, think, etc.) for your success? How can you fight to protect yourself and be successful? Is it possible to do both?
Students can expect to explore these important questions via scaffolded writing activities which support the major assignments: rhetorical analysis essay, literature review, and research-based argument essay.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Interrogating the Rhetoric of Belonging AS.004.101 (06)
The phrase a seat at the table is often used to describe an instance where someone is included in an opportunity that has the potential to lead them to some form of success. The symbolism of pulling up a chair to a table represents a sense of belonging and inclusion that wasn’t extended previously for one reason or another. What happens when you get “a seat” that you’ve pursued for a long time? This course asks you to engage with feelings of inclusion/exclusion by drawing from your own experiences of negotiating and fighting for your seat.
One way to think about this is to consider how your potential major (or careers relating to your potential major) relate to your body and how you are expected to exist in these spaces. In these moments of expectation, what are you willing to give? What is an acceptable cost (changing how you dress, talk, think, etc.) for your success? How can you fight to protect yourself and be successful? Is it possible to do both?
Students can expect to explore these important questions via scaffolded writing activities which support the major assignments: rhetorical analysis essay, literature review, and research-based argument essay.
Days/Times: TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Instructor: Hull, Brittany Sabrina
Room: Shaffer 304
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (07)
Reintroduction to Writing: The Rhetoric of Digital Networks
MW 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Cui, Wenqi
Gilman 217
Fall 2023
How has the advent of digital networks influenced our culture, attitudes, and behaviors? How have these transformations affected our personal and civic lives, education, and professional endeavors? Increasingly growing digital sources and digital networks have profoundly changed every aspect of our lives. In this course, we will critically examine the influence of digital networks, analyzing online interactions, exploring digital cultures, and studying online communities. Students are encouraged to select a topic of personal and academic interest to investigate, such as digital literacy practices, AI in education, influencer culture, social support in online communities, algorithmic fairness, privacy and safety in digital spaces, or social activism like #BlackLivesMatter. Throughout this course, students will develop research skills and advance their writing proficiency in content, clarity, organization, and readability. This will be accomplished through readings, discussions, writing tasks, feedback, and reflections. Students will write various genres, including reading response, literacy narrative, research proposal, research-based argumentative essay, reflective journal, and presentation. By undertaking this course, students will cultivate critical thinking abilities, professional communication strategies, and lifelong learning skills necessary for success in both their academic pursuits and professional careers.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: The Rhetoric of Digital Networks AS.004.101 (07)
How has the advent of digital networks influenced our culture, attitudes, and behaviors? How have these transformations affected our personal and civic lives, education, and professional endeavors? Increasingly growing digital sources and digital networks have profoundly changed every aspect of our lives. In this course, we will critically examine the influence of digital networks, analyzing online interactions, exploring digital cultures, and studying online communities. Students are encouraged to select a topic of personal and academic interest to investigate, such as digital literacy practices, AI in education, influencer culture, social support in online communities, algorithmic fairness, privacy and safety in digital spaces, or social activism like #BlackLivesMatter. Throughout this course, students will develop research skills and advance their writing proficiency in content, clarity, organization, and readability. This will be accomplished through readings, discussions, writing tasks, feedback, and reflections. Students will write various genres, including reading response, literacy narrative, research proposal, research-based argumentative essay, reflective journal, and presentation. By undertaking this course, students will cultivate critical thinking abilities, professional communication strategies, and lifelong learning skills necessary for success in both their academic pursuits and professional careers.
Days/Times: MW 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Instructor: Cui, Wenqi
Room: Gilman 217
Status: Open
Seats Available: 1/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (08)
Reintroduction to Writing: Contemporary American Short Stories
TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Berger, Donald W
Hodson 216
Fall 2023
In a 2012 interview with the New York Times, American critic M.H. Abrams was asked, “Why study literature?” Abrams answered, because “it enables you to live the lives of other people.” But how does a master of short stories open a window to his or her characters’ thoughts and feelings? How does the writer, as Abrams suggests, draw us into other lives? In this class, students will explore these questions through their own writings across different modes and styles. Writing projects will range from evaluating another critic’s interpretation of how a story brings its characters to life to writing your own autobiographical narrative. Our readings will feature the work of some of the masters of contemporary American short stories including Joyce Carol Oates, Nate Brown, Gish Jen, Richard Ford, Ashleigh Parker Phillips, Denis Johnson, Jennifer Egan, ZZ Packer, James Salter, George Saunders, Lorrie Moore, Edward P. Jones, and Lydia Davis.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Contemporary American Short Stories AS.004.101 (08)
In a 2012 interview with the New York Times, American critic M.H. Abrams was asked, “Why study literature?” Abrams answered, because “it enables you to live the lives of other people.” But how does a master of short stories open a window to his or her characters’ thoughts and feelings? How does the writer, as Abrams suggests, draw us into other lives? In this class, students will explore these questions through their own writings across different modes and styles. Writing projects will range from evaluating another critic’s interpretation of how a story brings its characters to life to writing your own autobiographical narrative. Our readings will feature the work of some of the masters of contemporary American short stories including Joyce Carol Oates, Nate Brown, Gish Jen, Richard Ford, Ashleigh Parker Phillips, Denis Johnson, Jennifer Egan, ZZ Packer, James Salter, George Saunders, Lorrie Moore, Edward P. Jones, and Lydia Davis.
Days/Times: TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Instructor: Berger, Donald W
Room: Hodson 216
Status: Open
Seats Available: 1/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (09)
Reintroduction to Writing: Drugs in Society
TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM
Devenot, Nese Lisa
Gilman 186
Fall 2023
Competing views about the dangers and potential benefits of drugs are ubiquitous. In the context of changing drug laws regarding psychedelic medicines, the legalization of cannabis, and “mandatory minimum” jail sentences, how can we gain insight into the cultural history of drugs in our society? This writing course will provide the opportunity for students to directly engage with recent debates over drug legislation by critically reflecting on the evolution of writing about drugs over the past 250 years. How does the cultural understanding of drugs change with shifts in rhetoric? How can we balance the need to protect society while still respecting individual freedoms and privacy? How can the latest scientific and sociological research help to guide legislative decisions? Our society’s understandings about drugs and their relationship to human consciousness have been, and continue to be, mediated by rhetoric and public discussions; by directly engaging in this evolving rhetoric through written and oral assignments, students will have the opportunity to deepen their understanding of this complex and persistent topic. Students will explore this topic by writing in a variety of genres and persuasive strategies, including op-eds, policy memos, close textual and visual analyses, and reflections.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Drugs in Society AS.004.101 (09)
Competing views about the dangers and potential benefits of drugs are ubiquitous. In the context of changing drug laws regarding psychedelic medicines, the legalization of cannabis, and “mandatory minimum” jail sentences, how can we gain insight into the cultural history of drugs in our society? This writing course will provide the opportunity for students to directly engage with recent debates over drug legislation by critically reflecting on the evolution of writing about drugs over the past 250 years. How does the cultural understanding of drugs change with shifts in rhetoric? How can we balance the need to protect society while still respecting individual freedoms and privacy? How can the latest scientific and sociological research help to guide legislative decisions? Our society’s understandings about drugs and their relationship to human consciousness have been, and continue to be, mediated by rhetoric and public discussions; by directly engaging in this evolving rhetoric through written and oral assignments, students will have the opportunity to deepen their understanding of this complex and persistent topic. Students will explore this topic by writing in a variety of genres and persuasive strategies, including op-eds, policy memos, close textual and visual analyses, and reflections.
Days/Times: TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM
Instructor: Devenot, Nese Lisa
Room: Gilman 186
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (10)
Reintroduction to Writing: Drugs in Society
TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Devenot, Nese Lisa
Shaffer 304
Fall 2023
Competing views about the dangers and potential benefits of drugs are ubiquitous. In the context of changing drug laws regarding psychedelic medicines, the legalization of cannabis, and “mandatory minimum” jail sentences, how can we gain insight into the cultural history of drugs in our society? This writing course will provide the opportunity for students to directly engage with recent debates over drug legislation by critically reflecting on the evolution of writing about drugs over the past 250 years. How does the cultural understanding of drugs change with shifts in rhetoric? How can we balance the need to protect society while still respecting individual freedoms and privacy? How can the latest scientific and sociological research help to guide legislative decisions? Our society’s understandings about drugs and their relationship to human consciousness have been, and continue to be, mediated by rhetoric and public discussions; by directly engaging in this evolving rhetoric through written and oral assignments, students will have the opportunity to deepen their understanding of this complex and persistent topic. Students will explore this topic by writing in a variety of genres and persuasive strategies, including op-eds, policy memos, close textual and visual analyses, and reflections.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Drugs in Society AS.004.101 (10)
Competing views about the dangers and potential benefits of drugs are ubiquitous. In the context of changing drug laws regarding psychedelic medicines, the legalization of cannabis, and “mandatory minimum” jail sentences, how can we gain insight into the cultural history of drugs in our society? This writing course will provide the opportunity for students to directly engage with recent debates over drug legislation by critically reflecting on the evolution of writing about drugs over the past 250 years. How does the cultural understanding of drugs change with shifts in rhetoric? How can we balance the need to protect society while still respecting individual freedoms and privacy? How can the latest scientific and sociological research help to guide legislative decisions? Our society’s understandings about drugs and their relationship to human consciousness have been, and continue to be, mediated by rhetoric and public discussions; by directly engaging in this evolving rhetoric through written and oral assignments, students will have the opportunity to deepen their understanding of this complex and persistent topic. Students will explore this topic by writing in a variety of genres and persuasive strategies, including op-eds, policy memos, close textual and visual analyses, and reflections.
Days/Times: TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Instructor: Devenot, Nese Lisa
Room: Shaffer 304
Status: Open
Seats Available: 1/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (14)
Reintroduction to Writing: Digital Doppelgangers
MW 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Schnitzler, Carly Elisabeth
Hodson 313
Fall 2023
Many of us have (at least) two selves: an analog or “real-life” self and a digital self. These doppelgangers can bear striking resemblance to our embodied selves—or not—and raise many questions around issues of representation, authenticity, and impersonation. So too, we leave digital traces of ourselves in the form of “data doubles,” extracted through clicks, scrolls, and other forms of tracked data. This double is frequently a target for manipulation and persuasion, but also can be a tool to enhance creativity and efficiency in our analog lives. In this course, we will investigate the concept of the digital doppelganger from three distinct perspectives, asking how our capacious digital identities are formed, changed, and controlled in commercial, political, and creative contexts. By crafting auto-ethnographies, policy briefs, and creative computational projects, students will develop critical thinking skills, learn to communicate with agility and precision across different genres, and reflect on how we create and know ourselves in a rapidly changing digital landscape.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Digital Doppelgangers AS.004.101 (14)
Many of us have (at least) two selves: an analog or “real-life” self and a digital self. These doppelgangers can bear striking resemblance to our embodied selves—or not—and raise many questions around issues of representation, authenticity, and impersonation. So too, we leave digital traces of ourselves in the form of “data doubles,” extracted through clicks, scrolls, and other forms of tracked data. This double is frequently a target for manipulation and persuasion, but also can be a tool to enhance creativity and efficiency in our analog lives. In this course, we will investigate the concept of the digital doppelganger from three distinct perspectives, asking how our capacious digital identities are formed, changed, and controlled in commercial, political, and creative contexts. By crafting auto-ethnographies, policy briefs, and creative computational projects, students will develop critical thinking skills, learn to communicate with agility and precision across different genres, and reflect on how we create and know ourselves in a rapidly changing digital landscape.
Days/Times: MW 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Instructor: Schnitzler, Carly Elisabeth
Room: Hodson 313
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (17)
Reintroduction to Writing: Seeing and Believing
TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM
Brown, Nate
Krieger 306
Fall 2023
In this first-year seminar, we'll examine and record how our thoughts, beliefs, and impressions of the world are informed by what we “see.” As in other writing-intensive courses, we’ll compose a variety of written works for a range of audiences, and we'll focus our time and attention on the creation and reception of art—including film, painting, sculpture, dance, performance art, architecture, and emerging artistic media. We'll read essays and criticism by Parul Sehgal, Maggie Nelson, Zadie Smith, Alain de Botton, and others to better understand how people critically, creatively, and analytically respond to art, artists, and artistic movements. The course will include visits to local art institutions and museums, reading and writing analysis and criticism, and performing research. Together, we'll attempt to test John Berger's claim that "the relation between what we see and what we know is never settled" while looking closely at and responding to images from the world of the fine arts, advertisement, social media, and AI.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Seeing and Believing AS.004.101 (17)
In this first-year seminar, we'll examine and record how our thoughts, beliefs, and impressions of the world are informed by what we “see.” As in other writing-intensive courses, we’ll compose a variety of written works for a range of audiences, and we'll focus our time and attention on the creation and reception of art—including film, painting, sculpture, dance, performance art, architecture, and emerging artistic media. We'll read essays and criticism by Parul Sehgal, Maggie Nelson, Zadie Smith, Alain de Botton, and others to better understand how people critically, creatively, and analytically respond to art, artists, and artistic movements. The course will include visits to local art institutions and museums, reading and writing analysis and criticism, and performing research. Together, we'll attempt to test John Berger's claim that "the relation between what we see and what we know is never settled" while looking closely at and responding to images from the world of the fine arts, advertisement, social media, and AI.
Days/Times: TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM
Instructor: Brown, Nate
Room: Krieger 306
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.221 (01)
Research with the Zombie Apocalypse
T 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Hartmann-Villalta, Laura A
Shaffer 301
Fall 2023
In this interdisciplinary course focused on academic research and argument, everyone in the class will be surviving the zombie apocalypse together: What does your chosen academic discipline bring to our survival? How can this field of study contribute to innovation or ultimately building a new world? What kinds of collegial practices (aka teamwork) are necessary? Although the zombie apocalypse is our collective topic for discussion and an animating metaphor for the course, students will not conduct research about zombies. Rather, we will use the tropes of zombie apocalypse to pose research questions about real-life disasters, whether natural or man-made. For example, a political science major may research military responses to disaster (survival), or a dance major may investigate how dance performance is used to process collective trauma in post-genocide societies (the new world). Conducting individual research, students will write in academic research genres, from proposal to research paper to poster presentation. All students comfortable with gory zombies who are at the sophomore level and above are welcome.
×
Research with the Zombie Apocalypse AS.004.221 (01)
In this interdisciplinary course focused on academic research and argument, everyone in the class will be surviving the zombie apocalypse together: What does your chosen academic discipline bring to our survival? How can this field of study contribute to innovation or ultimately building a new world? What kinds of collegial practices (aka teamwork) are necessary? Although the zombie apocalypse is our collective topic for discussion and an animating metaphor for the course, students will not conduct research about zombies. Rather, we will use the tropes of zombie apocalypse to pose research questions about real-life disasters, whether natural or man-made. For example, a political science major may research military responses to disaster (survival), or a dance major may investigate how dance performance is used to process collective trauma in post-genocide societies (the new world). Conducting individual research, students will write in academic research genres, from proposal to research paper to poster presentation. All students comfortable with gory zombies who are at the sophomore level and above are welcome.
Days/Times: T 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Hartmann-Villalta, Laura A
Room: Shaffer 301
Status: Open
Seats Available: 1/15
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.241 (01)
Writing About Sports
TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM
Oppel, George
Hodson 211
Fall 2023
Noam Chomsky once remarked that sport’s primary function is to “deflect people’s attention from things that matter.” But most people love sport! Even Chomsky has admitted to being impressed by the “extensive knowledge that people have of sport … and their self-confidence in discussing it.” Sport matters because of its central place in our culture and because of its ability to create knowledge and self-confidence in so many people who play sport, watch it intensely, talk about it ceaselessly. And it matters because it produces so much high-caliber writing. How does sport inspire such productive discourse? When people write about sport, are they really writing about something else? We tackle these questions by studying how people have written about sport and by doing some sports-writing ourselves. The first project will be to write your own personal narrative about sport. For the next you will enter a controversy about sport from a selection of topics the class will decide collectively. Finally, you will choose an aspect of the sporting world to research. You could do a piece of sports-reporting here at Hopkins; a profile of an athlete; a photo essay; or an analysis of how a particular sport has been brought to life through blogging and other forms of media. The course overall aims to develop your own ability to write with knowledge, self-confidence, and agility about sport and the things that matter beyond sport. Guest speakers include Baltimore Sun Ravens reporter. All undergraduates at the sophomore level and above are welcome.
×
Writing About Sports AS.004.241 (01)
Noam Chomsky once remarked that sport’s primary function is to “deflect people’s attention from things that matter.” But most people love sport! Even Chomsky has admitted to being impressed by the “extensive knowledge that people have of sport … and their self-confidence in discussing it.” Sport matters because of its central place in our culture and because of its ability to create knowledge and self-confidence in so many people who play sport, watch it intensely, talk about it ceaselessly. And it matters because it produces so much high-caliber writing. How does sport inspire such productive discourse? When people write about sport, are they really writing about something else? We tackle these questions by studying how people have written about sport and by doing some sports-writing ourselves. The first project will be to write your own personal narrative about sport. For the next you will enter a controversy about sport from a selection of topics the class will decide collectively. Finally, you will choose an aspect of the sporting world to research. You could do a piece of sports-reporting here at Hopkins; a profile of an athlete; a photo essay; or an analysis of how a particular sport has been brought to life through blogging and other forms of media. The course overall aims to develop your own ability to write with knowledge, self-confidence, and agility about sport and the things that matter beyond sport. Guest speakers include Baltimore Sun Ravens reporter. All undergraduates at the sophomore level and above are welcome.
Days/Times: TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM
Instructor: Oppel, George
Room: Hodson 211
Status: Open
Seats Available: 1/15
PosTag(s): MSCH-HUM, AGRI-ELECT
AS.004.241 (02)
Politics and Persuasion
MW 3:00PM - 4:15PM
Oppel, George
Hodson 203
Fall 2023
Rhetoric, or the art of persuasion, is the beating heart of political life. It’s how candidates, parties, lobbyists, and activists compete for our attention and support. In a democracy, we listen to rational arguments presented in good faith, but we are also exposed to deceptive forms of persuasion that attempt to mislead us through misinformation and other techniques of propaganda. Democratic citizens today need to utilize persuasive techniques to advance their political goals. But they also need to be alert to the perils of certain forms of persuasion that may even threaten democracy itself. This course will help students develop the rhetorical literacy capable of meeting these demands. We begin by studying the classical forms of rhetoric – including ethos, pathos, and logos -- as outlined by Aristotle and other thinkers from the ancient world. You’ll write a rhetorical analysis that applies these concepts to a canonical political speech. Thus grounded, our attention turns to the multiple ways in which persuasion is deployed in a democracy today. Whether it’s a campaign speech, an effort from an activist group to engage the community through social media, or a rant by your favorite YouTuber, we are now exposed to more competing voices and images than ever before. Is it possible for a rational consensus to emerge from the cacophony of speech unleashed in the digital age? Your next project, an argumentative essay, will address this question. Finally, you will design and produce a persuasive piece of political writing – which may incorporate visual components -- targeted to a specific audience on a topic of your choice. All undergraduates at the sophomore level and above are welcome.
×
Politics and Persuasion AS.004.241 (02)
Rhetoric, or the art of persuasion, is the beating heart of political life. It’s how candidates, parties, lobbyists, and activists compete for our attention and support. In a democracy, we listen to rational arguments presented in good faith, but we are also exposed to deceptive forms of persuasion that attempt to mislead us through misinformation and other techniques of propaganda. Democratic citizens today need to utilize persuasive techniques to advance their political goals. But they also need to be alert to the perils of certain forms of persuasion that may even threaten democracy itself. This course will help students develop the rhetorical literacy capable of meeting these demands. We begin by studying the classical forms of rhetoric – including ethos, pathos, and logos -- as outlined by Aristotle and other thinkers from the ancient world. You’ll write a rhetorical analysis that applies these concepts to a canonical political speech. Thus grounded, our attention turns to the multiple ways in which persuasion is deployed in a democracy today. Whether it’s a campaign speech, an effort from an activist group to engage the community through social media, or a rant by your favorite YouTuber, we are now exposed to more competing voices and images than ever before. Is it possible for a rational consensus to emerge from the cacophony of speech unleashed in the digital age? Your next project, an argumentative essay, will address this question. Finally, you will design and produce a persuasive piece of political writing – which may incorporate visual components -- targeted to a specific audience on a topic of your choice. All undergraduates at the sophomore level and above are welcome.
Days/Times: MW 3:00PM - 4:15PM
Instructor: Oppel, George
Room: Hodson 203
Status: Open
Seats Available: 3/15
PosTag(s): MSCH-HUM, AGRI-ELECT
AS.004.241 (03)
The Future of Holocaust Memory
TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM
Wexler, Anthony Charles
Bloomberg 172
Fall 2023
For survivors of the worst atrocities in recent history, remembering is seen as both a moral and political duty. The command to “never forget” has become a popular refrain in the aftermath of these traumatic events. But how should the memory of these mass traumas be carried forward in the public sphere? What forms of commemoration are the most effective, accurate, or enduring? And how might new technologies impact the future of Holocaust memory? Using the Holocaust as our central case study, we’ll examine the remembering of trauma in a range of public “memory sites,” including oral testimonies, memoirs, photographs, monuments, and museums. And we’ll focus specifically on how new technologies, including virtual reality and holographic technology, will impact how we remember traumatic events. At the heart of the course will be a series of writing assignments designed to help students reflect on the future of Holocaust memory. Students will be asked to write in a variety of styles and genres, from op-eds to scholarly arguments, and from video essays to rhetorical analyses. These writing assignments will help students reconsider what writing is, how to do it effectively and ethically, and how to become better at it. The class will include a field trip to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. All undergraduates at sophomore level and above are welcome.
×
The Future of Holocaust Memory AS.004.241 (03)
For survivors of the worst atrocities in recent history, remembering is seen as both a moral and political duty. The command to “never forget” has become a popular refrain in the aftermath of these traumatic events. But how should the memory of these mass traumas be carried forward in the public sphere? What forms of commemoration are the most effective, accurate, or enduring? And how might new technologies impact the future of Holocaust memory? Using the Holocaust as our central case study, we’ll examine the remembering of trauma in a range of public “memory sites,” including oral testimonies, memoirs, photographs, monuments, and museums. And we’ll focus specifically on how new technologies, including virtual reality and holographic technology, will impact how we remember traumatic events. At the heart of the course will be a series of writing assignments designed to help students reflect on the future of Holocaust memory. Students will be asked to write in a variety of styles and genres, from op-eds to scholarly arguments, and from video essays to rhetorical analyses. These writing assignments will help students reconsider what writing is, how to do it effectively and ethically, and how to become better at it. The class will include a field trip to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. All undergraduates at sophomore level and above are welcome.
Days/Times: TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM
Instructor: Wexler, Anthony Charles
Room: Bloomberg 172
Status: Open
Seats Available: 5/15
PosTag(s): MSCH-HUM, AGRI-ELECT
AS.004.241 (04)
Birthing Justice: The African Diaspora
TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM
Wright, Lisa E.
Bloomberg 172
Fall 2023
The maternal health crisis for Black women is a global issue. Many pregnant women of African descent in the U.S., Caribbean, and Africa lack support during and after pregnancy, experience coercion, and aren’t connected to alternative birthing traditions. In this writing-intensive course, we will write to reflect on and respond to novels, memoirs, essays, and scholarly works on historical and contemporary Black women’s birthing experiences throughout the African diaspora. Students will pursue their own research interests to enter an ongoing conversation within the birthing justice movement. Students will build a portfolio that may include writing for social media, community, and/or scholarly audiences. All undergraduates at sophomore level and above are welcome.
×
Birthing Justice: The African Diaspora AS.004.241 (04)
The maternal health crisis for Black women is a global issue. Many pregnant women of African descent in the U.S., Caribbean, and Africa lack support during and after pregnancy, experience coercion, and aren’t connected to alternative birthing traditions. In this writing-intensive course, we will write to reflect on and respond to novels, memoirs, essays, and scholarly works on historical and contemporary Black women’s birthing experiences throughout the African diaspora. Students will pursue their own research interests to enter an ongoing conversation within the birthing justice movement. Students will build a portfolio that may include writing for social media, community, and/or scholarly audiences. All undergraduates at sophomore level and above are welcome.
Days/Times: TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM
Instructor: Wright, Lisa E.
Room: Bloomberg 172
Status: Open
Seats Available: 4/15
PosTag(s): MSCH-HUM, AGRI-ELECT
AS.004.321 (01)
Humanities Writing & Research Lab
W 3:00PM - 5:30PM
Brodsky, Anne-Elizabeth Murdy; Russell, Arthur J
Maryland 309
Fall 2023
What do the practices of academic research and writing look like in the humanities? This course invites you to develop an individual, discipline-specific research project in a collaborative workshop environment structured around the practical and theoretical commitments of research writing in the humanities. Our interdisciplinary lab model will allow us time and space to pursue in-depth inquiry in your field of interest, from extending a seminar paper to generating a research proposal. Over the semester, we will explore and practice every step of developing a long-term research project prior to publication: tracking scholarly conversations, navigating research archives, developing research questions, cultivating critical methodologies, and presenting in-process work. We will visit archives and museums, hear from a variety of scholar-practitioners, and participate in interdisciplinary events around campus. Our course will culminate in a public conference, in collaboration with The Academic Conference course, where you can present aspects of your research or the research process. All students at the sophomore level and above are welcome.
×
Humanities Writing & Research Lab AS.004.321 (01)
What do the practices of academic research and writing look like in the humanities? This course invites you to develop an individual, discipline-specific research project in a collaborative workshop environment structured around the practical and theoretical commitments of research writing in the humanities. Our interdisciplinary lab model will allow us time and space to pursue in-depth inquiry in your field of interest, from extending a seminar paper to generating a research proposal. Over the semester, we will explore and practice every step of developing a long-term research project prior to publication: tracking scholarly conversations, navigating research archives, developing research questions, cultivating critical methodologies, and presenting in-process work. We will visit archives and museums, hear from a variety of scholar-practitioners, and participate in interdisciplinary events around campus. Our course will culminate in a public conference, in collaboration with The Academic Conference course, where you can present aspects of your research or the research process. All students at the sophomore level and above are welcome.
Days/Times: W 3:00PM - 5:30PM
Instructor: Brodsky, Anne-Elizabeth Murdy; Russell, Arthur J
Room: Maryland 309
Status: Open
Seats Available: 12/15
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.341 (02)
Publishing Problems
TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Brown, Nate
Shriver Hall 104
Fall 2023
Why did “Cat Person” go viral? What’s an earnout bonus? How did the Black Lives Matter movement change the publishing landscape? And who is the bad art friend, anyway? In this class, we’ll ask these questions and more as we research the world of book publishing, taking a particularly close look at literary controversies. We’ll read literary work, essays, and journalism related to the book business alongside legislation, school board meeting minutes, and court records to understand what the publishing industry is, how it works, and where it’s headed. In addition to performing and writing research, we’ll meet industry professionals and examine publishing documents like profit and loss requisitions, book contracts, and press releases to familiarize ourselves with the language used by publishers, editors, and agents. Finally, we’ll look at the local publishing ecosystem, which includes academic presses, independent publishers, literary journals and zines, book reviewers, bookstores, reading series, and more. All undergraduates at sophomore level and above are welcome.
×
Publishing Problems AS.004.341 (02)
Why did “Cat Person” go viral? What’s an earnout bonus? How did the Black Lives Matter movement change the publishing landscape? And who is the bad art friend, anyway? In this class, we’ll ask these questions and more as we research the world of book publishing, taking a particularly close look at literary controversies. We’ll read literary work, essays, and journalism related to the book business alongside legislation, school board meeting minutes, and court records to understand what the publishing industry is, how it works, and where it’s headed. In addition to performing and writing research, we’ll meet industry professionals and examine publishing documents like profit and loss requisitions, book contracts, and press releases to familiarize ourselves with the language used by publishers, editors, and agents. Finally, we’ll look at the local publishing ecosystem, which includes academic presses, independent publishers, literary journals and zines, book reviewers, bookstores, reading series, and more. All undergraduates at sophomore level and above are welcome.
Days/Times: TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Instructor: Brown, Nate
Room: Shriver Hall 104
Status: Open
Seats Available: 3/15
PosTag(s): MSCH-HUM
AS.004.341 (03)
War Writing & Medical Humanities
TTh 4:30PM - 5:45PM
Hartmann-Villalta, Laura A
Gilman 217
Fall 2023
This is an interdisciplinary course blending the study of visual and textual narrative, history, ethics, medicine, and war. Focusing on the 20th and 21st centuries in the US and Britain, we will focus on wartime narratives (memoirs, diaries, letters) written by nurses as well as by psychiatrists, psychologists, field medics, orderlies, ambulance drivers, and doctors. We will examine how politics infiltrates the war hospital and affects care; the changing dynamic of women and men in the medical (and battle) field throughout the twentieth century; the innovations that emerged from battle surgery; humanitarian concerns on the front line where friend and foe are blurred; and more. The critical lenses of gender, race, empire, colonialism, and disability will help us interrogate how medicine supports – or destabilizes! – these concepts in war. Writing projects include a keyword presentation; a short research essay on medicine and the military during World War I or the 1920s; a short analysis of a life writing text; a book chat with the instructor; and a final, summative, creative project. All undergraduates at the sophomore level and above are welcome.
×
War Writing & Medical Humanities AS.004.341 (03)
This is an interdisciplinary course blending the study of visual and textual narrative, history, ethics, medicine, and war. Focusing on the 20th and 21st centuries in the US and Britain, we will focus on wartime narratives (memoirs, diaries, letters) written by nurses as well as by psychiatrists, psychologists, field medics, orderlies, ambulance drivers, and doctors. We will examine how politics infiltrates the war hospital and affects care; the changing dynamic of women and men in the medical (and battle) field throughout the twentieth century; the innovations that emerged from battle surgery; humanitarian concerns on the front line where friend and foe are blurred; and more. The critical lenses of gender, race, empire, colonialism, and disability will help us interrogate how medicine supports – or destabilizes! – these concepts in war. Writing projects include a keyword presentation; a short research essay on medicine and the military during World War I or the 1920s; a short analysis of a life writing text; a book chat with the instructor; and a final, summative, creative project. All undergraduates at the sophomore level and above are welcome.
Days/Times: TTh 4:30PM - 5:45PM
Instructor: Hartmann-Villalta, Laura A
Room: Gilman 217
Status: Open
Seats Available: 7/15
PosTag(s): MSCH-HUM
AS.004.341 (04)
The Mothers of Gynecology
TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Wright, Lisa E.
Bloomberg 172
Fall 2023
Deirdre Cooper Owens argues that the experimental and pioneering work performed on enslaved Black women such as Anarcha, Betsy, and Lucy, by Dr. James Marion Sims, who is known as the father of gynecology, has been overshadowed in America’s understanding of American gynecology. In this writing intensive course, we will explore the role of Black enslaved women in the formation of the field of American gynecology. We will examine the writing about enslaved Black midwives, nurses, and Black women whose medical practices and bodies were deemed inferior and flawed yet provided foundational knowledge for white practitioners in the mid-1800s. Potential readings include Deirdre Cooper Owens’ Medical Bondage: Race Gender and the Origins of American Gynecology, Deborah Gray Whites’ Ar’nt I a Woman?, and Marie Jenkins Schwartz’s Birthing a Slave: Motherhood and Medicine in the Antebellum South. Throughout the term, students will conduct their own research and write to combine these conversations with contemporary discussions surrounding Black maternal health, Black midwives, birthing justice, and reproductive justice more broadly. This course will culminate with an academic conference where students will present their research to an audience of their peers. All undergraduates at sophomore level and above are welcome.
×
The Mothers of Gynecology AS.004.341 (04)
Deirdre Cooper Owens argues that the experimental and pioneering work performed on enslaved Black women such as Anarcha, Betsy, and Lucy, by Dr. James Marion Sims, who is known as the father of gynecology, has been overshadowed in America’s understanding of American gynecology. In this writing intensive course, we will explore the role of Black enslaved women in the formation of the field of American gynecology. We will examine the writing about enslaved Black midwives, nurses, and Black women whose medical practices and bodies were deemed inferior and flawed yet provided foundational knowledge for white practitioners in the mid-1800s. Potential readings include Deirdre Cooper Owens’ Medical Bondage: Race Gender and the Origins of American Gynecology, Deborah Gray Whites’ Ar’nt I a Woman?, and Marie Jenkins Schwartz’s Birthing a Slave: Motherhood and Medicine in the Antebellum South. Throughout the term, students will conduct their own research and write to combine these conversations with contemporary discussions surrounding Black maternal health, Black midwives, birthing justice, and reproductive justice more broadly. This course will culminate with an academic conference where students will present their research to an audience of their peers. All undergraduates at sophomore level and above are welcome.
Days/Times: TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Instructor: Wright, Lisa E.
Room: Bloomberg 172
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/15
PosTag(s): MSCH-HUM
AS.004.351 (01)
The Academic Conference
TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Koullas, Sandy Gillian
Gilman 75
Fall 2023
An important and exciting platform for academic writing is the academic conference, and in this writing class, we will explore and practice all that goes into putting one together. As a class, we will collaboratively conceptualize, plan, publicize, and host a conference around a broad theme with wide appeal in the humanities. We will analyze and write in genres such as the call for papers, the abstract, the conference schedule, the presentation, and commentary. We will collectively make decisions about aspects of the conference such as themes, keynote speakers, conference format and venue, and invitees. The conference will be held near the end of the semester, where each student in the class will present a paper, and perform other tasks associated with hosting a conference. We will be joined by students from the Humanities Research Writing Lab course, who will present some of their work. After the conference, we will spend class time reflecting on the process and potentially curating a selection of papers to be published as conference proceedings on a public-facing website. This course offers students an opportunity for experiential learning and professional development in the academy, with an emphasis on humanistic disciplines. All students at the sophomore level and above are welcome.
×
The Academic Conference AS.004.351 (01)
An important and exciting platform for academic writing is the academic conference, and in this writing class, we will explore and practice all that goes into putting one together. As a class, we will collaboratively conceptualize, plan, publicize, and host a conference around a broad theme with wide appeal in the humanities. We will analyze and write in genres such as the call for papers, the abstract, the conference schedule, the presentation, and commentary. We will collectively make decisions about aspects of the conference such as themes, keynote speakers, conference format and venue, and invitees. The conference will be held near the end of the semester, where each student in the class will present a paper, and perform other tasks associated with hosting a conference. We will be joined by students from the Humanities Research Writing Lab course, who will present some of their work. After the conference, we will spend class time reflecting on the process and potentially curating a selection of papers to be published as conference proceedings on a public-facing website. This course offers students an opportunity for experiential learning and professional development in the academy, with an emphasis on humanistic disciplines. All students at the sophomore level and above are welcome.
Days/Times: TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Instructor: Koullas, Sandy Gillian
Room: Gilman 75
Status: Open
Seats Available: 7/15
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (01)
Reintroduction to Writing: Music, School, and Democracy
TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM
Brodsky, Anne-Elizabeth Murdy
Gilman 413
Spring 2024
Can youth orchestras fortify a city? What, if anything, does kids making music or art have to do with democratic practice? What happens when we press on the terms play and listen in the contexts of childhood and of neighborhood, city, or country? In this community-engaged course we will study, experiment with, and rethink writing—all in the context of local K-12 music education. Students will work with and learn from the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra OrchKids program. With these co-teachers, alongside mentors from the Center for Social Concern, we will explore El Sistema pedagogy, the assets of City Schools, and systemic racism and inequity in Baltimore. We will study and write about visual, aural and written texts found in different habitats, including OrchKids classrooms; Sheridan Libraries; Baltimore Museum of Art; Baltimore Banner; and what we see and hear in our everyday lives. In conversation with work by James Baldwin, Danielle Allen, Ada Limón, Judah Adashi, Vesla Weaver, and Jonathon Heyward, students will write critical reflections, personal narrative, academic argument, op-eds, and more. Throughout, we will discuss and rehearse writing as an intellectual, social, and always emerging practice. No artistic background needed; all are welcome. Many thanks to the Center for Social Concern for their support of this course.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Music, School, and Democracy AS.004.101 (01)
Can youth orchestras fortify a city? What, if anything, does kids making music or art have to do with democratic practice? What happens when we press on the terms play and listen in the contexts of childhood and of neighborhood, city, or country? In this community-engaged course we will study, experiment with, and rethink writing—all in the context of local K-12 music education. Students will work with and learn from the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra OrchKids program. With these co-teachers, alongside mentors from the Center for Social Concern, we will explore El Sistema pedagogy, the assets of City Schools, and systemic racism and inequity in Baltimore. We will study and write about visual, aural and written texts found in different habitats, including OrchKids classrooms; Sheridan Libraries; Baltimore Museum of Art; Baltimore Banner; and what we see and hear in our everyday lives. In conversation with work by James Baldwin, Danielle Allen, Ada Limón, Judah Adashi, Vesla Weaver, and Jonathon Heyward, students will write critical reflections, personal narrative, academic argument, op-eds, and more. Throughout, we will discuss and rehearse writing as an intellectual, social, and always emerging practice. No artistic background needed; all are welcome. Many thanks to the Center for Social Concern for their support of this course.
Days/Times: TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM
Instructor: Brodsky, Anne-Elizabeth Murdy
Room: Gilman 413
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/13
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (02)
Reintroduction to Writing: Reproductive Justice in Baltimore
TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Wright, Lisa E.
Krieger Laverty
Spring 2024
In 1994, 12 Black women coined the term Reproductive Justice. Its tenets are 1) the right to have children; 2) the right not to have children; and 3) the right to parent children in safe and healthy environments, free from violence by individuals or the state. What does Reproductive Justice look like in Baltimore in 2024? In this community-based course, students will engage with The Bloom Collective, which supports Baltimore families before, during, and after pregnancy in pursuit of Reproductive Justice: creating holistic and transformative conditions for people to have access and full provision to make the best decisions for their lives. The course co-educator and director of the Bloom Collective, Tanay Lynn Harris will guide students in exploring the interconnectedness of Reproductive Justice throughout our everyday lives in Baltimore City and beyond. Students in this class will write autoethnographies, proposals, presentations, reflections, and more. This course will culminate with a community gathering that celebrates Black Maternal Health Week where students will have opportunities to listen to members of the Reproductive Justice community and present their research to an audience of their peers.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Reproductive Justice in Baltimore AS.004.101 (02)
In 1994, 12 Black women coined the term Reproductive Justice. Its tenets are 1) the right to have children; 2) the right not to have children; and 3) the right to parent children in safe and healthy environments, free from violence by individuals or the state. What does Reproductive Justice look like in Baltimore in 2024? In this community-based course, students will engage with The Bloom Collective, which supports Baltimore families before, during, and after pregnancy in pursuit of Reproductive Justice: creating holistic and transformative conditions for people to have access and full provision to make the best decisions for their lives. The course co-educator and director of the Bloom Collective, Tanay Lynn Harris will guide students in exploring the interconnectedness of Reproductive Justice throughout our everyday lives in Baltimore City and beyond. Students in this class will write autoethnographies, proposals, presentations, reflections, and more. This course will culminate with a community gathering that celebrates Black Maternal Health Week where students will have opportunities to listen to members of the Reproductive Justice community and present their research to an audience of their peers.
Days/Times: TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Instructor: Wright, Lisa E.
Room: Krieger Laverty
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/13
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (03)
Reintroduction to Writing: Exploring Multiple Literacies
MW 3:00PM - 4:15PM
Vinyard, Deirdre Will
Gilman 413
Spring 2024
In this process-based composition course, we will write in a variety of genres for a number of audiences while exploring what it means to move among and through the multiple literacies in our lives. We will read texts which examine the ways that our literacies shape our experience in the world and the ways that we are shaped by our language. We will examine these ideas in both U.S. and international contexts. In addition, we will explore scholarly works on writing theory as it applies to our own writing and language identities. Writing assignments will include literacy narratives, documented essays, reflections, and reading responses. We will engage in frequent peer review activities striving to become excellent readers of others' work.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Exploring Multiple Literacies AS.004.101 (03)
In this process-based composition course, we will write in a variety of genres for a number of audiences while exploring what it means to move among and through the multiple literacies in our lives. We will read texts which examine the ways that our literacies shape our experience in the world and the ways that we are shaped by our language. We will examine these ideas in both U.S. and international contexts. In addition, we will explore scholarly works on writing theory as it applies to our own writing and language identities. Writing assignments will include literacy narratives, documented essays, reflections, and reading responses. We will engage in frequent peer review activities striving to become excellent readers of others' work.
Days/Times: MW 3:00PM - 4:15PM
Instructor: Vinyard, Deirdre Will
Room: Gilman 413
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/13
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (04)
Reintroduction to Writing: Vaccine Rhetorics
MW 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Wilbanks, Rebecca
Gilman 217
Spring 2024
What arguments about vaccination are circulating in the public sphere today? As public health officials and medical providers seek to encourage vaccination, what kinds of appeals are likely to succeed, and which are likely to fall flat—or even backfire? Why and how do discussions of vaccination evoke such strong feelings? In this course, we will collectively explore these questions, drawing on tools from the field of rhetoric. As you examine the audience, purpose, context, and style of texts concerning vaccination, you will derive strategies you can apply to your own writing, and practice communicating about science to diverse audiences.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Vaccine Rhetorics AS.004.101 (04)
What arguments about vaccination are circulating in the public sphere today? As public health officials and medical providers seek to encourage vaccination, what kinds of appeals are likely to succeed, and which are likely to fall flat—or even backfire? Why and how do discussions of vaccination evoke such strong feelings? In this course, we will collectively explore these questions, drawing on tools from the field of rhetoric. As you examine the audience, purpose, context, and style of texts concerning vaccination, you will derive strategies you can apply to your own writing, and practice communicating about science to diverse audiences.
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Instructor: Wilbanks, Rebecca
Room: Gilman 217
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/13
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (05)
Reintroduction to Writing: AI and the Future of Writing
TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Lewis, Alex
Maryland 201
Spring 2024
Playing chess, writing novels, making art—as headlines remind us almost daily, whatever humans used to be good at, AI can now do better. To what extent can human labor and creativity be automated, and where will that leave us? How have people thought about these questions in the past and how are they thinking about them today? Why bother learning to write if text generators can do it for us? This course that asks us to imagine a world in which AI makes writing courses obsolete. Through writing assignments that involve producing argumentative essays, writing in different genres, and collaborating on group projects, students will develop skills in critical thinking and communicating in different genres. We will explore the effects of AI not just in theory but in practice: students will be required to use ChapGPT across all assignments.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: AI and the Future of Writing AS.004.101 (05)
Playing chess, writing novels, making art—as headlines remind us almost daily, whatever humans used to be good at, AI can now do better. To what extent can human labor and creativity be automated, and where will that leave us? How have people thought about these questions in the past and how are they thinking about them today? Why bother learning to write if text generators can do it for us? This course that asks us to imagine a world in which AI makes writing courses obsolete. Through writing assignments that involve producing argumentative essays, writing in different genres, and collaborating on group projects, students will develop skills in critical thinking and communicating in different genres. We will explore the effects of AI not just in theory but in practice: students will be required to use ChapGPT across all assignments.
Days/Times: TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Instructor: Lewis, Alex
Room: Maryland 201
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (06)
Reintroduction to Writing: Nonhuman Rights
MW 12:00PM - 1:15PM
O'Connor, Marisa T
Gilman 134
Spring 2024
Who or what is entitled to rights? This question is increasingly pressing in debates about nonhumans, ranging from animals to corporations to AI to rivers and forests. We will explore ongoing debates about rights – including to have a voice, to have standing in court, to be considered a person, to be in some measure free – for nonhumans, as well as how these debates might relate to each other. Do rights mean the same thing across these debates? What is the significance of rights if understood to include many different kinds of nonhumans, and does a broader understanding of their scope destabilize human exceptionalism or reaffirm it? To what extent might a more expansive conception of rights engender equality, kinship, or perceived likeness across humans and nonhumans and, if so, with what implications? Writing will be at the heart of our class. Across a series of writing assignments, we will study and write in the genres that we discover within these debates, including scholarly arguments, personal reflection, legal definitions, and works of advocacy. Throughout the course, we will explore connections between having rights and writing.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Nonhuman Rights AS.004.101 (06)
Who or what is entitled to rights? This question is increasingly pressing in debates about nonhumans, ranging from animals to corporations to AI to rivers and forests. We will explore ongoing debates about rights – including to have a voice, to have standing in court, to be considered a person, to be in some measure free – for nonhumans, as well as how these debates might relate to each other. Do rights mean the same thing across these debates? What is the significance of rights if understood to include many different kinds of nonhumans, and does a broader understanding of their scope destabilize human exceptionalism or reaffirm it? To what extent might a more expansive conception of rights engender equality, kinship, or perceived likeness across humans and nonhumans and, if so, with what implications? Writing will be at the heart of our class. Across a series of writing assignments, we will study and write in the genres that we discover within these debates, including scholarly arguments, personal reflection, legal definitions, and works of advocacy. Throughout the course, we will explore connections between having rights and writing.
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Instructor: O'Connor, Marisa T
Room: Gilman 134
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/13
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (07)
Reintroduction to Writing: Nonhuman Rights
MW 1:30PM - 2:45PM
O'Connor, Marisa T
Gilman 134
Spring 2024
Who or what is entitled to rights? This question is increasingly pressing in debates about nonhumans, ranging from animals to corporations to AI to rivers and forests. We will explore ongoing debates about rights – including to have a voice, to have standing in court, to be considered a person, to be in some measure free – for nonhumans, as well as how these debates might relate to each other. Do rights mean the same thing across these debates? What is the significance of rights if understood to include many different kinds of nonhumans, and does a broader understanding of their scope destabilize human exceptionalism or reaffirm it? To what extent might a more expansive conception of rights engender equality, kinship, or perceived likeness across humans and nonhumans and, if so, with what implications? Writing will be at the heart of our class. Across a series of writing assignments, we will study and write in the genres that we discover within these debates, including scholarly arguments, personal reflection, legal definitions, and works of advocacy. Throughout the course, we will explore connections between having rights and writing.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Nonhuman Rights AS.004.101 (07)
Who or what is entitled to rights? This question is increasingly pressing in debates about nonhumans, ranging from animals to corporations to AI to rivers and forests. We will explore ongoing debates about rights – including to have a voice, to have standing in court, to be considered a person, to be in some measure free – for nonhumans, as well as how these debates might relate to each other. Do rights mean the same thing across these debates? What is the significance of rights if understood to include many different kinds of nonhumans, and does a broader understanding of their scope destabilize human exceptionalism or reaffirm it? To what extent might a more expansive conception of rights engender equality, kinship, or perceived likeness across humans and nonhumans and, if so, with what implications? Writing will be at the heart of our class. Across a series of writing assignments, we will study and write in the genres that we discover within these debates, including scholarly arguments, personal reflection, legal definitions, and works of advocacy. Throughout the course, we will explore connections between having rights and writing.
Days/Times: MW 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Instructor: O'Connor, Marisa T
Room: Gilman 134
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/13
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (08)
Reintroduction to Writing: The Secret Lives of Animals
MW 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Russell, Arthur J
Gilman 277
Spring 2024
Animals are instructive. When we study animals, their biological makeups and creaturely habits, we do so with hopes of learning something about them. At the same time, such investigations often betray an interest in our human selves. The study of animals, in scientific and literary laboratories alike, quickly turns to acts of self-discovery: not what it means to be animal, exactly, but what it means to be human-animals. So what more could we learn by cultivating new strategies for listening and new languages for communicating with and about animals? Over the course of the semester, we will examine and respond to the rhetorical settings of works (premodern and modern, fictional and factual) in which animals are tasked with teaching lessons and testing the ethical obligations of their human audiences. We will approach composition as both a personal and a social project. We will concentrate on the personal aspects of writing--including expression, habit, transfer--as well as the social aspects of writing--including exploration, persuasion, and convention.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: The Secret Lives of Animals AS.004.101 (08)
Animals are instructive. When we study animals, their biological makeups and creaturely habits, we do so with hopes of learning something about them. At the same time, such investigations often betray an interest in our human selves. The study of animals, in scientific and literary laboratories alike, quickly turns to acts of self-discovery: not what it means to be animal, exactly, but what it means to be human-animals. So what more could we learn by cultivating new strategies for listening and new languages for communicating with and about animals? Over the course of the semester, we will examine and respond to the rhetorical settings of works (premodern and modern, fictional and factual) in which animals are tasked with teaching lessons and testing the ethical obligations of their human audiences. We will approach composition as both a personal and a social project. We will concentrate on the personal aspects of writing--including expression, habit, transfer--as well as the social aspects of writing--including exploration, persuasion, and convention.
Days/Times: MW 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Instructor: Russell, Arthur J
Room: Gilman 277
Status: Open
Seats Available: 1/13
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (09)
Reintroduction to Writing: at BMA-Material/Textual/Arts
TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Russell, Arthur J
Gilman 217
Spring 2024
This course invites art-curious students to rewrite the material histories of art objects and art museums. Working in collaboration with Dr. Laura Hartmann-Villalta’s Reintroduction to Writing, we will explore hidden narratives and overlooked traditions in art history, non-visual senses and experiences of art making, and the role of reinvention in art museums. Over the semester, we will examine and respond to a range of objects, performances, and writings that think through the public “use” of art. Course discussion and writing projects will pay special attention to questions of what it means to practice a socially engaged art and how to design a publicly engaged museum. We will approach writing as both a personal and a social project. We will concentrate on the personal aspects of writing--including expression, habit, transfer--as well as the social aspects of writing—including exploration, persuasion, and convention. This course is site specific. The Baltimore Museum of Art will serve as our archive and object of study. Students interested in this course should bring an attitude of collaborative exploration, experimentation, and curiosity about the BMA, its history and future.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: at BMA-Material/Textual/Arts AS.004.101 (09)
This course invites art-curious students to rewrite the material histories of art objects and art museums. Working in collaboration with Dr. Laura Hartmann-Villalta’s Reintroduction to Writing, we will explore hidden narratives and overlooked traditions in art history, non-visual senses and experiences of art making, and the role of reinvention in art museums. Over the semester, we will examine and respond to a range of objects, performances, and writings that think through the public “use” of art. Course discussion and writing projects will pay special attention to questions of what it means to practice a socially engaged art and how to design a publicly engaged museum. We will approach writing as both a personal and a social project. We will concentrate on the personal aspects of writing--including expression, habit, transfer--as well as the social aspects of writing—including exploration, persuasion, and convention. This course is site specific. The Baltimore Museum of Art will serve as our archive and object of study. Students interested in this course should bring an attitude of collaborative exploration, experimentation, and curiosity about the BMA, its history and future.
Days/Times: TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Instructor: Russell, Arthur J
Room: Gilman 217
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/13
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (10)
Reintroduction to Writing: What is Love?
TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Koullas, Sandy Gillian
Gilman 134
Spring 2024
We all use the word ‘love,’ but a satisfactory, shared understanding of it is elusive. Philosophers, poets, musicians, and people in love have disagreed about its meaning for thousands of years. In this writing class, we will explore some of the many ways people have written and spoken about love. We will read and talk about sources such as Plato's "Symposium," contemporary works in the philosophy of love, and a variety of other sources, including academic research, historical and contemporary valentines, 'vinegar valentines,' music, marriage contracts, and much more. The writing you will do in this class includes an interpretive essay, an academic essay using multiple sources, and genres of your choosing, such as (perhaps) dating profiles, magazine covers (contemporary or historical), op-eds, album covers, or political pamphlets.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: What is Love? AS.004.101 (10)
We all use the word ‘love,’ but a satisfactory, shared understanding of it is elusive. Philosophers, poets, musicians, and people in love have disagreed about its meaning for thousands of years. In this writing class, we will explore some of the many ways people have written and spoken about love. We will read and talk about sources such as Plato's "Symposium," contemporary works in the philosophy of love, and a variety of other sources, including academic research, historical and contemporary valentines, 'vinegar valentines,' music, marriage contracts, and much more. The writing you will do in this class includes an interpretive essay, an academic essay using multiple sources, and genres of your choosing, such as (perhaps) dating profiles, magazine covers (contemporary or historical), op-eds, album covers, or political pamphlets.
Days/Times: TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Instructor: Koullas, Sandy Gillian
Room: Gilman 134
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/13
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (11)
Reintroduction to Writing: What is Love?
TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Koullas, Sandy Gillian
Gilman 134
Spring 2024
We all use the word ‘love,’ but a satisfactory, shared understanding of it is elusive. Philosophers, poets, musicians, and people in love have disagreed about its meaning for thousands of years. In this writing class, we will explore some of the many ways people have written and spoken about love. We will read and talk about sources such as Plato's "Symposium," contemporary works in the philosophy of love, and a variety of other sources, including academic research, historical and contemporary valentines, 'vinegar valentines,' music, marriage contracts, and much more. The writing you will do in this class includes an interpretive essay, an academic essay using multiple sources, and genres of your choosing, such as (perhaps) dating profiles, magazine covers (contemporary or historical), op-eds, album covers, or political pamphlets.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: What is Love? AS.004.101 (11)
We all use the word ‘love,’ but a satisfactory, shared understanding of it is elusive. Philosophers, poets, musicians, and people in love have disagreed about its meaning for thousands of years. In this writing class, we will explore some of the many ways people have written and spoken about love. We will read and talk about sources such as Plato's "Symposium," contemporary works in the philosophy of love, and a variety of other sources, including academic research, historical and contemporary valentines, 'vinegar valentines,' music, marriage contracts, and much more. The writing you will do in this class includes an interpretive essay, an academic essay using multiple sources, and genres of your choosing, such as (perhaps) dating profiles, magazine covers (contemporary or historical), op-eds, album covers, or political pamphlets.
Days/Times: TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Instructor: Koullas, Sandy Gillian
Room: Gilman 134
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/13
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (12)
Reintroduction to Writing: Lost Baltimore
T 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Speller, Mo Elsmere Longley
Gilman 10
Spring 2024
How might we write the stories of neighborhoods that no longer exist? In this community-engaged writing course, students will work closely with the Baltimore City Archives to uncover the stories of people who lived in neighborhoods demolished by the Housing Authority of Baltimore City between the 1930s and 1960s. We will examine documents that the Housing Authority generated while acquiring homes for demolition— photographs, appraisal forms, court affidavits, and more—to consider the way these forms of writing impacted the lives of Baltimoreans facing displacement. In the process students will learn strategies for reading mundane, bureaucratic, and even dehumanizing sources against the grain, to find glimpses of the vibrant lives and everyday struggles of ordinary Baltimoreans. Students will critically reflect on the range of texts that they encounter and generate in their own lives as they build an awareness of the many writing decisions and rhetorical strategies they already bring to our work in the classroom. Working in a variety of modes and genres, students will write for both academic and public audiences. The course culminates with a collaboration with local archives and museums: students will research and create texts for a public exhibit on the history of Baltimore neighborhoods that have been lost to urban renewal, gentrification, and other forms of displacement.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Lost Baltimore AS.004.101 (12)
How might we write the stories of neighborhoods that no longer exist? In this community-engaged writing course, students will work closely with the Baltimore City Archives to uncover the stories of people who lived in neighborhoods demolished by the Housing Authority of Baltimore City between the 1930s and 1960s. We will examine documents that the Housing Authority generated while acquiring homes for demolition— photographs, appraisal forms, court affidavits, and more—to consider the way these forms of writing impacted the lives of Baltimoreans facing displacement. In the process students will learn strategies for reading mundane, bureaucratic, and even dehumanizing sources against the grain, to find glimpses of the vibrant lives and everyday struggles of ordinary Baltimoreans. Students will critically reflect on the range of texts that they encounter and generate in their own lives as they build an awareness of the many writing decisions and rhetorical strategies they already bring to our work in the classroom. Working in a variety of modes and genres, students will write for both academic and public audiences. The course culminates with a collaboration with local archives and museums: students will research and create texts for a public exhibit on the history of Baltimore neighborhoods that have been lost to urban renewal, gentrification, and other forms of displacement.
Days/Times: T 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Speller, Mo Elsmere Longley
Room: Gilman 10
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (13)
Reintroduction to Writing: Lost Baltimore
Th 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Speller, Mo Elsmere Longley
Gilman 10
Spring 2024
How might we write the stories of neighborhoods that no longer exist? In this community-engaged writing course, students will work closely with the Baltimore City Archives to uncover the stories of people who lived in neighborhoods demolished by the Housing Authority of Baltimore City between the 1930s and 1960s. We will examine documents that the Housing Authority generated while acquiring homes for demolition— photographs, appraisal forms, court affidavits, and more—to consider the way these forms of writing impacted the lives of Baltimoreans facing displacement. In the process students will learn strategies for reading mundane, bureaucratic, and even dehumanizing sources against the grain, to find glimpses of the vibrant lives and everyday struggles of ordinary Baltimoreans. Students will critically reflect on the range of texts that they encounter and generate in their own lives as they build an awareness of the many writing decisions and rhetorical strategies they already bring to our work in the classroom. Working in a variety of modes and genres, students will write for both academic and public audiences. The course culminates with a collaboration with local archives and museums: students will research and create texts for a public exhibit on the history of Baltimore neighborhoods that have been lost to urban renewal, gentrification, and other forms of displacement.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Lost Baltimore AS.004.101 (13)
How might we write the stories of neighborhoods that no longer exist? In this community-engaged writing course, students will work closely with the Baltimore City Archives to uncover the stories of people who lived in neighborhoods demolished by the Housing Authority of Baltimore City between the 1930s and 1960s. We will examine documents that the Housing Authority generated while acquiring homes for demolition— photographs, appraisal forms, court affidavits, and more—to consider the way these forms of writing impacted the lives of Baltimoreans facing displacement. In the process students will learn strategies for reading mundane, bureaucratic, and even dehumanizing sources against the grain, to find glimpses of the vibrant lives and everyday struggles of ordinary Baltimoreans. Students will critically reflect on the range of texts that they encounter and generate in their own lives as they build an awareness of the many writing decisions and rhetorical strategies they already bring to our work in the classroom. Working in a variety of modes and genres, students will write for both academic and public audiences. The course culminates with a collaboration with local archives and museums: students will research and create texts for a public exhibit on the history of Baltimore neighborhoods that have been lost to urban renewal, gentrification, and other forms of displacement.
Days/Times: Th 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Speller, Mo Elsmere Longley
Room: Gilman 10
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (14)
Reintroduction to Writing: Contemporary American Short Stories
TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Berger, Donald W
Maryland 109
Spring 2024
In a 2012 interview with the New York Times, American critic M.H. Abrams was asked, “Why study literature?” Abrams answered, because “it enables you to live the lives of other people.” But how does a master of short stories open a window to his or her characters’ thoughts and feelings? How does the writer, as Abrams suggests, draw us into other lives? In this class, students will explore these questions through their own writings across different modes and styles. Writing projects will range from evaluating another critic’s interpretation of how a story brings its characters to life to writing your own autobiographical narrative. Our readings will feature the work of some of the masters of contemporary American short stories including Joyce Carol Oates, Gish Jen, Richard Ford, Denis Johnson, Jennifer Egan, ZZ Packer, James Salter, George Saunders, Lorrie Moore, Edward P. Jones, David Foster Wallace, and Lydia Davis.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Contemporary American Short Stories AS.004.101 (14)
In a 2012 interview with the New York Times, American critic M.H. Abrams was asked, “Why study literature?” Abrams answered, because “it enables you to live the lives of other people.” But how does a master of short stories open a window to his or her characters’ thoughts and feelings? How does the writer, as Abrams suggests, draw us into other lives? In this class, students will explore these questions through their own writings across different modes and styles. Writing projects will range from evaluating another critic’s interpretation of how a story brings its characters to life to writing your own autobiographical narrative. Our readings will feature the work of some of the masters of contemporary American short stories including Joyce Carol Oates, Gish Jen, Richard Ford, Denis Johnson, Jennifer Egan, ZZ Packer, James Salter, George Saunders, Lorrie Moore, Edward P. Jones, David Foster Wallace, and Lydia Davis.
Days/Times: TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Instructor: Berger, Donald W
Room: Maryland 109
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/13
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (15)
Reintroduction to Writing: Seeing & Believing
TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Brown, Nate
Gilman 77
Spring 2024
In this first-year course, we'll examine and record how our thoughts, beliefs, and impressions of the world are informed by what we “see.” As in other writing-intensive courses, we’ll compose a variety of written works for a range of audiences, and we'll focus our time and attention on the creation and reception of art—including film, painting, sculpture, dance, performance art, architecture, and emerging artistic media. We'll read essays and criticism by Parul Sehgal, Maggie Nelson, Zadie Smith, Alain de Botton, and others to better understand how people critically, creatively, and analytically respond to art, artists, and artistic movements. The course will include visits to local art institutions and museums, reading and writing analysis and criticism, and performing research. Together, we'll attempt to test John Berger's claim that "the relation between what we see and what we know is never settled" while looking closely at and responding to images from the world of the fine arts, advertisement, social media, and AI.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Seeing & Believing AS.004.101 (15)
In this first-year course, we'll examine and record how our thoughts, beliefs, and impressions of the world are informed by what we “see.” As in other writing-intensive courses, we’ll compose a variety of written works for a range of audiences, and we'll focus our time and attention on the creation and reception of art—including film, painting, sculpture, dance, performance art, architecture, and emerging artistic media. We'll read essays and criticism by Parul Sehgal, Maggie Nelson, Zadie Smith, Alain de Botton, and others to better understand how people critically, creatively, and analytically respond to art, artists, and artistic movements. The course will include visits to local art institutions and museums, reading and writing analysis and criticism, and performing research. Together, we'll attempt to test John Berger's claim that "the relation between what we see and what we know is never settled" while looking closely at and responding to images from the world of the fine arts, advertisement, social media, and AI.
Days/Times: TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Instructor: Brown, Nate
Room: Gilman 77
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/13
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (17)
Reintroduction to Writing: On the Road in America
TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Wexler, Anthony Charles
Gilman 134
Spring 2024
In the American imagination, the open road has been a mythical place of bliss, freedom, and self-discovery. But the experience of the road can change drastically based on one’s gender, sexuality, race, and place of origin. In this course, we’ll examine a diverse set of works that explore the long-standing American fascination with the open road. We’ll consider the road’s impact on America’s national identity, and we’ll discuss the emotions, desires, and life experiences that lead people to take to the road, and to get off it. At the heart of the course will be a series of writing assignments designed to help students examine the power and limits of this myth. Students will be asked to write in a variety of styles and genres, from op-eds to scholarly arguments, and from book reviews to rhetorical analyses. These writing assignments will help students reconsider what writing is, how to do it effectively and ethically, and how to become better at it.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: On the Road in America AS.004.101 (17)
In the American imagination, the open road has been a mythical place of bliss, freedom, and self-discovery. But the experience of the road can change drastically based on one’s gender, sexuality, race, and place of origin. In this course, we’ll examine a diverse set of works that explore the long-standing American fascination with the open road. We’ll consider the road’s impact on America’s national identity, and we’ll discuss the emotions, desires, and life experiences that lead people to take to the road, and to get off it. At the heart of the course will be a series of writing assignments designed to help students examine the power and limits of this myth. Students will be asked to write in a variety of styles and genres, from op-eds to scholarly arguments, and from book reviews to rhetorical analyses. These writing assignments will help students reconsider what writing is, how to do it effectively and ethically, and how to become better at it.
Days/Times: TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Instructor: Wexler, Anthony Charles
Room: Gilman 134
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/13
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (18)
Reintroduction to Writing: On the Road in America
TTh 4:30PM - 5:45PM
Wexler, Anthony Charles
Gilman 134
Spring 2024
In the American imagination, the open road has been a mythical place of bliss, freedom, and self-discovery. But the experience of the road can change drastically based on one’s gender, sexuality, race, and place of origin. In this course, we’ll examine a diverse set of works that explore the long-standing American fascination with the open road. We’ll consider the road’s impact on America’s national identity, and we’ll discuss the emotions, desires, and life experiences that lead people to take to the road, and to get off it. At the heart of the course will be a series of writing assignments designed to help students examine the power and limits of this myth. Students will be asked to write in a variety of styles and genres, from op-eds to scholarly arguments, and from book reviews to rhetorical analyses. These writing assignments will help students reconsider what writing is, how to do it effectively and ethically, and how to become better at it.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: On the Road in America AS.004.101 (18)
In the American imagination, the open road has been a mythical place of bliss, freedom, and self-discovery. But the experience of the road can change drastically based on one’s gender, sexuality, race, and place of origin. In this course, we’ll examine a diverse set of works that explore the long-standing American fascination with the open road. We’ll consider the road’s impact on America’s national identity, and we’ll discuss the emotions, desires, and life experiences that lead people to take to the road, and to get off it. At the heart of the course will be a series of writing assignments designed to help students examine the power and limits of this myth. Students will be asked to write in a variety of styles and genres, from op-eds to scholarly arguments, and from book reviews to rhetorical analyses. These writing assignments will help students reconsider what writing is, how to do it effectively and ethically, and how to become better at it.
Days/Times: TTh 4:30PM - 5:45PM
Instructor: Wexler, Anthony Charles
Room: Gilman 134
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/13
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (19)
Reintroduction to Writing: @BMA: Visual/Text
TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Hartmann-Villalta, Laura A
Gilman 77
Spring 2024
This course explores visual arts and textual genres in collaboration with the Baltimore Museum of Art. Working in collaboration with Dr. Arthur Russell’s Reintro course, we will explore the role of reinvention in the museum space; hidden narratives and overlooked figures in art; personal connections and biases towards art; and, naturally, writing in multiple genres in and beyond the academic essay. “Visual/Textual Arts” will focus on the 2D visual arts (painting, photography, prints, some mixed media pieces) and not objects, such as ceramics or sculpture. As we delve into reinventing and reconsidering the museum space, students will collaborate course to remix the BMA catalogue using collage (and other) techniques. This iteration of the course will pay special attention to the winter/spring exhibition “Art/Work: Women Printmakers of the WPA.” Writing assignments keyed to this temporary exhibition will consider the intersection of visual culture, gender studies, politics, and 1930s history. Students interested in this course should bring an attitude of collaborative exploration, experimentation, and curiosity about the BMA, its history and future.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: @BMA: Visual/Text AS.004.101 (19)
This course explores visual arts and textual genres in collaboration with the Baltimore Museum of Art. Working in collaboration with Dr. Arthur Russell’s Reintro course, we will explore the role of reinvention in the museum space; hidden narratives and overlooked figures in art; personal connections and biases towards art; and, naturally, writing in multiple genres in and beyond the academic essay. “Visual/Textual Arts” will focus on the 2D visual arts (painting, photography, prints, some mixed media pieces) and not objects, such as ceramics or sculpture. As we delve into reinventing and reconsidering the museum space, students will collaborate course to remix the BMA catalogue using collage (and other) techniques. This iteration of the course will pay special attention to the winter/spring exhibition “Art/Work: Women Printmakers of the WPA.” Writing assignments keyed to this temporary exhibition will consider the intersection of visual culture, gender studies, politics, and 1930s history. Students interested in this course should bring an attitude of collaborative exploration, experimentation, and curiosity about the BMA, its history and future.
Days/Times: TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Instructor: Hartmann-Villalta, Laura A
Room: Gilman 77
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/13
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (20)
Reintroduction to Writing: The City that Writes
MW 3:00PM - 4:15PM
Pavesich, Matthew
Gilman 134
Spring 2024
In 1988, Baltimore’s first African-American mayor, Kurt Schmoke, declared Baltimore the “city that reads.” In this course, we’ll explore the ways that Baltimore has always been a city that writes, too. In partnership with Wide Angle Youth Media (https://www.wideanglemedia.org), an organization dedicated to “cultivating and amplifying the voices of Baltimore youth through the media arts,” we’ll study how writing fuels the work of the organization, interacts with the residents of Baltimore, and knits together social life in this great city. At the same time we will name, and cultivate, the many ways and reasons to write: to connect with loved ones and the wider world, learn new knowledge and skills, solve problems, and make things happen in the world. Students can expect to write both traditional academic essays and in other forms such as presentations, proposals, case studies, social media campaigns, and more. Many thanks to the Center for Social Concern for its support of our WAYM partnership.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: The City that Writes AS.004.101 (20)
In 1988, Baltimore’s first African-American mayor, Kurt Schmoke, declared Baltimore the “city that reads.” In this course, we’ll explore the ways that Baltimore has always been a city that writes, too. In partnership with Wide Angle Youth Media (https://www.wideanglemedia.org), an organization dedicated to “cultivating and amplifying the voices of Baltimore youth through the media arts,” we’ll study how writing fuels the work of the organization, interacts with the residents of Baltimore, and knits together social life in this great city. At the same time we will name, and cultivate, the many ways and reasons to write: to connect with loved ones and the wider world, learn new knowledge and skills, solve problems, and make things happen in the world. Students can expect to write both traditional academic essays and in other forms such as presentations, proposals, case studies, social media campaigns, and more. Many thanks to the Center for Social Concern for its support of our WAYM partnership.
Days/Times: MW 3:00PM - 4:15PM
Instructor: Pavesich, Matthew
Room: Gilman 134
Status: Open
Seats Available: 1/13
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (21)
Reintroduction to Writing: Global Social Movements
MW 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Payne, Corey Robert
Greenhouse 113
Spring 2024
The past fifteen years have been marked by extraordinary levels of global social upheaval. Protesters have inundated streets around the world, from Cairo, Paris, Athens, and Guangzhou to Tehran, La Paz, Hong Kong, and Santiago. Across the United States—including right here in Baltimore—we have seen waves of anti-racist struggles, a surge of workers’ unrest, and the growth of youth-led environmental movements. Why are these protests happening now? Why do they seem to be happening everywhere? What role does writing play in shaping (and connecting) these struggles? In this course, we will explore social protests around the world through hands-on research activities, with an eye towards understanding the structure, process, and social impact of the various forms of writing in and around movements. Over the course of the semester, we will analyze and respond to academic texts, journalistic coverage, and first-hand accounts of these protests. Students will be asked to write in a variety of styles and genres—from social media posts and op-eds to protest signs and research memos. Through our exploration of global social conflicts, students will hone the skills needed to be effective, ethical, and agile writers.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Global Social Movements AS.004.101 (21)
The past fifteen years have been marked by extraordinary levels of global social upheaval. Protesters have inundated streets around the world, from Cairo, Paris, Athens, and Guangzhou to Tehran, La Paz, Hong Kong, and Santiago. Across the United States—including right here in Baltimore—we have seen waves of anti-racist struggles, a surge of workers’ unrest, and the growth of youth-led environmental movements. Why are these protests happening now? Why do they seem to be happening everywhere? What role does writing play in shaping (and connecting) these struggles? In this course, we will explore social protests around the world through hands-on research activities, with an eye towards understanding the structure, process, and social impact of the various forms of writing in and around movements. Over the course of the semester, we will analyze and respond to academic texts, journalistic coverage, and first-hand accounts of these protests. Students will be asked to write in a variety of styles and genres—from social media posts and op-eds to protest signs and research memos. Through our exploration of global social conflicts, students will hone the skills needed to be effective, ethical, and agile writers.
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Instructor: Payne, Corey Robert
Room: Greenhouse 113
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (22)
Reintroduction to Writing: Global Social Movements
MW 3:00PM - 4:15PM
Payne, Corey Robert
Greenhouse 113
Spring 2024
The past fifteen years have been marked by extraordinary levels of global social upheaval. Protesters have inundated streets around the world, from Cairo, Paris, Athens, and Guangzhou to Tehran, La Paz, Hong Kong, and Santiago. Across the United States—including right here in Baltimore—we have seen waves of anti-racist struggles, a surge of workers’ unrest, and the growth of youth-led environmental movements. Why are these protests happening now? Why do they seem to be happening everywhere? What role does writing play in shaping (and connecting) these struggles? In this course, we will explore social protests around the world through hands-on research activities, with an eye towards understanding the structure, process, and social impact of the various forms of writing in and around movements. Over the course of the semester, we will analyze and respond to academic texts, journalistic coverage, and first-hand accounts of these protests. Students will be asked to write in a variety of styles and genres—from social media posts and op-eds to protest signs and research memos. Through our exploration of global social conflicts, students will hone the skills needed to be effective, ethical, and agile writers.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Global Social Movements AS.004.101 (22)
The past fifteen years have been marked by extraordinary levels of global social upheaval. Protesters have inundated streets around the world, from Cairo, Paris, Athens, and Guangzhou to Tehran, La Paz, Hong Kong, and Santiago. Across the United States—including right here in Baltimore—we have seen waves of anti-racist struggles, a surge of workers’ unrest, and the growth of youth-led environmental movements. Why are these protests happening now? Why do they seem to be happening everywhere? What role does writing play in shaping (and connecting) these struggles? In this course, we will explore social protests around the world through hands-on research activities, with an eye towards understanding the structure, process, and social impact of the various forms of writing in and around movements. Over the course of the semester, we will analyze and respond to academic texts, journalistic coverage, and first-hand accounts of these protests. Students will be asked to write in a variety of styles and genres—from social media posts and op-eds to protest signs and research memos. Through our exploration of global social conflicts, students will hone the skills needed to be effective, ethical, and agile writers.
Days/Times: MW 3:00PM - 4:15PM
Instructor: Payne, Corey Robert
Room: Greenhouse 113
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (23)
Reintroduction to Writing: Global Social Movements
MW 4:30PM - 5:45PM
Payne, Corey Robert
Greenhouse 113
Spring 2024
The past fifteen years have been marked by extraordinary levels of global social upheaval. Protesters have inundated streets around the world, from Cairo, Paris, Athens, and Guangzhou to Tehran, La Paz, Hong Kong, and Santiago. Across the United States—including right here in Baltimore—we have seen waves of anti-racist struggles, a surge of workers’ unrest, and the growth of youth-led environmental movements. Why are these protests happening now? Why do they seem to be happening everywhere? What role does writing play in shaping (and connecting) these struggles? In this course, we will explore social protests around the world through hands-on research activities, with an eye towards understanding the structure, process, and social impact of the various forms of writing in and around movements. Over the course of the semester, we will analyze and respond to academic texts, journalistic coverage, and first-hand accounts of these protests. Students will be asked to write in a variety of styles and genres—from social media posts and op-eds to protest signs and research memos. Through our exploration of global social conflicts, students will hone the skills needed to be effective, ethical, and agile writers.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Global Social Movements AS.004.101 (23)
The past fifteen years have been marked by extraordinary levels of global social upheaval. Protesters have inundated streets around the world, from Cairo, Paris, Athens, and Guangzhou to Tehran, La Paz, Hong Kong, and Santiago. Across the United States—including right here in Baltimore—we have seen waves of anti-racist struggles, a surge of workers’ unrest, and the growth of youth-led environmental movements. Why are these protests happening now? Why do they seem to be happening everywhere? What role does writing play in shaping (and connecting) these struggles? In this course, we will explore social protests around the world through hands-on research activities, with an eye towards understanding the structure, process, and social impact of the various forms of writing in and around movements. Over the course of the semester, we will analyze and respond to academic texts, journalistic coverage, and first-hand accounts of these protests. Students will be asked to write in a variety of styles and genres—from social media posts and op-eds to protest signs and research memos. Through our exploration of global social conflicts, students will hone the skills needed to be effective, ethical, and agile writers.
Days/Times: MW 4:30PM - 5:45PM
Instructor: Payne, Corey Robert
Room: Greenhouse 113
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (24)
Reintroduction to Writing: Digital Doppelgangers
TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM
Schnitzler, Carly Elisabeth
Bloomberg 178
Spring 2024
Many of us have (at least) two selves: an analog or “real-life” self and a digital self. These doppelgangers can bear striking resemblance to our embodied selves—or not—and raise many questions around issues of representation, authenticity, and impersonation. So too, we leave digital traces of ourselves in the form of “data doubles,” extracted through clicks, scrolls, and other forms of tracked data. This double is frequently a target for manipulation and persuasion, but also can be a tool to enhance creativity and efficiency in our analog lives. In this course, we will investigate the concept of the digital doppelganger from three distinct perspectives, asking how our capacious digital identities are formed, changed, and controlled in commercial, political, and creative contexts. By crafting auto-ethnographies, policy briefs, and creative computational projects, students will develop critical thinking skills, learn to communicate with agility and precision across different genres, and reflect on how we create and know ourselves in a rapidly changing digital landscape.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Digital Doppelgangers AS.004.101 (24)
Many of us have (at least) two selves: an analog or “real-life” self and a digital self. These doppelgangers can bear striking resemblance to our embodied selves—or not—and raise many questions around issues of representation, authenticity, and impersonation. So too, we leave digital traces of ourselves in the form of “data doubles,” extracted through clicks, scrolls, and other forms of tracked data. This double is frequently a target for manipulation and persuasion, but also can be a tool to enhance creativity and efficiency in our analog lives. In this course, we will investigate the concept of the digital doppelganger from three distinct perspectives, asking how our capacious digital identities are formed, changed, and controlled in commercial, political, and creative contexts. By crafting auto-ethnographies, policy briefs, and creative computational projects, students will develop critical thinking skills, learn to communicate with agility and precision across different genres, and reflect on how we create and know ourselves in a rapidly changing digital landscape.
Days/Times: TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM
Instructor: Schnitzler, Carly Elisabeth
Room: Bloomberg 178
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/13
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (25)
Reintroduction to Writing: Digital Doppelgangers
TTh 4:30PM - 5:45PM
Schnitzler, Carly Elisabeth
Bloomberg 178
Spring 2024
Many of us have (at least) two selves: an analog or “real-life” self and a digital self. These doppelgangers can bear striking resemblance to our embodied selves—or not—and raise many questions around issues of representation, authenticity, and impersonation. So too, we leave digital traces of ourselves in the form of “data doubles,” extracted through clicks, scrolls, and other forms of tracked data. This double is frequently a target for manipulation and persuasion, but also can be a tool to enhance creativity and efficiency in our analog lives. In this course, we will investigate the concept of the digital doppelganger from three distinct perspectives, asking how our capacious digital identities are formed, changed, and controlled in commercial, political, and creative contexts. By crafting auto-ethnographies, policy briefs, and creative computational projects, students will develop critical thinking skills, learn to communicate with agility and precision across different genres, and reflect on how we create and know ourselves in a rapidly changing digital landscape.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Digital Doppelgangers AS.004.101 (25)
Many of us have (at least) two selves: an analog or “real-life” self and a digital self. These doppelgangers can bear striking resemblance to our embodied selves—or not—and raise many questions around issues of representation, authenticity, and impersonation. So too, we leave digital traces of ourselves in the form of “data doubles,” extracted through clicks, scrolls, and other forms of tracked data. This double is frequently a target for manipulation and persuasion, but also can be a tool to enhance creativity and efficiency in our analog lives. In this course, we will investigate the concept of the digital doppelganger from three distinct perspectives, asking how our capacious digital identities are formed, changed, and controlled in commercial, political, and creative contexts. By crafting auto-ethnographies, policy briefs, and creative computational projects, students will develop critical thinking skills, learn to communicate with agility and precision across different genres, and reflect on how we create and know ourselves in a rapidly changing digital landscape.
Days/Times: TTh 4:30PM - 5:45PM
Instructor: Schnitzler, Carly Elisabeth
Room: Bloomberg 178
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/13
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (26)
Reintroduction to Writing: The Rhetoric of Digital Networks
MW 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Cui, Wenqi
Krieger Laverty
Spring 2024
How has the advent of digital networks influenced our culture, attitudes, and behaviors? How have these transformations affected our personal and civic lives, education, and professional endeavors? Increasingly growing digital sources and digital networks have profoundly changed every aspect of our lives. In this course, we will critically examine the influence of digital networks, analyzing online interactions, exploring digital cultures, and studying online communities. Students are encouraged to select a topic of personal and academic interest to investigate, such as digital literacy practices, AI in education, influencer culture, social support in online communities, algorithmic fairness, privacy and safety in digital spaces, or social activism like #BlackLivesMatter. Throughout this course, students will develop research skills and advance their writing proficiency in content, clarity, organization, and readability. This will be accomplished through readings, discussions, writing tasks, feedback, and reflections. Students will write various genres, including reading response, literacy narrative, research proposal, research-based argumentative essay, reflective journal, and presentation. By undertaking this course, students will cultivate critical thinking abilities, professional communication strategies, and lifelong learning skills necessary for success in both their academic pursuits and professional careers.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: The Rhetoric of Digital Networks AS.004.101 (26)
How has the advent of digital networks influenced our culture, attitudes, and behaviors? How have these transformations affected our personal and civic lives, education, and professional endeavors? Increasingly growing digital sources and digital networks have profoundly changed every aspect of our lives. In this course, we will critically examine the influence of digital networks, analyzing online interactions, exploring digital cultures, and studying online communities. Students are encouraged to select a topic of personal and academic interest to investigate, such as digital literacy practices, AI in education, influencer culture, social support in online communities, algorithmic fairness, privacy and safety in digital spaces, or social activism like #BlackLivesMatter. Throughout this course, students will develop research skills and advance their writing proficiency in content, clarity, organization, and readability. This will be accomplished through readings, discussions, writing tasks, feedback, and reflections. Students will write various genres, including reading response, literacy narrative, research proposal, research-based argumentative essay, reflective journal, and presentation. By undertaking this course, students will cultivate critical thinking abilities, professional communication strategies, and lifelong learning skills necessary for success in both their academic pursuits and professional careers.
Days/Times: MW 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Instructor: Cui, Wenqi
Room: Krieger Laverty
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/13
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (27)
Reintroduction to Writing: Music, School, and Democracy
TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Brodsky, Anne-Elizabeth Murdy
Gilman 413
Spring 2024
Can youth orchestras fortify a city? What, if anything, does kids making music or art have to do with democratic practice? What happens when we press on the terms play and listen in the contexts of childhood and of neighborhood, city, or country? In this community-engaged course we will study, experiment with, and rethink writing—all in the context of local K-12 music education. Students will work with and learn from the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra OrchKids program. With these co-teachers, alongside mentors from the Center for Social Concern, we will explore El Sistema pedagogy, the assets of City Schools, and systemic racism and inequity in Baltimore. We will study and write about visual, aural and written texts found in different habitats, including OrchKids classrooms; Sheridan Libraries; Baltimore Museum of Art; Baltimore Banner; and what we see and hear in our everyday lives. In conversation with work by James Baldwin, Danielle Allen, Ada Limón, Judah Adashi, Vesla Weaver, and Jonathon Heyward, students will write critical reflections, personal narrative, academic argument, op-eds, and more. Throughout, we will discuss and rehearse writing as an intellectual, social, and always emerging practice. No artistic background needed; all are welcome. Many thanks to the Center for Social Concern for their support of this course.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Music, School, and Democracy AS.004.101 (27)
Can youth orchestras fortify a city? What, if anything, does kids making music or art have to do with democratic practice? What happens when we press on the terms play and listen in the contexts of childhood and of neighborhood, city, or country? In this community-engaged course we will study, experiment with, and rethink writing—all in the context of local K-12 music education. Students will work with and learn from the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra OrchKids program. With these co-teachers, alongside mentors from the Center for Social Concern, we will explore El Sistema pedagogy, the assets of City Schools, and systemic racism and inequity in Baltimore. We will study and write about visual, aural and written texts found in different habitats, including OrchKids classrooms; Sheridan Libraries; Baltimore Museum of Art; Baltimore Banner; and what we see and hear in our everyday lives. In conversation with work by James Baldwin, Danielle Allen, Ada Limón, Judah Adashi, Vesla Weaver, and Jonathon Heyward, students will write critical reflections, personal narrative, academic argument, op-eds, and more. Throughout, we will discuss and rehearse writing as an intellectual, social, and always emerging practice. No artistic background needed; all are welcome. Many thanks to the Center for Social Concern for their support of this course.
Days/Times: TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Instructor: Brodsky, Anne-Elizabeth Murdy
Room: Gilman 413
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/13
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (28)
Reintroduction to Writing: Back to Babel
MW 4:30PM - 5:45PM
Essam, Richard James Llewellyn
Gilman 217
Spring 2024
The story of the Tower of Babel is one of the most enduring tales from antiquity. It tells of humanity originally speaking a single, universal language, before an act of hubris leads to the confusion of tongues; at the same time, it contains several instances of wordplay, and represents an early attempt to understand the world through language. In this writing course, students will consider what happens when we play and experiment with writing and language in our own lives. We will look at what motivates people to invent or imagine new languages and forms of communication, whether as a new universal language, in the pursuit of social justice, or for pure entertainment. We will examine different forms of wordplay in a variety of rhetorical contexts, from classical literature to the latest advertisements. And we will consider the relationship between ludic writing and fields of study like mathematics and computer science, and how these can be combined to produce striking results. Students will produce in-class writing almost every day, and will also work towards three larger writing projects: a personal literacy narrative, a persuasive essay, and a collaborative class encyclopedia.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Back to Babel AS.004.101 (28)
The story of the Tower of Babel is one of the most enduring tales from antiquity. It tells of humanity originally speaking a single, universal language, before an act of hubris leads to the confusion of tongues; at the same time, it contains several instances of wordplay, and represents an early attempt to understand the world through language. In this writing course, students will consider what happens when we play and experiment with writing and language in our own lives. We will look at what motivates people to invent or imagine new languages and forms of communication, whether as a new universal language, in the pursuit of social justice, or for pure entertainment. We will examine different forms of wordplay in a variety of rhetorical contexts, from classical literature to the latest advertisements. And we will consider the relationship between ludic writing and fields of study like mathematics and computer science, and how these can be combined to produce striking results. Students will produce in-class writing almost every day, and will also work towards three larger writing projects: a personal literacy narrative, a persuasive essay, and a collaborative class encyclopedia.
Days/Times: MW 4:30PM - 5:45PM
Instructor: Essam, Richard James Llewellyn
Room: Gilman 217
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (29)
Reintroduction to Writing: Interrogating the Rhetorics of Belonging
TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM
Hull, Brittany Sabrina
Gilman 217
Spring 2024
In this course we will explore and write about what it means to be embodied beings in this world. We will examine concepts and conceptions of the human body through time and space, starting from Homeric epics and ending with contemporary literature. Some of the questions we will ask are: What are bodies made of, and how does the material world around us shape our understanding of the human body? How have human (and non-human) bodies been used as metaphors, models, and measures of other objects, including the world as a whole? The topic of the course will also help us think about writing as a human, and therefore embodied, activity that stretches inward from our fingertips to our very sense of self. By the end of the semester, you will learn to approach writing as a way of knowing and as a way of thinking, a versatile process that can take as many different forms as there are writers (and readers). You will write in a variety of genres and work with sources in different media, including audiovisual materials and museum objects. Your writing will include, but not be limited to, the following genres: academic essay, book review, Twitter thread, and response paper. You will also curate a virtual exhibition using objects from local museums that bear upon the subject of the course, as well as organize a roundtable discussion in which you present the exhibition, its scope and its goals.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Interrogating the Rhetorics of Belonging AS.004.101 (29)
In this course we will explore and write about what it means to be embodied beings in this world. We will examine concepts and conceptions of the human body through time and space, starting from Homeric epics and ending with contemporary literature. Some of the questions we will ask are: What are bodies made of, and how does the material world around us shape our understanding of the human body? How have human (and non-human) bodies been used as metaphors, models, and measures of other objects, including the world as a whole? The topic of the course will also help us think about writing as a human, and therefore embodied, activity that stretches inward from our fingertips to our very sense of self. By the end of the semester, you will learn to approach writing as a way of knowing and as a way of thinking, a versatile process that can take as many different forms as there are writers (and readers). You will write in a variety of genres and work with sources in different media, including audiovisual materials and museum objects. Your writing will include, but not be limited to, the following genres: academic essay, book review, Twitter thread, and response paper. You will also curate a virtual exhibition using objects from local museums that bear upon the subject of the course, as well as organize a roundtable discussion in which you present the exhibition, its scope and its goals.
Days/Times: TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM
Instructor: Hull, Brittany Sabrina
Room: Gilman 217
Status: Open
Seats Available: 2/13
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (30)
Reintroduction to Writing: Interrogating the Rhetorics of Belonging
TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Hull, Brittany Sabrina
Gilman 217
Spring 2024
In this course we will explore and write about what it means to be embodied beings in this world. We will examine concepts and conceptions of the human body through time and space, starting from Homeric epics and ending with contemporary literature. Some of the questions we will ask are: What are bodies made of, and how does the material world around us shape our understanding of the human body? How have human (and non-human) bodies been used as metaphors, models, and measures of other objects, including the world as a whole? The topic of the course will also help us think about writing as a human, and therefore embodied, activity that stretches inward from our fingertips to our very sense of self. By the end of the semester, you will learn to approach writing as a way of knowing and as a way of thinking, a versatile process that can take as many different forms as there are writers (and readers). You will write in a variety of genres and work with sources in different media, including audiovisual materials and museum objects. Your writing will include, but not be limited to, the following genres: academic essay, book review, Twitter thread, and response paper. You will also curate a virtual exhibition using objects from local museums that bear upon the subject of the course, as well as organize a roundtable discussion in which you present the exhibition, its scope and its goals.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Interrogating the Rhetorics of Belonging AS.004.101 (30)
In this course we will explore and write about what it means to be embodied beings in this world. We will examine concepts and conceptions of the human body through time and space, starting from Homeric epics and ending with contemporary literature. Some of the questions we will ask are: What are bodies made of, and how does the material world around us shape our understanding of the human body? How have human (and non-human) bodies been used as metaphors, models, and measures of other objects, including the world as a whole? The topic of the course will also help us think about writing as a human, and therefore embodied, activity that stretches inward from our fingertips to our very sense of self. By the end of the semester, you will learn to approach writing as a way of knowing and as a way of thinking, a versatile process that can take as many different forms as there are writers (and readers). You will write in a variety of genres and work with sources in different media, including audiovisual materials and museum objects. Your writing will include, but not be limited to, the following genres: academic essay, book review, Twitter thread, and response paper. You will also curate a virtual exhibition using objects from local museums that bear upon the subject of the course, as well as organize a roundtable discussion in which you present the exhibition, its scope and its goals.
Days/Times: TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Instructor: Hull, Brittany Sabrina
Room: Gilman 217
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/13
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (31)
Reintroduction to Writing: The Power of Persuasion and the Manufacturing of Truth
MW 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Jagdale, Tanavi Shirish
Krieger Laverty
Spring 2024
Fake news and misinformation seem to be everywhere these days. And to make matters worse, humans seem to be pretty bad at detecting fake information, especially when fake news can look and sound like real news. This confusion has given rise to what some have called a post-truth politics: a world in which facts have become irrelevant. In such a world, the ability to persuade others and to identify when and how they are being persuaded have become vitally important skills. In this writing course, students will think about how a variety of sources—books, films, articles, tweets, etc.—persuade them to think and act in certain ways. Through a series of writing assignments, including a personal essay, film review, argumentative essay, and op-ed, students will reflect on the role that persuasion plays in their day-to-day lives, and how it can impact their understanding of truth. We will also engage in a peer-review activities to help us identify and harness the power of persuasion in our own writing.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: The Power of Persuasion and the Manufacturing of Truth AS.004.101 (31)
Fake news and misinformation seem to be everywhere these days. And to make matters worse, humans seem to be pretty bad at detecting fake information, especially when fake news can look and sound like real news. This confusion has given rise to what some have called a post-truth politics: a world in which facts have become irrelevant. In such a world, the ability to persuade others and to identify when and how they are being persuaded have become vitally important skills. In this writing course, students will think about how a variety of sources—books, films, articles, tweets, etc.—persuade them to think and act in certain ways. Through a series of writing assignments, including a personal essay, film review, argumentative essay, and op-ed, students will reflect on the role that persuasion plays in their day-to-day lives, and how it can impact their understanding of truth. We will also engage in a peer-review activities to help us identify and harness the power of persuasion in our own writing.
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Instructor: Jagdale, Tanavi Shirish
Room: Krieger Laverty
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (32)
Reintroduction to Writing: The Cost of Free Speech?
MW 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Oppel, George
Gilman 413
Spring 2024
There’s no question that much of our public discourse contains speech that can be regarded as false, worthless, and hateful. In these ways speech can produce real harm to individuals and society. Why then do we feel that it is important to protect speech to the maximum extent? That’s the large question we will address through a series of writing projects. We begin by reading John Stuart Mill’s canonical justification of free speech in his nineteenth century treatise On Liberty. You write a short essay that engages with Mill’s view that speech is essential to the pursuit of truth. We then read a sample of the Supreme Court’s jurisprudence to get a sense of how the law defines the pivotal difference between speech and action. You’ll engage with some scholarly critics on the question of how the law defines “harm.” Finally, you are invited to research a contemporary free speech issue that interests you. Using online resources like the Free Speech Project and the Dangerous Speech Project you will map a particular controversy and produce a written report of your findings. Topics include hate speech, cancel culture, the regulation of online speech, and more.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: The Cost of Free Speech? AS.004.101 (32)
There’s no question that much of our public discourse contains speech that can be regarded as false, worthless, and hateful. In these ways speech can produce real harm to individuals and society. Why then do we feel that it is important to protect speech to the maximum extent? That’s the large question we will address through a series of writing projects. We begin by reading John Stuart Mill’s canonical justification of free speech in his nineteenth century treatise On Liberty. You write a short essay that engages with Mill’s view that speech is essential to the pursuit of truth. We then read a sample of the Supreme Court’s jurisprudence to get a sense of how the law defines the pivotal difference between speech and action. You’ll engage with some scholarly critics on the question of how the law defines “harm.” Finally, you are invited to research a contemporary free speech issue that interests you. Using online resources like the Free Speech Project and the Dangerous Speech Project you will map a particular controversy and produce a written report of your findings. Topics include hate speech, cancel culture, the regulation of online speech, and more.
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Instructor: Oppel, George
Room: Gilman 413
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/13
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (33)
Reintroduction to Writing: The Cost of Free Speech?
MW 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Oppel, George
Gilman 413
Spring 2024
There’s no question that much of our public discourse contains speech that can be regarded as false, worthless, and hateful. In these ways speech can produce real harm to individuals and society. Why then do we feel that it is important to protect speech to the maximum extent? That’s the large question we will address through a series of writing projects. We begin by reading John Stuart Mill’s canonical justification of free speech in his nineteenth century treatise On Liberty. You write a short essay that engages with Mill’s view that speech is essential to the pursuit of truth. We then read a sample of the Supreme Court’s jurisprudence to get a sense of how the law defines the pivotal difference between speech and action. You’ll engage with some scholarly critics on the question of how the law defines “harm.” Finally, you are invited to research a contemporary free speech issue that interests you. Using online resources like the Free Speech Project and the Dangerous Speech Project you will map a particular controversy and produce a written report of your findings. Topics include hate speech, cancel culture, the regulation of online speech, and more.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: The Cost of Free Speech? AS.004.101 (33)
There’s no question that much of our public discourse contains speech that can be regarded as false, worthless, and hateful. In these ways speech can produce real harm to individuals and society. Why then do we feel that it is important to protect speech to the maximum extent? That’s the large question we will address through a series of writing projects. We begin by reading John Stuart Mill’s canonical justification of free speech in his nineteenth century treatise On Liberty. You write a short essay that engages with Mill’s view that speech is essential to the pursuit of truth. We then read a sample of the Supreme Court’s jurisprudence to get a sense of how the law defines the pivotal difference between speech and action. You’ll engage with some scholarly critics on the question of how the law defines “harm.” Finally, you are invited to research a contemporary free speech issue that interests you. Using online resources like the Free Speech Project and the Dangerous Speech Project you will map a particular controversy and produce a written report of your findings. Topics include hate speech, cancel culture, the regulation of online speech, and more.
Days/Times: MW 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Instructor: Oppel, George
Room: Gilman 413
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/13
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (34)
Reintroduction to Writing: 21st Century Literacies
TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM
Egan, Caroline
Gilman 134
Spring 2024
The 21st century compels us to create and decode many rhetorical situations: social media posts, academic presentations, newspaper op-ed pieces, responses from artificial intelligence generators, performance feedback (in school and the workplace), strings of emojis, a recurring weekly meeting. We will explore our own personal literacies – verbal, visual, interpretive, non-verbal, digital – as well as analyzing the particular rhetorical competencies required to negotiate our lives at Hopkins and beyond its boundaries: what literacies do we bring with us into the classroom? Which ones do we need to develop? How do we begin to decode strange texts, whether they’re research papers, experimental novels, or a journal article from Nature? How do power and identify impact our ability to speak, listen, and act? How do we collaborate and interact in light of differences? We will complete a literacy narrative, an academic paper, and a Pechukucha presentation on your first year at Hopkins, which is a storytelling format in which the presenter shows 20 slides for 20 seconds of commentary each
×
Reintroduction to Writing: 21st Century Literacies AS.004.101 (34)
The 21st century compels us to create and decode many rhetorical situations: social media posts, academic presentations, newspaper op-ed pieces, responses from artificial intelligence generators, performance feedback (in school and the workplace), strings of emojis, a recurring weekly meeting. We will explore our own personal literacies – verbal, visual, interpretive, non-verbal, digital – as well as analyzing the particular rhetorical competencies required to negotiate our lives at Hopkins and beyond its boundaries: what literacies do we bring with us into the classroom? Which ones do we need to develop? How do we begin to decode strange texts, whether they’re research papers, experimental novels, or a journal article from Nature? How do power and identify impact our ability to speak, listen, and act? How do we collaborate and interact in light of differences? We will complete a literacy narrative, an academic paper, and a Pechukucha presentation on your first year at Hopkins, which is a storytelling format in which the presenter shows 20 slides for 20 seconds of commentary each
Days/Times: TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM
Instructor: Egan, Caroline
Room: Gilman 134
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/13
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (35)
Reintroduction to Writing: Decolonizing Scientific Knowledge
TTh 4:30PM - 5:45PM
Doherty, Nathanael Joseph
Gilman 413
Spring 2024
What is scientific knowledge? Who creates it, controls it, and benefits from it? What does it mean to “decolonize” something? Math, science, and technology are commonly described as tools, yet these overlapping disciplines often operate as black boxes whose broad social applications are hidden and whose environmental consequences may be too diffuse to accurately predict. This writing class will consider these topics from a variety of rhetorical genres including podcasts, YouTube videos, and academic articles. In a series of writing exercises that range from brief weekly written responses, a traditional essay, and a rhetorical analysis in a medium of their choosing, students will be given the opportunity to respond to questions of how math, science, and technology influence their everyday world.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Decolonizing Scientific Knowledge AS.004.101 (35)
What is scientific knowledge? Who creates it, controls it, and benefits from it? What does it mean to “decolonize” something? Math, science, and technology are commonly described as tools, yet these overlapping disciplines often operate as black boxes whose broad social applications are hidden and whose environmental consequences may be too diffuse to accurately predict. This writing class will consider these topics from a variety of rhetorical genres including podcasts, YouTube videos, and academic articles. In a series of writing exercises that range from brief weekly written responses, a traditional essay, and a rhetorical analysis in a medium of their choosing, students will be given the opportunity to respond to questions of how math, science, and technology influence their everyday world.
Days/Times: TTh 4:30PM - 5:45PM
Instructor: Doherty, Nathanael Joseph
Room: Gilman 413
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (36)
Reintroduction to Writing: Decolonizing Scientific Knowledge
TTh 6:00PM - 7:15PM
Doherty, Nathanael Joseph
Gilman 134
Spring 2024
What is scientific knowledge? Who creates it, controls it, and benefits from it? What does it mean to “decolonize” something? Math, science, and technology are commonly described as tools, yet these overlapping disciplines often operate as black boxes whose broad social applications are hidden and whose environmental consequences may be too diffuse to accurately predict. This writing class will consider these topics from a variety of rhetorical genres including podcasts, YouTube videos, and academic articles. In a series of writing exercises that range from brief weekly written responses, a traditional essay, and a rhetorical analysis in a medium of their choosing, students will be given the opportunity to respond to questions of how math, science, and technology influence their everyday world.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Decolonizing Scientific Knowledge AS.004.101 (36)
What is scientific knowledge? Who creates it, controls it, and benefits from it? What does it mean to “decolonize” something? Math, science, and technology are commonly described as tools, yet these overlapping disciplines often operate as black boxes whose broad social applications are hidden and whose environmental consequences may be too diffuse to accurately predict. This writing class will consider these topics from a variety of rhetorical genres including podcasts, YouTube videos, and academic articles. In a series of writing exercises that range from brief weekly written responses, a traditional essay, and a rhetorical analysis in a medium of their choosing, students will be given the opportunity to respond to questions of how math, science, and technology influence their everyday world.
Days/Times: TTh 6:00PM - 7:15PM
Instructor: Doherty, Nathanael Joseph
Room: Gilman 134
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (37)
Reintroduction to Writing: The Power of Persuasion and the Manufacturing of Truth
MW 3:00PM - 4:15PM
Jagdale, Tanavi Shirish
Gilman 217
Spring 2024
Fake news and misinformation seem to be everywhere these days. And to make matters worse, humans seem to be pretty bad at detecting fake information, especially when fake news can look and sound like real news. This confusion has given rise to what some have called a post-truth politics: a world in which facts have become irrelevant. In such a world, the ability to persuade others and to identify when and how they are being persuaded have become vitally important skills. In this writing course, students will think about how a variety of sources—books, films, articles, tweets, etc.—persuade them to think and act in certain ways. Through a series of writing assignments, including a personal essay, film review, argumentative essay, and op-ed, students will reflect on the role that persuasion plays in their day-to-day lives, and how it can impact their understanding of truth. We will also engage in a peer-review activities to help us identify and harness the power of persuasion in our own writing.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: The Power of Persuasion and the Manufacturing of Truth AS.004.101 (37)
Fake news and misinformation seem to be everywhere these days. And to make matters worse, humans seem to be pretty bad at detecting fake information, especially when fake news can look and sound like real news. This confusion has given rise to what some have called a post-truth politics: a world in which facts have become irrelevant. In such a world, the ability to persuade others and to identify when and how they are being persuaded have become vitally important skills. In this writing course, students will think about how a variety of sources—books, films, articles, tweets, etc.—persuade them to think and act in certain ways. Through a series of writing assignments, including a personal essay, film review, argumentative essay, and op-ed, students will reflect on the role that persuasion plays in their day-to-day lives, and how it can impact their understanding of truth. We will also engage in a peer-review activities to help us identify and harness the power of persuasion in our own writing.
Days/Times: MW 3:00PM - 4:15PM
Instructor: Jagdale, Tanavi Shirish
Room: Gilman 217
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (38)
Reintroduction to Writing: Discovering our World through Movie Reviews
TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Loker, Evan
Greenhouse 113
Spring 2024
Americans have been obsessed with movies for as long the medium has existed. Last century, we went out to theaters five times per week and devoured movie star gossip in print. Movies showed us what was cool, how to dress, and even what to value. Today, smartphones and streaming platforms allow us to consume amateur and professional visual media everywhere. We also write about films more than ever before via social media, user review sites like Letterboxd, and shooting scripts for video content. What we write about films is often deeply personal, and always informed by time and context – by world events, politics, cultural changes, and other films. This writing class will explore how film provides occasions for writers and their readers to reflect on relevant cultural questions, on familiar or unfamiliar communities and places, and on art’s relation to personal and collective experiences. Students will practice writing about films through traditional or newspaper-style reviews, argument driven papers, autobiographical essays, philosophical interpretations, festival blurbs, press releases, and narrative podcasts. By experimenting with these various genres, students will develop the analytical and creative skills needed to write in a range of contexts and for communities and organizations beyond the Homewood campus.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Discovering our World through Movie Reviews AS.004.101 (38)
Americans have been obsessed with movies for as long the medium has existed. Last century, we went out to theaters five times per week and devoured movie star gossip in print. Movies showed us what was cool, how to dress, and even what to value. Today, smartphones and streaming platforms allow us to consume amateur and professional visual media everywhere. We also write about films more than ever before via social media, user review sites like Letterboxd, and shooting scripts for video content. What we write about films is often deeply personal, and always informed by time and context – by world events, politics, cultural changes, and other films. This writing class will explore how film provides occasions for writers and their readers to reflect on relevant cultural questions, on familiar or unfamiliar communities and places, and on art’s relation to personal and collective experiences. Students will practice writing about films through traditional or newspaper-style reviews, argument driven papers, autobiographical essays, philosophical interpretations, festival blurbs, press releases, and narrative podcasts. By experimenting with these various genres, students will develop the analytical and creative skills needed to write in a range of contexts and for communities and organizations beyond the Homewood campus.
Days/Times: TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Instructor: Loker, Evan
Room: Greenhouse 113
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (39)
Reintroduction to Writing: Discovering our World through Movie Reviews
TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Loker, Evan
Greenhouse 113
Spring 2024
Americans have been obsessed with movies for as long the medium has existed. Last century, we went out to theaters five times per week and devoured movie star gossip in print. Movies showed us what was cool, how to dress, and even what to value. Today, smartphones and streaming platforms allow us to consume amateur and professional visual media everywhere. We also write about films more than ever before via social media, user review sites like Letterboxd, and shooting scripts for video content. What we write about films is often deeply personal, and always informed by time and context – by world events, politics, cultural changes, and other films. This writing class will explore how film provides occasions for writers and their readers to reflect on relevant cultural questions, on familiar or unfamiliar communities and places, and on art’s relation to personal and collective experiences. Students will practice writing about films through traditional or newspaper-style reviews, argument driven papers, autobiographical essays, philosophical interpretations, festival blurbs, press releases, and narrative podcasts. By experimenting with these various genres, students will develop the analytical and creative skills needed to write in a range of contexts and for communities and organizations beyond the Homewood campus.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Discovering our World through Movie Reviews AS.004.101 (39)
Americans have been obsessed with movies for as long the medium has existed. Last century, we went out to theaters five times per week and devoured movie star gossip in print. Movies showed us what was cool, how to dress, and even what to value. Today, smartphones and streaming platforms allow us to consume amateur and professional visual media everywhere. We also write about films more than ever before via social media, user review sites like Letterboxd, and shooting scripts for video content. What we write about films is often deeply personal, and always informed by time and context – by world events, politics, cultural changes, and other films. This writing class will explore how film provides occasions for writers and their readers to reflect on relevant cultural questions, on familiar or unfamiliar communities and places, and on art’s relation to personal and collective experiences. Students will practice writing about films through traditional or newspaper-style reviews, argument driven papers, autobiographical essays, philosophical interpretations, festival blurbs, press releases, and narrative podcasts. By experimenting with these various genres, students will develop the analytical and creative skills needed to write in a range of contexts and for communities and organizations beyond the Homewood campus.
Days/Times: TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Instructor: Loker, Evan
Room: Greenhouse 113
Status: Open
Seats Available: 1/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (40)
Reintroduction to Writing: Discovering our World through Movie Reviews
TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM
Loker, Evan
Greenhouse 113
Spring 2024
Americans have been obsessed with movies for as long the medium has existed. Last century, we went out to theaters five times per week and devoured movie star gossip in print. Movies showed us what was cool, how to dress, and even what to value. Today, smartphones and streaming platforms allow us to consume amateur and professional visual media everywhere. We also write about films more than ever before via social media, user review sites like Letterboxd, and shooting scripts for video content. What we write about films is often deeply personal, and always informed by time and context – by world events, politics, cultural changes, and other films. This writing class will explore how film provides occasions for writers and their readers to reflect on relevant cultural questions, on familiar or unfamiliar communities and places, and on art’s relation to personal and collective experiences. Students will practice writing about films through traditional or newspaper-style reviews, argument driven papers, autobiographical essays, philosophical interpretations, festival blurbs, press releases, and narrative podcasts. By experimenting with these various genres, students will develop the analytical and creative skills needed to write in a range of contexts and for communities and organizations beyond the Homewood campus.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Discovering our World through Movie Reviews AS.004.101 (40)
Americans have been obsessed with movies for as long the medium has existed. Last century, we went out to theaters five times per week and devoured movie star gossip in print. Movies showed us what was cool, how to dress, and even what to value. Today, smartphones and streaming platforms allow us to consume amateur and professional visual media everywhere. We also write about films more than ever before via social media, user review sites like Letterboxd, and shooting scripts for video content. What we write about films is often deeply personal, and always informed by time and context – by world events, politics, cultural changes, and other films. This writing class will explore how film provides occasions for writers and their readers to reflect on relevant cultural questions, on familiar or unfamiliar communities and places, and on art’s relation to personal and collective experiences. Students will practice writing about films through traditional or newspaper-style reviews, argument driven papers, autobiographical essays, philosophical interpretations, festival blurbs, press releases, and narrative podcasts. By experimenting with these various genres, students will develop the analytical and creative skills needed to write in a range of contexts and for communities and organizations beyond the Homewood campus.
Days/Times: TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM
Instructor: Loker, Evan
Room: Greenhouse 113
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (41)
Reintroduction to Writing: AI and the Future of Writing
TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM
Lewis, Alex
Krieger Laverty
Spring 2024
Playing chess, writing novels, making art—as headlines remind us almost daily, whatever humans used to be good at, AI can now do better. To what extent can human labor and creativity be automated, and where will that leave us? How have people thought about these questions in the past and how are they thinking about them today? Why bother learning to write if text generators can do it for us? This course that asks us to imagine a world in which AI makes writing courses obsolete. Through writing assignments that involve producing argumentative essays, writing in different genres, and collaborating on group projects, students will develop skills in critical thinking and communicating in different genres. We will explore the effects of AI not just in theory but in practice: students will be required to use ChapGPT across all assignments.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: AI and the Future of Writing AS.004.101 (41)
Playing chess, writing novels, making art—as headlines remind us almost daily, whatever humans used to be good at, AI can now do better. To what extent can human labor and creativity be automated, and where will that leave us? How have people thought about these questions in the past and how are they thinking about them today? Why bother learning to write if text generators can do it for us? This course that asks us to imagine a world in which AI makes writing courses obsolete. Through writing assignments that involve producing argumentative essays, writing in different genres, and collaborating on group projects, students will develop skills in critical thinking and communicating in different genres. We will explore the effects of AI not just in theory but in practice: students will be required to use ChapGPT across all assignments.
Days/Times: TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM
Instructor: Lewis, Alex
Room: Krieger Laverty
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (42)
Reintroduction to Writing: AI and the Future of Writing
TTh 4:30PM - 5:45PM
Lewis, Alex
Greenhouse 113
Spring 2024
Playing chess, writing novels, making art—as headlines remind us almost daily, whatever humans used to be good at, AI can now do better. To what extent can human labor and creativity be automated, and where will that leave us? How have people thought about these questions in the past and how are they thinking about them today? Why bother learning to write if text generators can do it for us? This course that asks us to imagine a world in which AI makes writing courses obsolete. Through writing assignments that involve producing argumentative essays, writing in different genres, and collaborating on group projects, students will develop skills in critical thinking and communicating in different genres. We will explore the effects of AI not just in theory but in practice: students will be required to use ChapGPT across all assignments.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: AI and the Future of Writing AS.004.101 (42)
Playing chess, writing novels, making art—as headlines remind us almost daily, whatever humans used to be good at, AI can now do better. To what extent can human labor and creativity be automated, and where will that leave us? How have people thought about these questions in the past and how are they thinking about them today? Why bother learning to write if text generators can do it for us? This course that asks us to imagine a world in which AI makes writing courses obsolete. Through writing assignments that involve producing argumentative essays, writing in different genres, and collaborating on group projects, students will develop skills in critical thinking and communicating in different genres. We will explore the effects of AI not just in theory but in practice: students will be required to use ChapGPT across all assignments.
Days/Times: TTh 4:30PM - 5:45PM
Instructor: Lewis, Alex
Room: Greenhouse 113
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (43)
Reintroduction to Writing: The Rhetoric of Digital Networks
MW 3:00PM - 4:15PM
Cui, Wenqi
Krieger Laverty
Spring 2024
How has the advent of digital networks influenced our culture, attitudes, and behaviors? How have these transformations affected our personal and civic lives, education, and professional endeavors? Increasingly growing digital sources and digital networks have profoundly changed every aspect of our lives. In this course, we will critically examine the influence of digital networks, analyzing online interactions, exploring digital cultures, and studying online communities. Students are encouraged to select a topic of personal and academic interest to investigate, such as digital literacy practices, AI in education, influencer culture, social support in online communities, algorithmic fairness, privacy and safety in digital spaces, or social activism like #BlackLivesMatter. Throughout this course, students will develop research skills and advance their writing proficiency in content, clarity, organization, and readability. This will be accomplished through readings, discussions, writing tasks, feedback, and reflections. Students will write various genres, including reading response, literacy narrative, research proposal, research-based argumentative essay, reflective journal, and presentation. By undertaking this course, students will cultivate critical thinking abilities, professional communication strategies, and lifelong learning skills necessary for success in both their academic pursuits and professional careers.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: The Rhetoric of Digital Networks AS.004.101 (43)
How has the advent of digital networks influenced our culture, attitudes, and behaviors? How have these transformations affected our personal and civic lives, education, and professional endeavors? Increasingly growing digital sources and digital networks have profoundly changed every aspect of our lives. In this course, we will critically examine the influence of digital networks, analyzing online interactions, exploring digital cultures, and studying online communities. Students are encouraged to select a topic of personal and academic interest to investigate, such as digital literacy practices, AI in education, influencer culture, social support in online communities, algorithmic fairness, privacy and safety in digital spaces, or social activism like #BlackLivesMatter. Throughout this course, students will develop research skills and advance their writing proficiency in content, clarity, organization, and readability. This will be accomplished through readings, discussions, writing tasks, feedback, and reflections. Students will write various genres, including reading response, literacy narrative, research proposal, research-based argumentative essay, reflective journal, and presentation. By undertaking this course, students will cultivate critical thinking abilities, professional communication strategies, and lifelong learning skills necessary for success in both their academic pursuits and professional careers.
Days/Times: MW 3:00PM - 4:15PM
Instructor: Cui, Wenqi
Room: Krieger Laverty
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/13
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (44)
Reintroduction to Writing: Drugs in Society
TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Devenot, Nese Lisa
Krieger Laverty
Spring 2024
Competing views about the dangers and potential benefits of drugs are ubiquitous. In the context of changing drug laws regarding psychedelic medicines, the legalization of cannabis, and “mandatory minimum” jail sentences, how can we gain insight into the cultural history of drugs in our society? This writing course will provide the opportunity for students to directly engage with recent debates over drug legislation by critically reflecting on the evolution of writing about drugs over the past 250 years. How does the cultural understanding of drugs change with shifts in rhetoric? How can we balance the need to protect society while still respecting individual freedoms and privacy? How can the latest scientific and sociological research help to guide legislative decisions? Our society’s understandings about drugs and their relationship to human consciousness have been—and continue to be—mediated by rhetoric and public discussions. By directly engaging in this evolving rhetoric through written and oral assignments, students will have the opportunity to deepen their understanding of this complex and persistent topic. Students will explore this topic by writing in a variety of genres and persuasive strategies, including op-eds, policy memos, close textual and visual analyses, and reflections.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Drugs in Society AS.004.101 (44)
Competing views about the dangers and potential benefits of drugs are ubiquitous. In the context of changing drug laws regarding psychedelic medicines, the legalization of cannabis, and “mandatory minimum” jail sentences, how can we gain insight into the cultural history of drugs in our society? This writing course will provide the opportunity for students to directly engage with recent debates over drug legislation by critically reflecting on the evolution of writing about drugs over the past 250 years. How does the cultural understanding of drugs change with shifts in rhetoric? How can we balance the need to protect society while still respecting individual freedoms and privacy? How can the latest scientific and sociological research help to guide legislative decisions? Our society’s understandings about drugs and their relationship to human consciousness have been—and continue to be—mediated by rhetoric and public discussions. By directly engaging in this evolving rhetoric through written and oral assignments, students will have the opportunity to deepen their understanding of this complex and persistent topic. Students will explore this topic by writing in a variety of genres and persuasive strategies, including op-eds, policy memos, close textual and visual analyses, and reflections.
Days/Times: TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Instructor: Devenot, Nese Lisa
Room: Krieger Laverty
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/13
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (45)
Reintroduction to Writing: Drugs in Society
TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Devenot, Nese Lisa
Krieger Laverty
Spring 2024
Competing views about the dangers and potential benefits of drugs are ubiquitous. In the context of changing drug laws regarding psychedelic medicines, the legalization of cannabis, and “mandatory minimum” jail sentences, how can we gain insight into the cultural history of drugs in our society? This writing course will provide the opportunity for students to directly engage with recent debates over drug legislation by critically reflecting on the evolution of writing about drugs over the past 250 years. How does the cultural understanding of drugs change with shifts in rhetoric? How can we balance the need to protect society while still respecting individual freedoms and privacy? How can the latest scientific and sociological research help to guide legislative decisions? Our society’s understandings about drugs and their relationship to human consciousness have been—and continue to be—mediated by rhetoric and public discussions. By directly engaging in this evolving rhetoric through written and oral assignments, students will have the opportunity to deepen their understanding of this complex and persistent topic. Students will explore this topic by writing in a variety of genres and persuasive strategies, including op-eds, policy memos, close textual and visual analyses, and reflections.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Drugs in Society AS.004.101 (45)
Competing views about the dangers and potential benefits of drugs are ubiquitous. In the context of changing drug laws regarding psychedelic medicines, the legalization of cannabis, and “mandatory minimum” jail sentences, how can we gain insight into the cultural history of drugs in our society? This writing course will provide the opportunity for students to directly engage with recent debates over drug legislation by critically reflecting on the evolution of writing about drugs over the past 250 years. How does the cultural understanding of drugs change with shifts in rhetoric? How can we balance the need to protect society while still respecting individual freedoms and privacy? How can the latest scientific and sociological research help to guide legislative decisions? Our society’s understandings about drugs and their relationship to human consciousness have been—and continue to be—mediated by rhetoric and public discussions. By directly engaging in this evolving rhetoric through written and oral assignments, students will have the opportunity to deepen their understanding of this complex and persistent topic. Students will explore this topic by writing in a variety of genres and persuasive strategies, including op-eds, policy memos, close textual and visual analyses, and reflections.
Days/Times: TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Instructor: Devenot, Nese Lisa
Room: Krieger Laverty
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/13
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (46)
Reintroduction to Writing: Family Narratives
TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Watters, Aliza
Gilman 413
Spring 2024
In leaving home for college, we come to reevaluate the primary—and primal— relationships that define us, often for the first time. How do we understand and reconcile the shaping power of family—a power that can both fortify and confine us? What can family narratives teach us about the formation of individual identity, the acts of selection inherent to that process and, perhaps, the difference between living and telling? In this writing course, we will examine the facts, fables, and frontiers of family as constructed in literature, philosophical and public policy debates, political campaign ads, and more. We will write reflections, op-eds, academic essays, and literature reviews, always taking care to consider the tether between genre and audience. Throughout our work together, we will identify and practice the fundamental components of ethical analysis and research, and discuss and rehearse writing as an intellectual, relational, and recursive practice essential to and across all disciplines.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Family Narratives AS.004.101 (46)
In leaving home for college, we come to reevaluate the primary—and primal— relationships that define us, often for the first time. How do we understand and reconcile the shaping power of family—a power that can both fortify and confine us? What can family narratives teach us about the formation of individual identity, the acts of selection inherent to that process and, perhaps, the difference between living and telling? In this writing course, we will examine the facts, fables, and frontiers of family as constructed in literature, philosophical and public policy debates, political campaign ads, and more. We will write reflections, op-eds, academic essays, and literature reviews, always taking care to consider the tether between genre and audience. Throughout our work together, we will identify and practice the fundamental components of ethical analysis and research, and discuss and rehearse writing as an intellectual, relational, and recursive practice essential to and across all disciplines.
Days/Times: TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Instructor: Watters, Aliza
Room: Gilman 413
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/13
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (47)
Reintroduction to Writing: Architectures of Writing
MW 4:30PM - 5:45PM
Menezes, Benita Maria
Krieger Laverty
Spring 2024
The word “architecture” conjures images of built form. And yet the etymology or the root of the word itself can mean “conceptual structure.” Can there be a relationship, an interplay, between built form and conceptual structure? This first-year writing course invites you to a series of weekly experiments in understanding architecture (space) as a genre (text) in which the starting point for both acts of designing is the dreaded blank page. We will make two analytical moves. First, we will examine and analyze the ‘language of space’ to understand the elements of spatial thought. Second, we will shortlist from these elements a few to develop a personalized toolkit for our writing purposes. By drawing on architectural methods of ‘reading’ space, we as writers will ‘design’ texts in a peer community. These texts will take multiple forms for diverse audiences and might flourish to have afterlives of their own, i.e., a word map/constellation, ethnographic vignette, short visual story, and a reflective essay.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Architectures of Writing AS.004.101 (47)
The word “architecture” conjures images of built form. And yet the etymology or the root of the word itself can mean “conceptual structure.” Can there be a relationship, an interplay, between built form and conceptual structure? This first-year writing course invites you to a series of weekly experiments in understanding architecture (space) as a genre (text) in which the starting point for both acts of designing is the dreaded blank page. We will make two analytical moves. First, we will examine and analyze the ‘language of space’ to understand the elements of spatial thought. Second, we will shortlist from these elements a few to develop a personalized toolkit for our writing purposes. By drawing on architectural methods of ‘reading’ space, we as writers will ‘design’ texts in a peer community. These texts will take multiple forms for diverse audiences and might flourish to have afterlives of their own, i.e., a word map/constellation, ethnographic vignette, short visual story, and a reflective essay.
Days/Times: MW 4:30PM - 5:45PM
Instructor: Menezes, Benita Maria
Room: Krieger Laverty
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (48)
Reintroduction to Writing: Black Birthing Women
TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM
Wright, Lisa E.
Krieger Laverty
Spring 2024
"Current CDC data states, that Black women are “three to four times more likely to die during or after delivery than are white women.” In this first-year writing course, we will explore Black women’s historical and contemporary birth narratives to question how their history of enslavement, and medical racism continues to inform their birthing realities. Through course readings, discussions, and workshops we will question the varied ways the delegitimization of Black midwives, Black women’s community practices, and contemporary advocates for reproductive and birthing justice have impacted Black women’s care within and outside of medical institutions. Students will write in a range of genres including fact sheets, personal narrative,s and profile essays, which will allow students to follow a course of inquiry that will lead them to a point of interest to compose a traditional academic paper or a multimodal composition as their final project. Students will support their research questions by using credible sources such as narratives, scholarly articles, and reputed journalism. Potential texts include excerpts by Harriet Jacobs, Margaret Charles Smith, Assata Shakur, Tressie Cottom, Nikky Finney, Beyonce, and reproductive justice advocate, Loretta Ross.
"
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Black Birthing Women AS.004.101 (48)
"Current CDC data states, that Black women are “three to four times more likely to die during or after delivery than are white women.” In this first-year writing course, we will explore Black women’s historical and contemporary birth narratives to question how their history of enslavement, and medical racism continues to inform their birthing realities. Through course readings, discussions, and workshops we will question the varied ways the delegitimization of Black midwives, Black women’s community practices, and contemporary advocates for reproductive and birthing justice have impacted Black women’s care within and outside of medical institutions. Students will write in a range of genres including fact sheets, personal narrative,s and profile essays, which will allow students to follow a course of inquiry that will lead them to a point of interest to compose a traditional academic paper or a multimodal composition as their final project. Students will support their research questions by using credible sources such as narratives, scholarly articles, and reputed journalism. Potential texts include excerpts by Harriet Jacobs, Margaret Charles Smith, Assata Shakur, Tressie Cottom, Nikky Finney, Beyonce, and reproductive justice advocate, Loretta Ross.
"
Days/Times: TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM
Instructor: Wright, Lisa E.
Room: Krieger Laverty
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/13
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (49)
Reintroduction to Writing: Sheridan Libraries Collaboration
TTh 4:30PM - 5:45PM
Hartmann-Villalta, Laura A
Krieger Laverty
Spring 2024
If you like libraries, old books, cursive handwriting, and crinkly papers; if you have ever wondered how information is preserved and knowledge is created; if you want to have a classroom experience that involves other physical spaces on campus; if you ever dressed up as Indiana Jones for Halloween—then this course is for you. In collaboration with the Sheridan Libraries, the Makerspace, and more, students engage with resources, materials, and locations that are often out-of-bounds for first-year students. For example, we will dive into the Women’s Suffrage Collection to uncover the historical context of suffrage postcards and other one-of-a-kind items that we examine up close. As we discuss archival absences and presences in another unit, students will write an acquisition proposal to pitch to Special Collections librarians, within the constraints of an imaginary budget, practicing both academic research and advocacy for a purchase(s) of their choice. We also explore campus history through a walking tour with Jacqueline O’Regan, Curator of Cultural Properties under the Sheridan Libraries, and examine our experience of these public spaces and their artworks in a reflective assignment. Throughout the semester, in and out of class, students will write in different genres for different audiences as they actively engage, keep track of, and invest in their own learning.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Sheridan Libraries Collaboration AS.004.101 (49)
If you like libraries, old books, cursive handwriting, and crinkly papers; if you have ever wondered how information is preserved and knowledge is created; if you want to have a classroom experience that involves other physical spaces on campus; if you ever dressed up as Indiana Jones for Halloween—then this course is for you. In collaboration with the Sheridan Libraries, the Makerspace, and more, students engage with resources, materials, and locations that are often out-of-bounds for first-year students. For example, we will dive into the Women’s Suffrage Collection to uncover the historical context of suffrage postcards and other one-of-a-kind items that we examine up close. As we discuss archival absences and presences in another unit, students will write an acquisition proposal to pitch to Special Collections librarians, within the constraints of an imaginary budget, practicing both academic research and advocacy for a purchase(s) of their choice. We also explore campus history through a walking tour with Jacqueline O’Regan, Curator of Cultural Properties under the Sheridan Libraries, and examine our experience of these public spaces and their artworks in a reflective assignment. Throughout the semester, in and out of class, students will write in different genres for different audiences as they actively engage, keep track of, and invest in their own learning.
Days/Times: TTh 4:30PM - 5:45PM
Instructor: Hartmann-Villalta, Laura A
Room: Krieger Laverty
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/13
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (50)
Reintroduction to Writing: Vaccine Rhetorics
MW 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Wilbanks, Rebecca
Gilman 217
Spring 2024
What arguments about vaccination are circulating in the public sphere today? As public health officials and medical providers seek to encourage vaccination, what kinds of appeals are likely to succeed, and which are likely to fall flat—or even backfire? Why and how do discussions of vaccination evoke such strong feelings? In this course, we will collectively explore these questions, drawing on tools from the field of rhetoric. As you examine the audience, purpose, context, and style of texts concerning vaccination, you will derive strategies you can apply to your own writing, and practice communicating about science to diverse audiences.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Vaccine Rhetorics AS.004.101 (50)
What arguments about vaccination are circulating in the public sphere today? As public health officials and medical providers seek to encourage vaccination, what kinds of appeals are likely to succeed, and which are likely to fall flat—or even backfire? Why and how do discussions of vaccination evoke such strong feelings? In this course, we will collectively explore these questions, drawing on tools from the field of rhetoric. As you examine the audience, purpose, context, and style of texts concerning vaccination, you will derive strategies you can apply to your own writing, and practice communicating about science to diverse audiences.
Days/Times: MW 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Instructor: Wilbanks, Rebecca
Room: Gilman 217
Status: Open
Seats Available: 1/13
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (51)
Reintroduction to Writing: Building the Train of Thought
MWF 9:00AM - 9:50AM
Heath, Austin Edward
Gilman 134
Spring 2024
As a product, it is rare for a piece of writing to resemble the often circuitous trail of thoughts which produced it. As a process, however, writing is an exercise in the nonlinear organization of a sea of facts and ideas. How do we turn what we think into arguments, narratives, and compositions that are accessible to others? In this class, we will focus on the structuring of thoughts and sentences - and sometimes even individual words - and how they can form a constellation of notes and ideas from which new texts emerge. We will look at the methods and genres scholars have used from across scientific and humanistic disciplines to represent their thought; we will examine and reproduce English commonplaces, Chinese biji, Zettelkasten (card files), evidence boards, geometrical demonstration, private wikis, and other contemporary systems of personal knowledge management. Through critical discussion, practice, and implementation, students will think deeply about how we explicate and organize our thoughts - both within these systems and beyond them into other written work.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Building the Train of Thought AS.004.101 (51)
As a product, it is rare for a piece of writing to resemble the often circuitous trail of thoughts which produced it. As a process, however, writing is an exercise in the nonlinear organization of a sea of facts and ideas. How do we turn what we think into arguments, narratives, and compositions that are accessible to others? In this class, we will focus on the structuring of thoughts and sentences - and sometimes even individual words - and how they can form a constellation of notes and ideas from which new texts emerge. We will look at the methods and genres scholars have used from across scientific and humanistic disciplines to represent their thought; we will examine and reproduce English commonplaces, Chinese biji, Zettelkasten (card files), evidence boards, geometrical demonstration, private wikis, and other contemporary systems of personal knowledge management. Through critical discussion, practice, and implementation, students will think deeply about how we explicate and organize our thoughts - both within these systems and beyond them into other written work.
Days/Times: MWF 9:00AM - 9:50AM
Instructor: Heath, Austin Edward
Room: Gilman 134
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (52)
Reintroduction to Writing: Building the Train of Thought
MWF 11:00AM - 11:50AM
Heath, Austin Edward
Gilman 134
Spring 2024
As a product, it is rare for a piece of writing to resemble the often circuitous trail of thoughts which produced it. As a process, however, writing is an exercise in the nonlinear organization of a sea of facts and ideas. How do we turn what we think into arguments, narratives, and compositions that are accessible to others? In this class, we will focus on the structuring of thoughts and sentences - and sometimes even individual words - and how they can form a constellation of notes and ideas from which new texts emerge. We will look at the methods and genres scholars have used from across scientific and humanistic disciplines to represent their thought; we will examine and reproduce English commonplaces, Chinese biji, Zettelkasten (card files), evidence boards, geometrical demonstration, private wikis, and other contemporary systems of personal knowledge management. Through critical discussion, practice, and implementation, students will think deeply about how we explicate and organize our thoughts - both within these systems and beyond them into other written work.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Building the Train of Thought AS.004.101 (52)
As a product, it is rare for a piece of writing to resemble the often circuitous trail of thoughts which produced it. As a process, however, writing is an exercise in the nonlinear organization of a sea of facts and ideas. How do we turn what we think into arguments, narratives, and compositions that are accessible to others? In this class, we will focus on the structuring of thoughts and sentences - and sometimes even individual words - and how they can form a constellation of notes and ideas from which new texts emerge. We will look at the methods and genres scholars have used from across scientific and humanistic disciplines to represent their thought; we will examine and reproduce English commonplaces, Chinese biji, Zettelkasten (card files), evidence boards, geometrical demonstration, private wikis, and other contemporary systems of personal knowledge management. Through critical discussion, practice, and implementation, students will think deeply about how we explicate and organize our thoughts - both within these systems and beyond them into other written work.
Days/Times: MWF 11:00AM - 11:50AM
Instructor: Heath, Austin Edward
Room: Gilman 134
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (53)
Reintroduction to Writing: Building the Train of Thought
MWF 1:30PM - 2:20PM
Heath, Austin Edward
Greenhouse 113
Spring 2024
As a product, it is rare for a piece of writing to resemble the often circuitous trail of thoughts which produced it. As a process, however, writing is an exercise in the nonlinear organization of a sea of facts and ideas. How do we turn what we think into arguments, narratives, and compositions that are accessible to others? In this class, we will focus on the structuring of thoughts and sentences - and sometimes even individual words - and how they can form a constellation of notes and ideas from which new texts emerge. We will look at the methods and genres scholars have used from across scientific and humanistic disciplines to represent their thought; we will examine and reproduce English commonplaces, Chinese biji, Zettelkasten (card files), evidence boards, geometrical demonstration, private wikis, and other contemporary systems of personal knowledge management. Through critical discussion, practice, and implementation, students will think deeply about how we explicate and organize our thoughts - both within these systems and beyond them into other written work.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Building the Train of Thought AS.004.101 (53)
As a product, it is rare for a piece of writing to resemble the often circuitous trail of thoughts which produced it. As a process, however, writing is an exercise in the nonlinear organization of a sea of facts and ideas. How do we turn what we think into arguments, narratives, and compositions that are accessible to others? In this class, we will focus on the structuring of thoughts and sentences - and sometimes even individual words - and how they can form a constellation of notes and ideas from which new texts emerge. We will look at the methods and genres scholars have used from across scientific and humanistic disciplines to represent their thought; we will examine and reproduce English commonplaces, Chinese biji, Zettelkasten (card files), evidence boards, geometrical demonstration, private wikis, and other contemporary systems of personal knowledge management. Through critical discussion, practice, and implementation, students will think deeply about how we explicate and organize our thoughts - both within these systems and beyond them into other written work.
Days/Times: MWF 1:30PM - 2:20PM
Instructor: Heath, Austin Edward
Room: Greenhouse 113
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (56)
Reintroduction to Writing: The Power of Persuasion and the Manufacturing of Truth
TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Jagdale, Tanavi Shirish
Gilman 217
Spring 2024
×
Reintroduction to Writing: The Power of Persuasion and the Manufacturing of Truth AS.004.101 (56)
Days/Times: TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Instructor: Jagdale, Tanavi Shirish
Room: Gilman 217
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (57)
Reintroduction to Writing: Minding the Body
TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Pehrson, Nora Jane
Gilman 413
Spring 2024
How do we know what we know? Outside the classroom, we participate in all kinds of vital activities that engage us in precise and creative ways, like cooking, running, dancing, playing musical instruments, practicing sports, and writing, to name only a few habitual pursuits. Often, these habits of movement become so ingrained that we stop considering them as intellectual challenges, and indeed, it sometimes feels like we zone out when we’re really absorbed in them. But how is it that our bodies can perform complicated tasks even in the seeming absence of conscious thought? To approach this mystery, this writing course tests the hypotheses of "embodied cognition," an interdisciplinary theory of mind that sees knowledge as inseparable from the body’s practical motions. Through a series of creative and formal writing assignments, we will reflect on our own, frequently non-linguistic experiences in the world, asking what it means to know things in and through our bodies, and how to put that unspoken yet fundamental knowledge into words. This Reintro encourages students to think critically about a broad, consequential topic of growing significance within the fields of cognitive and medical science and the humanities. Through assigned readings, collaborative discussion, and experiments in different genres of writing, students will develop a perspective and voice of their own, and hone the technical skills necessary to express their ideas in changeable forms and contexts.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Minding the Body AS.004.101 (57)
How do we know what we know? Outside the classroom, we participate in all kinds of vital activities that engage us in precise and creative ways, like cooking, running, dancing, playing musical instruments, practicing sports, and writing, to name only a few habitual pursuits. Often, these habits of movement become so ingrained that we stop considering them as intellectual challenges, and indeed, it sometimes feels like we zone out when we’re really absorbed in them. But how is it that our bodies can perform complicated tasks even in the seeming absence of conscious thought? To approach this mystery, this writing course tests the hypotheses of "embodied cognition," an interdisciplinary theory of mind that sees knowledge as inseparable from the body’s practical motions. Through a series of creative and formal writing assignments, we will reflect on our own, frequently non-linguistic experiences in the world, asking what it means to know things in and through our bodies, and how to put that unspoken yet fundamental knowledge into words. This Reintro encourages students to think critically about a broad, consequential topic of growing significance within the fields of cognitive and medical science and the humanities. Through assigned readings, collaborative discussion, and experiments in different genres of writing, students will develop a perspective and voice of their own, and hone the technical skills necessary to express their ideas in changeable forms and contexts.
Days/Times: TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Instructor: Pehrson, Nora Jane
Room: Gilman 413
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (58)
Reintroduction to Writing: Cinematic Adaptations of Victorian Narratives
TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM
Yoo, Jungmin
Gilman 134
Spring 2024
Many of our favorite books have been adapted for the big screen, and some of these adaptations have been remarkably successful. But what happens when a written text is turned into a film? How does it change the way think about the original? And how can we tell if a film is a successful adaptation of the original text? This writing course will explore these questions by focusing on cinematic adaptations of popular Victorian narratives, including Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol and the Sherlock Holmes stories. Through a series of writing assignments, including an academic essay, a film review, and an op-ed, students will consider why we keep retelling new versions of old stories, and how the movement from text to film allows viewers to think about these stories in new ways. Students will work toward a final argumentative essay that synthesizes the texts and themes explored over the course of the semester. The writing assignments, combined with a series of in-class workshops and peer reviews, will encourage students to engage with audiences beyond the classroom and help them to become more agile writers.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Cinematic Adaptations of Victorian Narratives AS.004.101 (58)
Many of our favorite books have been adapted for the big screen, and some of these adaptations have been remarkably successful. But what happens when a written text is turned into a film? How does it change the way think about the original? And how can we tell if a film is a successful adaptation of the original text? This writing course will explore these questions by focusing on cinematic adaptations of popular Victorian narratives, including Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol and the Sherlock Holmes stories. Through a series of writing assignments, including an academic essay, a film review, and an op-ed, students will consider why we keep retelling new versions of old stories, and how the movement from text to film allows viewers to think about these stories in new ways. Students will work toward a final argumentative essay that synthesizes the texts and themes explored over the course of the semester. The writing assignments, combined with a series of in-class workshops and peer reviews, will encourage students to engage with audiences beyond the classroom and help them to become more agile writers.
Days/Times: TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM
Instructor: Yoo, Jungmin
Room: Gilman 134
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (59)
Reintroduction to Writing: Baltimore and the Built Environment
TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM
Loftis, Cameron Jalayer
Gilman 413
Spring 2024
"One of the most frequent statements about Baltimore is that it is a “city of neighborhoods.” Indeed, the city boasts more than 200 official neighborhoods with varying architectural styles, access to city services, and atmospheres. That the people who live in these areas often proudly represent them is testament to the enduring importance of curated, physical spaces at a time when so much seems to depend on digital space. This course encourages attention to our human-made surroundings—campus and dormitory buildings, public parks, transportation systems, etc.—by considering ways people have written and thought about the built environment and through our own investigations into Baltimore’s built environment. Our aim is not only to become more familiar with Baltimore and the effects of human design, but also to recognize the “presence” of the built environment in writing, to better appreciate how it serves as a basis of inquiry and a source of creativity for journalists, novelists, and scholars alike. Together, we will reflect on how the built environment can shape our writing practices beyond simply providing an occasion for description. The course includes a field trip in which students will collaboratively interpret local sites in real time. The final project provides an opportunity to concentrate on one aspect of the built environment of Baltimore or another location of interest."
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Baltimore and the Built Environment AS.004.101 (59)
"One of the most frequent statements about Baltimore is that it is a “city of neighborhoods.” Indeed, the city boasts more than 200 official neighborhoods with varying architectural styles, access to city services, and atmospheres. That the people who live in these areas often proudly represent them is testament to the enduring importance of curated, physical spaces at a time when so much seems to depend on digital space. This course encourages attention to our human-made surroundings—campus and dormitory buildings, public parks, transportation systems, etc.—by considering ways people have written and thought about the built environment and through our own investigations into Baltimore’s built environment. Our aim is not only to become more familiar with Baltimore and the effects of human design, but also to recognize the “presence” of the built environment in writing, to better appreciate how it serves as a basis of inquiry and a source of creativity for journalists, novelists, and scholars alike. Together, we will reflect on how the built environment can shape our writing practices beyond simply providing an occasion for description. The course includes a field trip in which students will collaboratively interpret local sites in real time. The final project provides an opportunity to concentrate on one aspect of the built environment of Baltimore or another location of interest."
Days/Times: TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM
Instructor: Loftis, Cameron Jalayer
Room: Gilman 413
Status: Open
Seats Available: 5/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (60)
Reintroduction to Writing: Love in the Time of War
MW 4:30PM - 5:45PM
Falaris, Marios Marko
Gilman 413
Spring 2024
How does love appear and disappear during times of war? This course explores how war places pressure on various forms of writing, and in turn, what possibilities love creates in these contexts. Each student will select a contemporary conflict to explore for the duration of this course, analyzing a range of war writing, from journalism and social science scholarship to memoirs and film. Through media analysis, critical reflection, epistolary reply, and film review, students will learn how to write themselves into new contexts and areas of knowledge. Students will critically reflect upon considerations of audience, representation and persuasion in their own writing and in the writing of others, ultimately developing writerly agility and critical thinking strategies through their explorations of love in the time of war.
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Reintroduction to Writing: Love in the Time of War AS.004.101 (60)
How does love appear and disappear during times of war? This course explores how war places pressure on various forms of writing, and in turn, what possibilities love creates in these contexts. Each student will select a contemporary conflict to explore for the duration of this course, analyzing a range of war writing, from journalism and social science scholarship to memoirs and film. Through media analysis, critical reflection, epistolary reply, and film review, students will learn how to write themselves into new contexts and areas of knowledge. Students will critically reflect upon considerations of audience, representation and persuasion in their own writing and in the writing of others, ultimately developing writerly agility and critical thinking strategies through their explorations of love in the time of war.
Days/Times: MW 4:30PM - 5:45PM
Instructor: Falaris, Marios Marko
Room: Gilman 413
Status: Open
Seats Available: 1/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (61)
Reintroduction to Writing: Plato’s Art of Rhythm and Rhetoric
TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM
Kim, Jiyoung
Greenhouse 113
Spring 2024
Many of Plato’s dialogues excoriate the so-called ‘sophists’—rhetoricians who teach the art of persuasion. Plato’s teacher, Socrates, was for this reason wary of the art of writing: for the written word can beguile and act to persuade without ensuring that there is ‘internal understanding’. (This, according to Socrates, is best verified in person.) However, Plato notoriously does not do as his teacher did: he writes. Nor does he express his own message against the sophists in a straightforward manner. Instead, he writes dialogues which are themselves rhetorical tours de force, filled with devices such as circumlocution, distancing, particular tones and tempos of speech, scenic atmospheres, interjected mythic stories, and more. There is drama injected as interlocutors storm off, insult Socrates, exclaim that he is impossible to converse with. Each dialogue is carefully crafted and honed so as to have persuasive effect upon the reader and each dialogue unfolds according to its own particular rhythm. Indeed, as many have observed, for Plato ‘truth’ is not something which exists outside the movement of the world, and it has a particular relation with the concept of ‘rhythm’. In this class we will examine the various ways that ‘rhythm’ plays a part of the Platonic dialogues—both in relation to what he wants to say and how he says it. Students will write in genres ranging from their own dialogues to letters to essays. Assignments will be structured so that students can discover a perspective of interest from which they can write a final academic paper analyzing why Plato finds the presence of the artist intolerable in his ideal Republic.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Plato’s Art of Rhythm and Rhetoric AS.004.101 (61)
Many of Plato’s dialogues excoriate the so-called ‘sophists’—rhetoricians who teach the art of persuasion. Plato’s teacher, Socrates, was for this reason wary of the art of writing: for the written word can beguile and act to persuade without ensuring that there is ‘internal understanding’. (This, according to Socrates, is best verified in person.) However, Plato notoriously does not do as his teacher did: he writes. Nor does he express his own message against the sophists in a straightforward manner. Instead, he writes dialogues which are themselves rhetorical tours de force, filled with devices such as circumlocution, distancing, particular tones and tempos of speech, scenic atmospheres, interjected mythic stories, and more. There is drama injected as interlocutors storm off, insult Socrates, exclaim that he is impossible to converse with. Each dialogue is carefully crafted and honed so as to have persuasive effect upon the reader and each dialogue unfolds according to its own particular rhythm. Indeed, as many have observed, for Plato ‘truth’ is not something which exists outside the movement of the world, and it has a particular relation with the concept of ‘rhythm’. In this class we will examine the various ways that ‘rhythm’ plays a part of the Platonic dialogues—both in relation to what he wants to say and how he says it. Students will write in genres ranging from their own dialogues to letters to essays. Assignments will be structured so that students can discover a perspective of interest from which they can write a final academic paper analyzing why Plato finds the presence of the artist intolerable in his ideal Republic.
Days/Times: TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM
Instructor: Kim, Jiyoung
Room: Greenhouse 113
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.101 (62)
Reintroduction to Writing: Writing the American Dream
MW 4:30PM - 5:45PM
Wellington, Shalima Z
Bloomberg 178
Spring 2024
For years, “The American Dream” has been a part of the national discourse. Today, however, many American residents complain that the American dream is dead: that the values of democracy, economic opportunity, and personal freedom that are central to the Dream no longer hold. Yet, despite this conviction, the United States remains a popular destination for people seeking a better quality of life. This writing course will investigate this tension and interrogate various aspects of the American Dream—a process that will help students to better understand the connection between writing and dreaming. Over the course of the semester, students will produce three major writing assignments and multiple smaller weekly assignments. These essays will cover a range of genres, including personal narratives, reviews, academic essays, and more.
×
Reintroduction to Writing: Writing the American Dream AS.004.101 (62)
For years, “The American Dream” has been a part of the national discourse. Today, however, many American residents complain that the American dream is dead: that the values of democracy, economic opportunity, and personal freedom that are central to the Dream no longer hold. Yet, despite this conviction, the United States remains a popular destination for people seeking a better quality of life. This writing course will investigate this tension and interrogate various aspects of the American Dream—a process that will help students to better understand the connection between writing and dreaming. Over the course of the semester, students will produce three major writing assignments and multiple smaller weekly assignments. These essays will cover a range of genres, including personal narratives, reviews, academic essays, and more.
Days/Times: MW 4:30PM - 5:45PM
Instructor: Wellington, Shalima Z
Room: Bloomberg 178
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.351 (02)
Build, Borrow, Repair: Writing With the Station North Tool Library
W 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Brown, Nate
Gilman 195
Spring 2024
In this collaborative, community-based learning course, students will work directly with the staff and volunteers of the Station North Tool Library, Baltimore's decade-old tool-lending library. Together, we'll seek to learn more about libraries of things as we study Baltimore's housing ecosystem and related development and zoning policies. We'll also work to understand how libraries of things and makerspaces across the country aim to empower individuals to undertake building and maintenance projects of their own. Students will engage in qualitative research, perform interviews with and write profiles about various constituents and stakeholders at the SNTL, and seek to understand how community organizations like the Tool Library are founded, funded, and sustained over time.
×
Build, Borrow, Repair: Writing With the Station North Tool Library AS.004.351 (02)
In this collaborative, community-based learning course, students will work directly with the staff and volunteers of the Station North Tool Library, Baltimore's decade-old tool-lending library. Together, we'll seek to learn more about libraries of things as we study Baltimore's housing ecosystem and related development and zoning policies. We'll also work to understand how libraries of things and makerspaces across the country aim to empower individuals to undertake building and maintenance projects of their own. Students will engage in qualitative research, perform interviews with and write profiles about various constituents and stakeholders at the SNTL, and seek to understand how community organizations like the Tool Library are founded, funded, and sustained over time.
Days/Times: W 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Brown, Nate
Room: Gilman 195
Status: Open
Seats Available: 3/8
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.100 (21)
Decoding College Writing
MTThF 3:00PM - 4:00PM
Budenz, Jake Aaron
Gilman 381
Summer 2024
This course examines three broad types of writing students will encounter at and beyond Hopkins: narrative writing, analytical writing, and technical writing. Each has its own implications within the walls of JHU, from research papers to creative projects, but each will extend to the opportunities students pursue outside of academia. Above all, this course demystifies the idea that some writers just “have it” by decoding the processes that lead to great writing and building students’ confidence in written expression to carry forward into their studies and professional pursuits.
×
Decoding College Writing AS.004.100 (21)
This course examines three broad types of writing students will encounter at and beyond Hopkins: narrative writing, analytical writing, and technical writing. Each has its own implications within the walls of JHU, from research papers to creative projects, but each will extend to the opportunities students pursue outside of academia. Above all, this course demystifies the idea that some writers just “have it” by decoding the processes that lead to great writing and building students’ confidence in written expression to carry forward into their studies and professional pursuits.
Days/Times: MTThF 3:00PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Budenz, Jake Aaron
Room: Gilman 381
Status: Approval Required
Seats Available: 15/15
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.004.100 (23)
Decoding College Writing: Black Midwives & American Gynecology
TWTh 9:00AM - 11:30AM
Wright, Lisa E.
Gilman 381
Summer 2024
In this academic writing course, students will analyze and evaluate sources about enslaved Black midwives, nurses, and Black women whose medical practices and bodies were deemed inferior and flawed yet provided foundational knowledge for white practitioners in the mid-1800s. Over the course, students will practice critical reading and writing through summarizing, analyzing, evaluating, and synthesizing ideas to increase their agency as writers and researchers. This course aims to enable students to write not simply what they know but as a means of inquiry.
×
Decoding College Writing: Black Midwives & American Gynecology AS.004.100 (23)
In this academic writing course, students will analyze and evaluate sources about enslaved Black midwives, nurses, and Black women whose medical practices and bodies were deemed inferior and flawed yet provided foundational knowledge for white practitioners in the mid-1800s. Over the course, students will practice critical reading and writing through summarizing, analyzing, evaluating, and synthesizing ideas to increase their agency as writers and researchers. This course aims to enable students to write not simply what they know but as a means of inquiry.