| AS.004.101 (01) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Family Narratives |
TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM |
Watters, Aliza |
Greenhouse 113 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: 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 many acts of selection inherent to that process and, perhaps, the difference between living and telling? In this Reintroduction to Writing course, we will examine the facts, fables, and frontiers of family as constructed in literature, film and visual art, philosophical and public policy debates, political dynasties, and more. We will write reflections, op-eds, academic essays, and more, 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.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (02) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Imagination and Research |
TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM |
Brodsky, Anne-Elizabeth Murdy |
Krieger 304 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: To imagine is to construct something that is not real—to play, create, hypothesize. To do research is to engage in, as Zora Neale Hurston put it, “formalized curiosity.” And to write is to think, learn, discover, and act. This course explores the nature of writing, imagination, and research in situ: We’ll read the work of JHU faculty, wander and write at the Baltimore Museum of Art, and hold rare books in our hands at Sheridan Libraries’ Hinkes Collection of Scientific Discovery. We’ll read poems by Lucille Clifton and Richard Blanco, listen to interviews with Richard Feynman and Ruha Benjamin, look closely at sculpture by Edgar Degas and Simeon Leigh, and draw on scholarship from economics, philosophy, neuroscience, linguistics, education, and writing studies. Throughout, we’ll look closely and write broadly. Students will compose for different audiences and purposes: reflections, inquiries, academic arguments, public writing, field notes. As in all Reintro courses, we’ll work together toward becoming agile writers who understand writing as a social habit, an intellectual practice, and a way to make things happen in the world.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (03) |
Reintroduction to Writing: On the Road in America |
TTh 6:00PM - 7:15PM |
Wexler, Anthony Charles |
Shriver Hall 001 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: 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 “on the road” experience, 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 personal narratives 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.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (04) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Forensics Between Fact & Fiction |
TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM |
Grousdanidou, Antonia |
Gilman 277 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: Ever wanted to be a detective? From crime novels to procedural TV and true crime podcasts, forensic description teaches us how to observe and produce 'objectivity' and truth for entertainment. How does forensic thinking enhance our storytelling and inform our engagement with our everyday surroundings? Why are forensic techniques so fascinating and what are the social implications of our fascination with them? By investigating rhetorical uses of forensic description, we will critically reflect on how different kinds of writing can create truth and the assumption that forensic procedures necessarily yield justice. We will examine texts across popular culture, crime fiction, forensic science, criminology, philosophy, literary theory and the history of medicine. Using forensic tools and concepts, we will critically reflect on how fact-making and storytelling work together in writing. During the semester, students will assemble a case file and try to solve the mystery of themselves as writers. Other assignments will include an academic essay, personal narrative and formal presentation that emphasizes visual storytelling. By connecting forensics with different genres and audiences, and through drafting, peer review and revision, students will develop their process and agility as thinkers and writers.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (05) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Forensics Between Fact & Fiction |
TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM |
Grousdanidou, Antonia |
Gilman 217 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: Ever wanted to be a detective? From crime novels to procedural TV and true crime podcasts, forensic description teaches us how to observe and produce 'objectivity' and truth for entertainment. How does forensic thinking enhance our storytelling and inform our engagement with our everyday surroundings? Why are forensic techniques so fascinating and what are the social implications of our fascination with them? By investigating rhetorical uses of forensic description, we will critically reflect on how different kinds of writing can create truth and the assumption that forensic procedures necessarily yield justice. We will examine texts across popular culture, crime fiction, forensic science, criminology, philosophy, literary theory and the history of medicine. Using forensic tools and concepts, we will critically reflect on how fact-making and storytelling work together in writing. During the semester, students will assemble a case file and try to solve the mystery of themselves as writers. Other assignments will include an academic essay, personal narrative and formal presentation that emphasizes visual storytelling. By connecting forensics with different genres and audiences, and through drafting, peer review and revision, students will develop their process and agility as thinkers and writers.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (06) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Making. Art. Matter. |
TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM |
Russell, Arthur J. |
Gilman 217 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: This course invites art-curious students to rewrite the material histories of art objects and museums. 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 “matter” of art. Course discussion and writing projects will pay special attention to questions of what it means to make and practice a socially engaged art. 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.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (07) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Making. Art. Matter. |
TTh 4:30PM - 5:45PM |
Russell, Arthur J. |
Krieger 304 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: This course invites art-curious students to rewrite the material histories of art objects and museums. 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 “matter” of art. Course discussion and writing projects will pay special attention to questions of what it means to make and practice a socially engaged art. 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.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (08) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Dogs, Plants, Fungi and the Anthropocene |
TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM |
Menezes, Benita Maria |
Gilman 217 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: Defined as the geological age in which human activity is the dominant influence on the environment, the Anthropocene is the age of climate change. In this Reintroduction class we take a step back. Our entry point into the question of climate change is reoriented by drawing daily observations, reading ethnography, and watching movies. We ponder how a focus on the more than human, i.e., animals, plants and fungi expand our understanding of the Anthropocene as a multi-species phenomenon. Thinking with anthropologists, artists and scientists, we learn three techniques into the production of scientific knowledge that integrates natural and human history. We delve into human and more-than human entanglements to stumble upon ‘patchy anthropocenes’ (Tsing et.al) that teach us the arts of seeing environmental phenomenon, introducing new vantage points beyond the human and mapping relationships that enable us to attend to environmental challenges and justice differently. Our tools to develop writing will be drawing a weekly diary, dog meetups, succulent companions, and group in-class debates, to build a peer community of writing and thought. In the process we develop three genres of writing- public, academic and personal narratives (letter to editor, literature review, ethnographic description and story of self), using visual representations of a climate theme to produce a DIY, open access, ‘Anthropozine’. Geared towards different audiences these genres and methods enable you to develop a personal toolkit for writing in and beyond this classroom. You do not need prior training, just a willingness to co-learn new skills. Are you ready?
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
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| AS.004.101 (09) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Exploring the Rhetorics of Care |
TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM |
Hull, Brittany S |
Gilman 277 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: Doctors spend an average of 15 years in medical school and residency to become trained to care for sick patients. Athletes practice daily and maintain a balanced diet to enhance their skills. Moreover, many parents work diligently to support the well-being of their child(ren). The idiomatic phrase take care has a two-fold meaning. First, the phrase is a message associated with one being cautious. Second, it is connected with focusing on something or someone closely. Commonly, take care is used as an informal way of saying “goodbye” when ending a conversation or seeing a guest off after a visit or event of some sort. However, what does it mean to “take care” of someone or something? In what ways do you show that you care about someone/something? How do you know when someone is taking care of you? Who do you care about? Who takes care of you? In this course, students will explore these questions and more to explore the phenomenon of care and taking care in their lives. Students can expect to explore these important questions via scaffolded writing activities which support the major assignments: personal essay, literature review, research-based argument essay, and oral presentation w/visual aid.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 1/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (10) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Exploring the Rhetorics of Care |
TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM |
Hull, Brittany S |
Gilman 277 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: Doctors spend an average of 15 years in medical school and residency to become trained to care for sick patients. Athletes practice daily and maintain a balanced diet to enhance their skills. Moreover, many parents work diligently to support the well-being of their child(ren). The idiomatic phrase take care has a two-fold meaning. First, the phrase is a message associated with one being cautious. Second, it is connected with focusing on something or someone closely. Commonly, take care is used as an informal way of saying “goodbye” when ending a conversation or seeing a guest off after a visit or event of some sort. However, what does it mean to “take care” of someone or something? In what ways do you show that you care about someone/something? How do you know when someone is taking care of you? Who do you care about? Who takes care of you? In this course, students will explore these questions and more to explore the phenomenon of care and taking care in their lives. Students can expect to explore these important questions via scaffolded writing activities which support the major assignments: personal essay, literature review, research-based argument essay, and oral presentation w/visual aid.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (11) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Writing and the Built Environment |
MW 4:30PM - 5:45PM |
Loftis, Cameron Jalayer |
Gilman 277 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: This course proceeds from the supposition that our human-made surroundings—campus and dormitory buildings, public parks, transportation systems, etc.—can shape our writing practices beyond simply providing an occasion for description. We will explore this possibility by looking at ways others have written and thought about the built environment and performing our own investigations into Baltimore’s built environment. In addition to relevant fields like architecture and urban studies, we will consider examples from creative nonfiction, journalism, fiction, public health. We will also embark on several field trips to nearby neighborhoods in Baltimore. The final project provides an opportunity concentrate on one aspect of the built environment of Baltimore or another location of interest.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (12) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Digital Doppelgangers |
TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM |
Schnitzler, Carly Elisabeth |
Gilman 134 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: 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. Beyond individual identity, entire communities and cities now possess their own "data doppelgangers"—algorithmic profiles built from aggregated citizen data that inform municipal decision-making, resource allocation, and policy implementation. 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, civic, and creative contexts. Students will examine both personal and civic dimensions of digital identity, including how cities like Baltimore use citizen data to create municipal "data doubles" for urban planning, service delivery, and governance. By crafting podcasts, 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—individually and collectively—in a rapidly changing digital landscape.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
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| AS.004.101 (13) |
Reintroduction to Writing: On Mindfulness, A |
TTh 4:30PM - 5:45PM |
Schnitzler, Carly Elisabeth |
Gilman 217 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: “I think, therefore I am,” said philosopher René Descartes. Writing is an embodied activity connecting us to ourselves and our own minds as much as it connects us to others. Because writing is a body-mind activity, cultivating and strengthening this link is crucial for our success as writers—this is the goal of the course. Course projects center three core mindfulness themes: time, attention, and practice. We will write research-based essays, craft creative portfolios, and, in the last project, deploy what we’ve learned and try out a mindfulness practice of your choice. We will also develop a regular mindfulness practice together. Each day, class will begin with a guided meditation and journaling exercise. The meditations may range from the Ignatian Examen to a sound bath to a craft to guided writing prompts. Dr. Hartmann-Villalta and Dr. Schnitzler’s sections are linked and taught in tandem; students will exchange writing and have similar discussions across both sections. The sections will collaborate on a semester-long reflective craft project. This course is for you if you are: looking to examine how you use your time; game to try new things; don’t mind silence; and ready to strengthen your mind and writing.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (14) |
Reintroduction to Writing: The Art and History of Higher Education |
TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM |
Egan, Caroline |
BLC 4040 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: What does it really mean to be "educated," and how does college — especially Johns Hopkins — shape that experience for you? In this class, we’ll tackle big questions about learning, identity, and your evolving role as a college student, while diving into the skills you’ll need to succeed here at Hopkins and beyond. You’ll reflect on the unique knowledge, perspectives, and communication styles you bring to the table, and work on building the tools to analyze, write, and interact across different contexts — whether that’s interpreting a challenging research paper, collaborating with a diverse group, or finding your voice in a class discussion. We’ll also explore how power and identity influence how we learn, express ourselves, and connect with others. Expect hands-on projects like crafting a personal learning reflection, building an annotated bibliography, digging into an important issue for an analytical paper, and sharing a presentation on your experiences as a first-year student. By the end of the course, you’ll not only better understand your own educational journey but also be equipped to navigate the challenges and opportunities of life at Hopkins and beyond. Come ready to write, reflect, and reimagine your approach to learning — and to life in college!
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (15) |
Reintroduction to Writing: How to Move Things with Words |
TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM |
Taylor, Chris Ross |
Shriver Hall 001 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: How do you move things—texts and media, arguments and objects, hearts and minds—with words? Translation, in its original sense, describes an act of “carrying across,” or moving something from one place to another. The word’s meaning has since expanded to include movement across languages, cultures, and rhetorical situations. If you have ever watched a subtitled film, played a localized edition of a video game, or read a work of foreign literature in your native tongue, then you have engaged with a world of traveling texts and media in motion enabled by translation. And if you have ever wondered whether something has been lost in translation, you are not alone. Translation is difficult. In fact, scholars have even written an entire Dictionary of Untranslatables. And yet, we still translate. This is less surprising when we realize that, in a broader sense, we are all always already translating whenever we attempt to put thoughts into words, arrange ideas into arguments, or transform theories into action. In the first part of the course, students will engage in a series of experimental translations of short poems by canonical Japanese poets like Matsuo Bashō and Ono no Komachi, subtitle scenes from one of Ozu Yasujirō’s cinematic masterpieces, and practice writing to reflect on and deepen their understanding of the choices made in these translations. Then, in the second part of the course, students will apply these insights to considerations of translation more broadly as they practice translating to and from the academic context through genres like the academic blog post and the manifesto. (No prior knowledge of a foreign language is required or expected.)
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (16) |
Reintroduction to Writing: How to Move Things with Words |
TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM |
Taylor, Chris Ross |
Shriver Hall 001 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: How do you move things—texts and media, arguments and objects, hearts and minds—with words? Translation, in its original sense, describes an act of “carrying across,” or moving something from one place to another. The word’s meaning has since expanded to include movement across languages, cultures, and rhetorical situations. If you have ever watched a subtitled film, played a localized edition of a video game, or read a work of foreign literature in your native tongue, then you have engaged with a world of traveling texts and media in motion enabled by translation. And if you have ever wondered whether something has been lost in translation, you are not alone. Translation is difficult. In fact, scholars have even written an entire Dictionary of Untranslatables. And yet, we still translate. This is less surprising when we realize that, in a broader sense, we are all always already translating whenever we attempt to put thoughts into words, arrange ideas into arguments, or transform theories into action. In the first part of the course, students will engage in a series of experimental translations of short poems by canonical Japanese poets like Matsuo Bashō and Ono no Komachi, subtitle scenes from one of Ozu Yasujirō’s cinematic masterpieces, and practice writing to reflect on and deepen their understanding of the choices made in these translations. Then, in the second part of the course, students will apply these insights to considerations of translation more broadly as they practice translating to and from the academic context through genres like the academic blog post and the manifesto. (No prior knowledge of a foreign language is required or expected.)
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (17) |
Reintroduction to Writing: How to Move Things with Words |
MW 12:00PM - 1:15PM |
Taylor, Chris Ross |
Gilman 134 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: How do you move things—texts and media, arguments and objects, hearts and minds—with words? Translation, in its original sense, describes an act of “carrying across,” or moving something from one place to another. The word’s meaning has since expanded to include movement across languages, cultures, and rhetorical situations. If you have ever watched a subtitled film, played a localized edition of a video game, or read a work of foreign literature in your native tongue, then you have engaged with a world of traveling texts and media in motion enabled by translation. And if you have ever wondered whether something has been lost in translation, you are not alone. Translation is difficult. In fact, scholars have even written an entire Dictionary of Untranslatables. And yet, we still translate. This is less surprising when we realize that, in a broader sense, we are all always already translating whenever we attempt to put thoughts into words, arrange ideas into arguments, or transform theories into action. In the first part of the course, students will engage in a series of experimental translations of short poems by canonical Japanese poets like Matsuo Bashō and Ono no Komachi, subtitle scenes from one of Ozu Yasujirō’s cinematic masterpieces, and practice writing to reflect on and deepen their understanding of the choices made in these translations. Then, in the second part of the course, students will apply these insights to considerations of translation more broadly as they practice translating to and from the academic context through genres like the academic blog post and the manifesto. (No prior knowledge of a foreign language is required or expected.)
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (18) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Writing for Social Justice |
TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM |
Blackmon, Codi Renee Renee |
Greenhouse 113 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: What is at risk when we create space for justice in an unjust world? This course invites students to explore writing as both a means of personal expression and a tool for social intervention. Through storytelling, analysis, and research, we will examine how writers respond to systems of inequality, including racism, ableism, sexism, classism, and more, and how language itself can resist or reinforce those systems. Students will engage with essays, protest literature, digital activism, and public discourse to investigate how writing shapes not only power, but also possibilities for liberation. As students develop their own voices, they will also build foundational skills in academic writing, including critical reading, rhetorical analysis, and research-based argumentation. Projects will include a personal narrative about students’ relationships to social justice, a rhetorical analysis of a public text or movement, and a researched argument on a contemporary issue of their choice. Throughout the course, students will practice writing rooted in reflection, revision, and community accountability, while strengthening their ability to write with clarity, purpose, and audience awareness. Through peer collaboration and feedback, we’ll interrogate what we want to say, who we’re speaking for, with, and to, and what is at stake when we do.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (19) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Writing for Social Justice |
TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM |
Blackmon, Codi Renee Renee |
Greenhouse 113 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: What is at risk when we create space for justice in an unjust world? This course invites students to explore writing as both a means of personal expression and a tool for social intervention. Through storytelling, analysis, and research, we will examine how writers respond to systems of inequality, including racism, ableism, sexism, classism, and more, and how language itself can resist or reinforce those systems. Students will engage with essays, protest literature, digital activism, and public discourse to investigate how writing shapes not only power, but also possibilities for liberation. As students develop their own voices, they will also build foundational skills in academic writing, including critical reading, rhetorical analysis, and research-based argumentation. Projects will include a personal narrative about students’ relationships to social justice, a rhetorical analysis of a public text or movement, and a researched argument on a contemporary issue of their choice. Throughout the course, students will practice writing rooted in reflection, revision, and community accountability, while strengthening their ability to write with clarity, purpose, and audience awareness. Through peer collaboration and feedback, we’ll interrogate what we want to say, who we’re speaking for, with, and to, and what is at stake when we do.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (20) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Exploring Multiple Literacies |
MW 4:30PM - 5:45PM |
Vinyard, Deirdre Will |
Gilman 134 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: 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.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 1/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (21) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Why Poetry? |
TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM |
Berger, Donald W |
Gilman 186 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: In a 2012 New York Times interview critic Steven Greenblatt referred to literature as “the most astonishing technological means that human beings have created, and now practiced for thousands of years, to capture experience.” In contrast, focusing on his own specific literary practice, W.H. Auden famously said “poetry makes nothing happen.” So which one has it right? In this class we’ll focus on whether poetry serves any purpose in society, and if so what, and why. As a means of helping answer this question we’ll also consider whether there’s such a thing as a poetry community, and who belongs to it, as well as how the enjoyment of poetry through close reading might help us decide whether poetry has any bearing on people’s lives. We’ll attend and review a poetry reading, interview local poets, look at books and magazines where poetry appears, engage with critics, write short essays that help fellow readers appreciate poems we find striking, and in the process gain a deeper and richer understanding of what this art form is all about. Members of the class must be able to attend one local live poetry reading outside of class.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Canceled
- Seats Available: 12/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (22) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Health Narratives as Rhetoric of Care |
MW 1:30PM - 2:45PM |
Eduaful, Fredrica Markson |
Gilman 217 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: How do we communicate bodily pain? Who gets to tell health stories, and who is represented in those stories? This course explores health and illness, beyond medical histories and clinical data, by centering human experiences of illness as depicted through narratives. These narratives are shaped by people’s identities, cultures, politics, etc. Our goal is to humanize complex medical realities through health narratives. To achieve this goal, we will focus on reading and writing health narratives across multiple genres and media. Throughout the semester, you will analyze health narratives like The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Something the Lord Made, The Wounded Storyteller, and When Breath Becomes Air, as we reflect on the ethics of writing illness, writing as a mode of healing, resistance, and meaning-making. You will write personal health narratives, reflective essays, analytical pieces, and design graphic health narratives, aiming for healthcare advocacy, engagement, and building connections. Whether you come to this course as an advocate, an aspiring healthcare provider, or someone with a story, you’ll be invited to answer these questions: What does it mean to write about the body? What stories about ailing bodies demand telling? How can writing become a space for agency, resistance, or care?
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (23) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Health Narratives as Rhetoric of Care |
MW 12:00PM - 1:15PM |
Eduaful, Fredrica Markson |
Gilman 217 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: How do we communicate bodily pain? Who gets to tell health stories, and who is represented in those stories? This course explores health and illness, beyond medical histories and clinical data, by centering human experiences of illness as depicted through narratives. These narratives are shaped by people’s identities, cultures, politics, etc. Our goal is to humanize complex medical realities through health narratives. To achieve this goal, we will focus on reading and writing health narratives across multiple genres and media. Throughout the semester, you will analyze health narratives like The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Something the Lord Made, The Wounded Storyteller, and When Breath Becomes Air, as we reflect on the ethics of writing illness, writing as a mode of healing, resistance, and meaning-making. You will write personal health narratives, reflective essays, analytical pieces, and design graphic health narratives, aiming for healthcare advocacy, engagement, and building connections. Whether you come to this course as an advocate, an aspiring healthcare provider, or someone with a story, you’ll be invited to answer these questions: What does it mean to write about the body? What stories about ailing bodies demand telling? How can writing become a space for agency, resistance, or care?
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (24) |
Reintroduction to Writing: The Cost of Free Speech? |
MW 1:30PM - 2:45PM |
Oppel, George |
Shriver Hall 001 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: 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 treatise On Liberty. You write an argumentative essay that challenges Mill’s view. Next, you will engage with a variety of scholarly critics and timely case studies on “hate speech” before writing an opinion piece that proposes what we should do about it. And in the final unit you are invited to research a free speech controversy that interests you. Using online resources like the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), you will map a particular controversy and produce an oral and written report of your findings. Balancing the value of free speech with its costs, we will be focused on how effective counter-speech might hold promise in elevating our public discourse without resorting to heavy regulation and censorship.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (25) |
Reintroduction to Writing: The Cost of Free Speech? |
MW 3:00PM - 4:15PM |
Oppel, George |
Shriver Hall 001 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: 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 treatise On Liberty. You write an argumentative essay that challenges Mill’s view. Next, you will engage with a variety of scholarly critics and timely case studies on “hate speech” before writing an opinion piece that proposes what we should do about it. And in the final unit you are invited to research a free speech controversy that interests you. Using online resources like the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), you will map a particular controversy and produce an oral and written report of your findings. Balancing the value of free speech with its costs, we will be focused on how effective counter-speech might hold promise in elevating our public discourse without resorting to heavy regulation and censorship.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (26) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Writing in Place |
TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM |
Murphy, Jamison F |
Gilman 277 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: How do writers, artists, and musicians represent places, and how do places shape their works? In this course, we will explore regionalism in arts and culture, engaging with the geographies, communities, and distinctive styles of often-forgotten places. Our focus on local contexts will allow us to think about national and global contexts in new and surprising ways. Representations of place will serve as our starting point to raise and answer questions about social and political history, environmental issues, and rural and urban space. Students will write across genres; assignments include a literary analysis essay, a journalistic place profile, a collaborative audio project, and a conference presentation. These assignments will help students develop skills in critically interpreting media, contributing to academic conversations, and communicating their experiences and interests.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (27) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Writing in Place |
MW 12:00PM - 1:15PM |
Murphy, Jamison F |
Gilman 313 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: How do writers, artists, and musicians represent places, and how do places shape their works? In this course, we will explore regionalism in arts and culture, engaging with the geographies, communities, and distinctive styles of often-forgotten places. Our focus on local contexts will allow us to think about national and global contexts in new and surprising ways. Representations of place will serve as our starting point to raise and answer questions about social and political history, environmental issues, and rural and urban space. Students will write across genres; assignments include a literary analysis essay, a journalistic place profile, a collaborative audio project, and a conference presentation. These assignments will help students develop skills in critically interpreting media, contributing to academic conversations, and communicating their experiences and interests.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (28) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Writing in Place |
TTh 4:30PM - 5:45PM |
Murphy, Jamison F |
Gilman 277 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: How do writers, artists, and musicians represent places, and how do places shape their works? In this course, we will explore regionalism in arts and culture, engaging with the geographies, communities, and distinctive styles of often-forgotten places. Our focus on local contexts will allow us to think about national and global contexts in new and surprising ways. Representations of place will serve as our starting point to raise and answer questions about social and political history, environmental issues, and rural and urban space. Students will write across genres; assignments include a literary analysis essay, a journalistic place profile, a collaborative audio project, and a conference presentation. These assignments will help students develop skills in critically interpreting media, contributing to academic conversations, and communicating their experiences and interests.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 1/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (29) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Revising ourselves, our texts, and our world |
MW 1:30PM - 2:45PM |
Goransson, Jennifer |
Gilman 381 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: Revision describes the development of a text into a new (potentially improved) form. This class explores the concept of revision not only in a writing context but also in terms of the ways our identities or beliefs can shift over time, with the help of writing, reading, research, and collaboration. College can be an important time of reflecting on who we are, perhaps revising earlier “drafts” of ourselves, while also determining the parts of ourselves we do not wish to revise. We’ll also discuss writing for internal purposes, such as writing to explore one’s thinking and to access one’s internal rhetoric (self-talk) for self-understanding, potentially working to revise certain detrimental patterns of thinking, and expressive writing as an intervention in healthcare and counselling contexts. As we shift to focus on external purposes for writing, we will consider how writing choices depend on our target audience, purpose, context, and genre. Students will learn effective ways to help other writers revise their writing and how to utilize feedback from others during revision. Students will explore the many meanings of revision as they work on informal journals, a narrative argument essay, a research paper, and a multimodal revision project.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (30) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Revising ourselves, our texts, and our world |
MW 3:00PM - 4:15PM |
Goransson, Jennifer |
Gilman 217 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: Revision describes the development of a text into a new (potentially improved) form. This class explores the concept of revision not only in a writing context but also in terms of the ways our identities or beliefs can shift over time, with the help of writing, reading, research, and collaboration. College can be an important time of reflecting on who we are, perhaps revising earlier “drafts” of ourselves, while also determining the parts of ourselves we do not wish to revise. We’ll also discuss writing for internal purposes, such as writing to explore one’s thinking and to access one’s internal rhetoric (self-talk) for self-understanding, potentially working to revise certain detrimental patterns of thinking, and expressive writing as an intervention in healthcare and counselling contexts. As we shift to focus on external purposes for writing, we will consider how writing choices depend on our target audience, purpose, context, and genre. Students will learn effective ways to help other writers revise their writing and how to utilize feedback from others during revision. Students will explore the many meanings of revision as they work on informal journals, a narrative argument essay, a research paper, and a multimodal revision project.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (31) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Narrating the Recent Past |
TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM |
Yoo, Jungmin |
Gilman 134 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: What does it mean to reflect on and write about the recent past—events and memories we have left behind but whose effects we continue to grapple with? How does writing about the recent past differ from writing about the distant past, or writing in the midst of events as they unfold? How have writers captured the unique ambivalence of the recent past, which, positioned between immediacy and distance, allows for a critical reflection rooted in adjacency? This writing course will investigate these questions by engaging with contemporary writings such as Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day, Zadie Smith’s Intimations, and Michelle Zauner’s Crying in H Mart, which reflect, respectively, on recent world-historical, global epidemiological, and personal events in different ways. Through a series of writing assignments, including a personal essay and an academic paper, students will examine, practice, and critically evaluate different narrative strategies for representing the recent past. The writing assignments, combined with a series of in-class workshops and peer reviews, will encourage students to address audiences beyond the classroom and help them become more agile writers.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (32) |
Reintroduction to Writing: On Paying Attention |
MW 4:30PM - 5:45PM |
Lorts, Justin |
Shriver Hall 001 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: In Fall 2025, Baltimore City joined the parade of school districts across the country in banning cell phones and other personal electronic devices from the classroom. Though the district offered numerous reasons for the ban, chief among them was that phones were making it difficult for students to pay attention. Many of us can probably relate to the struggle to pay attention in our daily lives. Attention is often described as our most valuable asset, and yet it is also something over which we feel we have little control. Indeed, much of our modern world – from entertainment and social media to education and politics – is built on attracting, keeping, and commodifying our attention, often without our knowledge or permission. This writing course treats attention as both a topic of study and a skill to develop. Our work centers on three key questions: how has our attention been captured by technology? How can we – through writing and reflective practices – reclaim our attention? And how can we as writers direct our attention and the attention of others towards things that matter? To explore these questions, we will examine a variety of attention-capturing technologies, from twentieth-century print advertisements to contemporary algorithmic-driven social media. Our readings will draw on insights from a broad range of disciplines, including psychology, neuroscience, philosophy, and computer science. Along the way, we will practice different meditative and attention-focusing techniques and engage with a range of writing forms and genres, including personal narratives, academic essays, reviews, reflective writing, social media posts, and op-ed essays.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (33) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Sheridan Libraries Collaboration |
TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM |
Hartmann-Villalta, Laura A |
Gilman 134 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: 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.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (34) |
Reintroduction to Writing: On Mindfulness B |
TTh 4:30PM - 5:45PM |
Hartmann-Villalta, Laura A |
Gilman 134 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: "“I think, therefore I am,” said philosopher René Descartes. Writing is an embodied activity connecting us to ourselves and our own minds as much as it connects us to others. Because writing is a body-mind activity, cultivating and strengthening this link is crucial for our success as writers—this is the goal of the course. Course projects center three core mindfulness themes: time, attention, and practice. We will write research-based essays, craft creative portfolios, and, in the last project, deploy what we’ve learned and try out a mindfulness practice of your choice. We will also develop a regular mindfulness practice together. Each day, class will begin with a guided meditation and journaling exercise. The meditations may range from the Ignatian Examen to a sound bath to a craft to guided writing prompts. Dr. Hartmann-Villalta and Dr. Schnitzler’s sections are linked and taught in tandem; students will exchange writing and have similar discussions across both sections. The sections will collaborate on a semester-long reflective craft project. This course is for you if you are: looking to examine how you use your time; game to try new things; don’t mind silence; and ready to strengthen your mind and writing.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (35) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Baltimore, Mapped & Mediated |
TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM |
Fusilier, Lauren |
Shriver Hall 001 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: How do we visualize and analyze a city? This course explores Baltimore’s spaces, histories, and communities through digital mapping, media analysis, and multimodal composition. Students will investigate how the built environment, cultural narratives, and historical forces shape urban life, using writing and digital media as tools for inquiry. Working in small teams, students will research and produce a short documentary-style video featuring a Baltimore community or nonprofit. Their work will contribute to a collaborative digital map, creating a shared representation of the city’s cultural and historical assets. Throughout the semester, students will develop skills in video production, interactive mapping, and data visualization, experimenting with different media forms to examine Baltimore’s complexities. They will use spatial mapping, sound recording, and digital research to uncover patterns, frame inquiries, and translate findings into compelling projects. By semester’s end, students will have produced a team-based, research-driven video and contributed to a shared digital map, gaining experience in multimodal composition, ethical representation, and digital media.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (36) |
Reintroduction to Writing: The Maternal Health Crisis |
TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM |
Wright, Lisa E. |
Gilman 217 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: February 2023 data from the National Vital Statistics System states that maternal mortality rates decreased significantly per 100,000 births for White (14.5) and Hispanic women (12.4), and stayed the same for Black mothers (50.3) in the United States. In this first-year writing course, students will explore the history of home births, the medicalization of childbirths, alongside the foundations of American gynecology. Through course readings, discussions, research, and community engagement students will seek to understand the current role institutions, community organizations, future medical practitioners, and public health workers like themselves play in improving maternal mortality rates. Students will write in a range of genres including fact sheets, personal narratives, 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, multimodal composition or public facing writing 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 Margaret Charles Smith, Onnie Lee Logan, Tressie Cottom, Nikky Finney, Serena Williams, Allyson Felix, Beyonce, and other maternal health scholars, researchers, and advocates.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (37) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Making the Silences Speak |
TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM |
Pilatte, Malaurie Jacqueline |
Greenhouse 113 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: In the history of the United States, the voices of women, enslaved people, and indigenous people, among others, have been systematically underrepresented. Their stories have been kept out of the archives, and they have been largely excluded from this nation's history as a result. In recent years, however, scholars, writers and artists have turned their attention to these omissions and tried to bring these silenced voices back to life. In the process, a more complete version of U.S. history has begun to emerge. In this writing course, we'll explore the forces responsible for these silences—illiteracy, racism, violence—and the ways that writers and artists have attempted to make these silences speak. Over the course of the semester, students will analyze multiple genres of historical writing, consider a broad range of literary and artistic works, and visit different archives—the places where historians go to learn about the past. Students will also produce a series of writing assignments, from a museum exhibit script to an academic essay, and from a “guest essay” in the style of the New York Times to a series of personal reflections.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (38) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Making the Silences Speak |
MW 8:30AM - 9:45AM |
Pilatte, Malaurie Jacqueline |
Shriver Hall 001 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: Reintroduction to Writing, JHU’s first-year writing course, steps beyond the writing skills
necessary to get to college: our shared project is to help you learn how to write for the rest of
your life. We approach writing as an adaptable process of inquiry and action, as deeply
informed by reading, and as reflective, embodied, and always emerging practice. In this course,
we will rethink writing in ways that will help you throughout college, your professional career,
personal life, and civic responsibilities in a democracy. Toward that end, this course teaches you
to become an agile, curious, creative, and resilient writer. You will read and write academic
texts; rhetorically analyze a wide variety of sources, including for the conventions of diverse
genres; and write across genres, developing skill and precision in your writing, as well as fluency
across contexts, audiences, and media. Topics vary. Please see the specific semester and
section for current offerings. In fall semesters (only), we offer sections of Reintro reserved for students at the sophomore level and above. All other sections are reserved for first-years. Please see "Special Notes" under each section. Please refer to the section level information for applicable Foundational Abilities when registering.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (39) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Making the Silences Speak |
TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM |
Pilatte, Malaurie Jacqueline |
Greenhouse 113 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: In the history of the United States, the voices of women, enslaved people, and indigenous people, among others, have been systematically underrepresented. Their stories have been kept out of the archives, and they have been largely excluded from this nation's history as a result. In recent years, however, scholars, writers and artists have turned their attention to these omissions and tried to bring these silenced voices back to life. In the process, a more complete version of U.S. history has begun to emerge. In this writing course, we'll explore the forces responsible for these silences—illiteracy, racism, violence—and the ways that writers and artists have attempted to make these silences speak. Over the course of the semester, students will analyze multiple genres of historical writing, consider a broad range of literary and artistic works, and visit different archives—the places where historians go to learn about the past. Students will also produce a series of writing assignments, from a museum exhibit script to an academic essay, and from a “guest essay” in the style of the New York Times to a series of personal reflections.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (40) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Nonhuman Speech |
MW 1:30PM - 2:45PM |
O'Connor, Marisa T |
Gilman 277 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: Who (or what) speaks? Humans are increasingly thinking about their relationship with nonhumans, ranging from AI to animals to corporations, including whether some nonhumans can or should be said to speak. AI speech can be mistaken for human speech, though it is commonly thought not to have meaning or intention in the same way. Researchers are increasingly turning to AI to try to decode the communications of animals and raising the possibility that some animals, such as sperm whales, may be said to use language not unlike we do. Corporations in the United States have legal personhood, which includes the right to free speech. This class will query how we should interpret nonhuman “speech.” How do we recognize speakers, and according to what criteria? What is the relationship between speech and rights? And how does nonhuman speech change our understanding of how we create meaning and connection with one another? Writing will be at the heart of our class. Across a series of writing assignments, we will study and write in multiple genres, including scholarly arguments, personal narratives, proposals, and reflections. Throughout the course, we will explore connections between nonhuman speech and our own.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (41) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Nonhuman Speech |
MW 12:00PM - 1:15PM |
O'Connor, Marisa T |
Gilman 277 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: Who (or what) speaks? Humans are increasingly thinking about their relationship with nonhumans, ranging from AI to animals to corporations, including whether some nonhumans can or should be said to speak. AI speech can be mistaken for human speech, though it is commonly thought not to have meaning or intention in the same way. Researchers are increasingly turning to AI to try to decode the communications of animals and raising the possibility that some animals, such as sperm whales, may be said to use language not unlike we do. Corporations in the United States have legal personhood, which includes the right to free speech. This class will query how we should interpret nonhuman “speech.” How do we recognize speakers, and according to what criteria? What is the relationship between speech and rights? And how does nonhuman speech change our understanding of how we create meaning and connection with one another? Writing will be at the heart of our class. Across a series of writing assignments, we will study and write in multiple genres, including scholarly arguments, personal narratives, proposals, and reflections. Throughout the course, we will explore connections between nonhuman speech and our own.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (42) |
Reintroduction to Writing: The Heist Film |
MW 6:00PM - 7:15PM |
Cram, Mitchell Allan |
Greenhouse 113 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: What is Hollywood’s—and our—fascination with robbery? Challenging assumptions about criminality, justice and injustice, the heist (or ‘caper’) film makes theft into a subversive art form, a creative collaboration between a team of experts trying to pull off something extraordinary. We will study the history of this highly flexible genre to consider: Who are the bad guys? What is robbery? Why do we root for these characters, and why do we find it so enjoyable to watch them fail? These are some of the questions we will explore in “Reintroduction to Writing: The Heist Film,” a first-year writing course that asks us to think about how popular genres like the “caper” function as both escapist fantasy and social commentary. Through writing assignments that include argumentative essays, film reviews, and a creative project, students will also develop skills in critical thinking and communicating in different genres as they examine the history and conventions of the heist film. At the end of the semester, students will use their knowledge of the genre to plan their own heist narrative: a creative research project that uses our university campus as the setting for a daring robbery.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (43) |
Reintroduction to Writing: The Heist Film |
MW 4:30PM - 5:45PM |
Cram, Mitchell Allan |
Greenhouse 113 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: What is Hollywood’s—and our—fascination with robbery? Challenging assumptions about criminality, justice and injustice, the heist (or ‘caper’) film makes theft into a subversive art form, a creative collaboration between a team of experts trying to pull off something extraordinary. We will study the history of this highly flexible genre to consider: Who are the bad guys? What is robbery? Why do we root for these characters, and why do we find it so enjoyable to watch them fail? These are some of the questions we will explore in “Reintroduction to Writing: The Heist Film,” a first-year writing course that asks us to think about how popular genres like the “caper” function as both escapist fantasy and social commentary. Through writing assignments that include argumentative essays, film reviews, and a creative project, students will also develop skills in critical thinking and communicating in different genres as they examine the history and conventions of the heist film. At the end of the semester, students will use their knowledge of the genre to plan their own heist narrative: a creative research project that uses our university campus as the setting for a daring robbery.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (44) |
Reintroduction to Writing: We’re Here, Queer Histories in Baltimore |
TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM |
Speller, Mo Elsmere Longley |
BLC 4040 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: A visitor to Baltimore seeking guidance to LGBTQ+ areas in the city, would likely be directed to the Mount Vernon neighborhood, an area that some call Baltimore’s “gayborhood.” However, LGBTQ+ spaces and organizing can be found throughout Baltimore. This course will focus on the sometimes-hidden histories of LGBTQ+ Baltimore in the neighborhoods closest to the Homewood campus. By investigating local LGBTQ+ archives, we will learn not only to read as writers, but to understand the role of writing – print media and publishing houses – in creating queer communities in Baltimore and beyond. Many of these publications, such as The Baltimore Gay Paper, originated in the neighborhoods closest to Homewood. We’ll also make use of the trans and queer archives held in the Sheridan Libraries, including those centered on LGBTQ student life and organizing at Hopkins. Students will learn the fundamentals of academic writing as they identify and research local sites related to queer history. Drawing on this research, students will determine a location, genre, and medium for sharing the histories they have uncovered with a broader audience.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (45) |
Reintroduction to Writing: We’re Here, Queer Histories in Baltimore |
TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM |
Speller, Mo Elsmere Longley |
Shriver Hall 001 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: A visitor to Baltimore seeking guidance to LGBTQ+ areas in the city, would likely be directed to the Mount Vernon neighborhood, an area that some call Baltimore’s “gayborhood.” However, LGBTQ+ spaces and organizing can be found throughout Baltimore. This course will focus on the sometimes-hidden histories of LGBTQ+ Baltimore in the neighborhoods closest to the Homewood campus. By investigating local LGBTQ+ archives, we will learn not only to read as writers, but to understand the role of writing – print media and publishing houses – in creating queer communities in Baltimore and beyond. Many of these publications, such as The Baltimore Gay Paper, originated in the neighborhoods closest to Homewood. We’ll also make use of the trans and queer archives held in the Sheridan Libraries, including those centered on LGBTQ student life and organizing at Hopkins. Students will learn the fundamentals of academic writing as they identify and research local sites related to queer history. Drawing on this research, students will determine a location, genre, and medium for sharing the histories they have uncovered with a broader audience.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (46) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Eco-narratives, Cli-fi, and Rhetorics of the Natural World |
TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM |
Brown, Nate |
Gilman 134 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: In this section of Reintroduction to Writing, students will engage with a broad range of ecological, literary, and scientific texts and respond to them with their own original criticism, research, presentations, and creative projects. Together, we'll examine questions of biology, environmental poly-crisis, ecology, planetary health and more by reading both classic and contemporary texts from the field. We'll consider the relationships between the natural world and the rhetoric we use to describe that world and we'll examine texts that exist at the intersection of the sciences and humanities, paying close attention to how journalists, essayists, researchers, and storytellers envision and refigure the natural world in their work.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (47) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Eco-narratives, Cli-fi, and Rhetorics of the Natural World |
TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM |
Brown, Nate |
Gilman 134 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: In this section of Reintroduction to Writing, students will engage with a broad range of ecological, literary, and scientific texts and respond to them with their own original criticism, research, presentations, and creative projects. Together, we'll examine questions of biology, environmental poly-crisis, ecology, planetary health and more by reading both classic and contemporary texts from the field. We'll consider the relationships between the natural world and the rhetoric we use to describe that world and we'll examine texts that exist at the intersection of the sciences and humanities, paying close attention to how journalists, essayists, researchers, and storytellers envision and refigure the natural world in their work.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (48) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Drugs in Society |
TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM |
Devenot, Nese Lisa |
BLC 4040 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: 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.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (49) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Do AI's Write? |
TTh 6:00PM - 7:15PM |
Lester, Quinn A |
Greenhouse 113 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: For decades science fiction authors hoped or feared that when artificial intelligence (AI) did appear it would be indistinguishable from humans in both appearance and speech. Yet now that so-called AI has appeared we overwhelmingly interact with it through the disembodied medium of writing. How do we tell the difference in writing between the presence of human intelligence or not? How can we say that any mind, human or non-human, is behind the writing we read? When people writing back and forth with AI believe it is uniquely talking to them, fall in love with their chatbot, or lose touch with reality itself, how does the medium of writing facilitate these outcomes? Students will investigate these questions through readings in philosophy of language and semiotics, documenting and reflecting on their own interactions with Large-Language Models (LLM) and AI, and practice developing their own writing voice through persuasive opinion pieces and creative non-fiction in order to communicate to the public about the emerging but crucial issue of AI's role in public life.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (50) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Do AI's Write? |
TTh 4:30PM - 5:45PM |
Lester, Quinn A |
Greenhouse 113 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: For decades science fiction authors hoped or feared that when artificial intelligence (AI) did appear it would be indistinguishable from humans in both appearance and speech. Yet now that so-called AI has appeared we overwhelmingly interact with it through the disembodied medium of writing. How do we tell the difference in writing between the presence of human intelligence or not? How can we say that any mind, human or non-human, is behind the writing we read? When people writing back and forth with AI believe it is uniquely talking to them, fall in love with their chatbot, or lose touch with reality itself, how does the medium of writing facilitate these outcomes? Students will investigate these questions through readings in philosophy of language and semiotics, documenting and reflecting on their own interactions with Large-Language Models (LLM) and AI, and practice developing their own writing voice through persuasive opinion pieces and creative non-fiction in order to communicate to the public about the emerging but crucial issue of AI's role in public life.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (51) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Wordplay and Classical Rhetoric |
MW 8:30AM - 9:45AM |
Essam, Richard James Llewellyn |
Greenhouse 113 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: Playing with language is part of many people’s daily experience, from puns and plays on words to alliteration and rhyme. Grounding ourselves in the classical rhetorical tradition, this course invites students to go beyond the types of writing done in high school and to develop their writing practice through a playful approach to language. We’ll read and write across a variety of genres and forms, from academic arguments to personal narratives and public-facing writing. We’ll engage in hands-on linguistic revelry with authors like Dr. Seuss, Lewis Carroll, and Raymond Queneau. And we’ll spend time in Sheridan Libraries’ Special Collections, handling old and rare books, manuscripts, and visual materials. Potential authors include, beyond those already mentioned, Aristotle, the Bible, Geoffrey of Vinsauf, Erasmus, G. K. Chesterton, and Sister Miriam Joseph. Please note that the use of electronic devices is not permitted in this class, in order to promote the active engagement of all students in the seminar.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (52) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Wordplay and Classical Rhetoric |
MW 12:00PM - 1:15PM |
Essam, Richard James Llewellyn |
Shriver Hall 001 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: Playing with language is part of many people’s daily experience, from puns and plays on words to alliteration and rhyme. Grounding ourselves in the classical rhetorical tradition, this course invites students to go beyond the types of writing done in high school and to develop their writing practice through a playful approach to language. We’ll read and write across a variety of genres and forms, from academic arguments to personal narratives and public-facing writing. We’ll engage in hands-on linguistic revelry with authors like Dr. Seuss, Lewis Carroll, and Raymond Queneau. And we’ll spend time in Sheridan Libraries’ Special Collections, handling old and rare books, manuscripts, and visual materials. Potential authors include, beyond those already mentioned, Aristotle, the Bible, Geoffrey of Vinsauf, Erasmus, G. K. Chesterton, and Sister Miriam Joseph. Please note that the use of electronic devices is not permitted in this class, in order to promote the active engagement of all students in the seminar.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (53) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Fear and Writing |
TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM |
Koullas, Sandy Gillian |
Maryland 104 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: Do you ever feel afraid to write? Perhaps you’re anxious about how what you write will ‘sound,’ depending on who you are writing for. Or maybe fear shapes what you write about—or prevents you from writing about some things. You may have written in fear, or through fear. Writing is a process of inquiry, reflection, and revision. Can it also be an act of courage? Resistance? Transformation? What do you think about writing that is intended to provoke or instill fear? In Fear and Writing, students will explore how fear shapes our stories, our arguments, and our identities, and the ways in which writing influences fear. Through a diverse selection of texts—ranging from memoirs and cultural critiques to horror fiction and political rhetoric—students will investigate fear as a personal, social, and rhetorical phenomenon. Topics may include fear in media and politics, the role of fear in shaping public discourse, writing about trauma and vulnerability, and the enjoyment of fear in entertainment and amusement. Writing assignments may include personal narratives, analytical essays, film or literature reviews, and a research project that invites students to explore a fear-related topic of their choice.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (54) |
Reintroduction to Writing: FUTURE_SHOCK |
MW 1:30PM - 2:45PM |
Benson, Schuler |
Greenhouse 113 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: In FUTURE_SHOCK, students tackle the tortures of invention in academic writing by analyzing how writers in the past invented entire futures, not out of thin air, but based on what they saw in the present. This course positions writing as a means of using and reusing the texts we encounter around us and the experiences in which we find them as sources of creativity. We’ll draw inspiration from future-focused genres like cyberpunk media and industrial music, and we’ll get tips from unlikely sources like computer hacking, physical media, role-playing games, long-term nuclear waste storage, and more. In individual semester projects, students will write narratives, analytical essays, proposals, arguments, and more as they develop a low-stakes, personal interest into a topic fit for scholarly inquiry. Students will develop their projects’ by collaborating in small crews to learn rhetorical awareness, genre conventions, and research techniques by observing and entering online communities like Reddit, Twitch, and Discord.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (55) |
Reintroduction to Writing: FUTURE_SHOCK |
MW 12:00PM - 1:15PM |
Benson, Schuler |
Greenhouse 113 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: In FUTURE_SHOCK, students tackle the tortures of invention in academic writing by analyzing how writers in the past invented entire futures, not out of thin air, but based on what they saw in the present. This course positions writing as a means of using and reusing the texts we encounter around us and the experiences in which we find them as sources of creativity. We’ll draw inspiration from future-focused genres like cyberpunk media and industrial music, and we’ll get tips from unlikely sources like computer hacking, physical media, role-playing games, long-term nuclear waste storage, and more. In individual semester projects, students will write narratives, analytical essays, proposals, arguments, and more as they develop a low-stakes, personal interest into a topic fit for scholarly inquiry. Students will develop their projects’ by collaborating in small crews to learn rhetorical awareness, genre conventions, and research techniques by observing and entering online communities like Reddit, Twitch, and Discord.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (56) |
Reintroduction to Writing: The Art of Brevity |
MW 3:00PM - 4:15PM |
Wellington, Shalima Z |
Gilman 277 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: In a world that is increasingly concerned with efficiency and immediacy, long-form content seems to be lessening in popularity. It appears that with each rapid technological leap forward, the demand for brief, easily digestible content grows. What is lost or gained by the move toward shorter forms? Which circumstances require shorter forms of writing, and which simply cannot be reduced? Through class discussions, written responses, and a longer essay, we will compare various longer forms with their shorter counterparts. Longer texts may range from books to feature films, while shorter works may include brief essays, short stories, and content developed for social media platforms. These assignments will help students better understand and practice a wide variety of forms while considering the rhetorical impact of length.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (57) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Rhetoric of Digital Networks |
MW 1:30PM - 2:45PM |
Cui, Wenqi |
Gilman 134 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: In today's digital age, the communication of information across various fields—including public health, medicine, STEM, engineering, social sciences, and the humanities—is increasingly mediated by digital platforms and networks such as social media, websites, mobile apps, and interactive tools. This course introduces students to the principles and practices of digital rhetoric, exploring how these principles shape both communication and writing across a wide range of contexts, from health and medicine to technology, science, culture, and society. Throughout the course, students will develop critical thinking, writing skills, and digital literacy to analyze and produce digital content that is credible, accessible, effective, and responsive to diverse audiences. These objectives will be achieved through readings, discussions, weekly short writing tasks, and three major writing assignments—a critical analysis, the creation of a digital message, and a research paper on a chosen topic—allowing students to apply digital rhetoric across a variety of professional and public contexts.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (58) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Rhetoric of Digital Networks |
MW 3:00PM - 4:15PM |
Cui, Wenqi |
Gilman 134 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: In today's digital age, the communication of information across various fields—including public health, medicine, STEM, engineering, social sciences, and the humanities—is increasingly mediated by digital platforms and networks such as social media, websites, mobile apps, and interactive tools. This course introduces students to the principles and practices of digital rhetoric, exploring how these principles shape both communication and writing across a wide range of contexts, from health and medicine to technology, science, culture, and society. Throughout the course, students will develop critical thinking, writing skills, and digital literacy to analyze and produce digital content that is credible, accessible, effective, and responsive to diverse audiences. These objectives will be achieved through readings, discussions, weekly short writing tasks, and three major writing assignments—a critical analysis, the creation of a digital message, and a research paper on a chosen topic—allowing students to apply digital rhetoric across a variety of professional and public contexts.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (59) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Apocalypses in Music and Composition |
TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM |
Oliver, Xavier A |
Gilman 277 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: This is the way the world ends, not with a whimper but with a... killer soundtrack? What music does go well with an apocalypse? A song mourning the world that soon won't be? A triumphant song about making it through world-ending events? Maybe even something whose upbeat, poppy tone sounds remarkably out of step with its occasion? In this course, we'll listen to and write about music accompanying apocalypses of all sorts. Over the semester, you'll be given opportunities to write about songs of your choosing (with approval) using a series of writing genres over the course of three major projects. In our first project, you'll critically analyze a song whose lyrics, composition, performance, or context, strike you as strange or compelling. Our second project offers the choice of creating a piece of public writing focusing on either a subgenre of apocalyptic music and the rhetoric that it employs, or an apocalypse playlist with critical commentary from you as its curator. Finally, we will end the semester with a reflective essay: you’ll be asked to look back on your experiences listening, writing, and thinking in order to reorient those experiences toward future possibilities.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (60) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Apocalypses in Music and Composition |
MW 6:00PM - 7:15PM |
Oliver, Xavier A |
Gilman 134 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: This is the way the world ends, not with a whimper but with a... killer soundtrack? What music does go well with an apocalypse? A song mourning the world that soon won't be? A triumphant song about making it through world-ending events? Maybe even something whose upbeat, poppy tone sounds remarkably out of step with its occasion? In this course, we'll listen to and write about music accompanying apocalypses of all sorts. Over the semester, you'll be given opportunities to write about songs of your choosing (with approval) using a series of writing genres over the course of three major projects. In our first project, you'll critically analyze a song whose lyrics, composition, performance, or context, strike you as strange or compelling. Our second project offers the choice of creating a piece of public writing focusing on either a subgenre of apocalyptic music and the rhetoric that it employs, or an apocalypse playlist with critical commentary from you as its curator. Finally, we will end the semester with a reflective essay: you’ll be asked to look back on your experiences listening, writing, and thinking in order to reorient those experiences toward future possibilities.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (61) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Apocalypses in Music and Composition |
TTh 4:30PM - 5:45PM |
Oliver, Xavier A |
Shriver Hall 001 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: This is the way the world ends, not with a whimper but with a... killer soundtrack? What music does go well with an apocalypse? A song mourning the world that soon won't be? A triumphant song about making it through world-ending events? Maybe even something whose upbeat, poppy tone sounds remarkably out of step with its occasion? In this course, we'll listen to and write about music accompanying apocalypses of all sorts. Over the semester, you'll be given opportunities to write about songs of your choosing (with approval) using a series of writing genres over the course of three major projects. In our first project, you'll critically analyze a song whose lyrics, composition, performance, or context, strike you as strange or compelling. Our second project offers the choice of creating a piece of public writing focusing on either a subgenre of apocalyptic music and the rhetoric that it employs, or an apocalypse playlist with critical commentary from you as its curator. Finally, we will end the semester with a reflective essay: you’ll be asked to look back on your experiences listening, writing, and thinking in order to reorient those experiences toward future possibilities.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (62) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Medical Strategies: Communicating Science Through Games |
W 1:30PM - 4:00PM |
Ludden, Jason |
Maryland 202 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: Students in this class will examine and research how medical systems and communities create and recreate networks of organ donors and recipients. Working with outreach educators and curriculum developers at the Maryland Science Center (MSC), students will learn how to explain complex STEM ideas and theories using effective lessons and projects for students and adults alike. In order to better understand the contemporary organ transplant system and the role infectious diseases may play, students will meet with medical researchers and staff. In addition to writing a research paper and accommodating scientific findings for public audience, the class will develop a boardgame to communicate the organ transplant process. As a course aligned with Center for Social Concern at JHU, we will be closely collaborating with our community partners (MSC and the John G. Bartlett Specialty Practice) to learn about communication and community building.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (63) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Digital Doppelgangers |
TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM |
Schnitzler, Carly Elisabeth |
Gilman 186 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: 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. Beyond individual identity, entire communities and cities now possess their own "data doppelgangers"—algorithmic profiles built from aggregated citizen data that inform municipal decision-making, resource allocation, and policy implementation. 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, civic, and creative contexts. Students will examine both personal and civic dimensions of digital identity, including how cities like Baltimore use citizen data to create municipal "data doubles" for urban planning, service delivery, and governance. By crafting podcasts, 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—individually and collectively—in a rapidly changing digital landscape.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.221 (01) |
Writing Methods: Experiments in Public Writing |
MW 3:00PM - 4:15PM |
Pavesich, Matthew |
Maryland 114 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: If you are interested in writing and designing for public audiences and creatively circulating knowledge beyond the boundaries of campus, this class is for you. We will draw on the methods of the public humanities to learn how to convey to public audiences the complex problems and enduring questions you care most about—whether they’re from philosophy, history, literature, and art, or medicine, science, engineering, and math, or other origins entirely. Together, we will explore how the humanities provide us with the tools for living in a complex world, interacting in our communities, and informing and influencing the public. Through case studies, guest lectures, and direct public engagement, we will explore how to tell important cultural stories, present persuasive and meaningful knowledge, and make visible the multiple histories of our society. The primary work of this course will be a series of inventive and analytical writing projects that build towards a prototype of your own public project on a subject and in a form of your choice. All ideas are welcome: podcasts, films, op-eds, social media campaigns, zines, digital projects, and more. This class is your chance to take intriguing, sticky ideas from your academic work, personal life, or civic commitments and transform them into something that could change the world. All first-year students who have taken Reintro and all students at the sophomore level or above are welcome.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 3/15
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.351 (01) |
Community Engaged Writing: Drugs and Harm Reduction in Baltimore |
T 1:30PM - 4:00PM |
Devenot, Nese Lisa |
Bloomberg 172 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: This course offers a community-engaged approach to writing and public health, focusing on harm reduction strategies related to drug use in Baltimore City. Developed in collaboration with a local harm reduction nonprofit, students will explore the intersections of public health, policy, and community outreach, with an emphasis on addressing substance use beyond alcohol. Through critical reflections, interviews, social media campaigns, and community needs assessments, and other communication projects, students will engage with harm reduction principles and learn to translate them into educational tools for both the broader Baltimore community and the campus population. Working with the university’s Office of Health Promotion and Well-Being, students will develop educational materials on harm reduction for dissemination through social media, blog posts, and in-person events. The course invites students to explore innovative approaches to harm reduction education, integrating emerging trends in substance availability and evolving motivations for use. Students will contribute to local harm reduction efforts by supporting the work of the nonprofit partner in Baltimore City, while also developing strategies to engage the campus community. Through experiential learning, students will examine how writing can drive meaningful change and influence public health outcomes. All first-year students who have taken Reintro and all students at the sophomore level or above are welcome.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: CSC-CE
|
| AS.004.351 (02) |
Community-Engaged Writing: Public Health Campaigns & Information Access |
Th 1:30PM - 4:00PM |
Fusilier, Lauren |
BLC 4040 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: How do you take the complexity of health research, data, and policy and make it meaningful to the people it most affects? In this course, students will collaborate with a local public health organization to develop communication materials that help bridge gaps left by cuts to public health funding. Together, we will explore how public writing—such as infographics, social media campaigns, posters, or other community-facing materials—can make vital information accessible, usable, and impactful. This course is especially valuable for public health majors who want to expand beyond quantitative methods to develop qualitative, people-centered skills: crafting messages that reach real audiences, addressing issues of equity and access, and practicing communication as a form of public care. By the end of the semester, students will not only gain practical experience in multimodal communication but also learn how writing can serve as a critical tool in promoting health and wellbeing. All first-year students who have taken Reintro and all students at the sophomore level or above are welcome.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 2/13
- Tags: CSC-CE
|
| AS.004.441 (01) |
Special Topics in Writing: My Power: Motherhood in the Afterlife of Slavery |
TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM |
Wright, Lisa E. |
Gilman 217 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: Who didn’t feel chills each time Blue Ivy appeared on the Renaissance stage as Beyoncé sings, “This that kinfolk, this that skinfolk, This that war, this that bloodline on the frontline, ready for war,” in her song “My Power?” Beyoncé, a rhetorical Queen herself, positions Blue Ivy to claim her power by countering the years of cruel insults she has endured from the public and social media alike, and also Beyoncé’s performance refutes motherhood tropes, the Matriarch, the Welfare Mother, and the Jezebel. In this space, we’ll center mothers as rhetorical subjects and agents to explore the various subtopics under the umbrella of the rhetoric of motherhood in the afterlife of slavery. You’re invited to listen to, read, research, and enter conversations surrounding motherhood rhetoric. Potential authors include Patricia Hill Collins, Brittany Cooper, Saidiya Hartman, Jennifer Nash, and Claudia Rankine. Students at the sophomore level and above are welcome.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 0/15
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.360.406 (01) |
ERL: Composing Research: Collaborating with Elephants/People/Rivers/Kidneys/Soil |
TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM |
Ludden, Jason |
Gilman 77 |
Spring 2026 |
- Description: This course focuses on writing with/for/about natural resource issues and scientific research. This writing class prepares students for travel to Sri Lanka, in the summer of 2026, to study Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC) while learning about the health of communities around Wasgamuwa National Park. During the spring of 2026, we’ll work with community collaborators in the Baltimore area to address their content production needs and identify spaces and places for text production/revision while also learning about HEC and Sri Lanka. Additionally, we’ll explore ethical representations of data and synthesize complex arguments into public facing documents.
In late May of 2026, we will travel to Sri Lanka for two weeks to work alongside the Sri Lanka Wildlife Conservation Society (SLWCS) – a non-governmental organization committed to saving elephants by helping people – in the Mahaweli Development Project (MDP): a key agricultural region, which has a high rate of both HEC and chronic kidney disease. Students will spend their mornings mapping elephant movements and surveying farmers about elephant related incidences. We’ll also meet with faculty and researchers from the University of Colombo, University of Peradeniya, American Institute for Sri Lanka Studies, and other organizations; these hosted workshops will expose students to new research networks, contemporary scholarship, and help them develop an understanding of collaboration and global scholarship. Additionally, we’ll visit sites of ecological and historical importance. By the end of the trip, students will have worked with GIS databases and technology, sociology and anthropology field methods, and the process of community and public engaged research. After our return from Sri Lanka, students will propose their own research project. Enrollment by permission only. Application required; email [email protected]. Commitment to 2 credit-course in Summer 2026 required.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Closed
- Seats Available: 4/10
- Tags: MSCH-HUM, ENVS-MAJOR, ENVS-MINOR
|
| AS.004.100 (21) |
Decoding College Writing |
MTThF 9:30AM - 11:30AM |
Budenz, Jake Aaron |
Gilman 400 |
Summer 2026 |
- Description: 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. Offered in summers only.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Approval Required
- Seats Available: 22/22
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.100 (22) |
Decoding College Writing |
MTThF 9:30AM - 11:30AM |
Wright, Lisa E. |
SNF Agora 107 |
Summer 2026 |
- Description: 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. Offered in summers only.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Approval Required
- Seats Available: 22/22
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.108 (21) |
Process and Practice in College Writing |
MTTh 9:00AM - 11:30AM |
Speller, Mo Elsmere Longley |
Gilman 313 |
Summer 2026 |
- Description: First-year college students, biomedical researchers, and CEOs all must be able to write successfully for a range of audiences and situations. Effective research papers, scientific articles, and board reports require more ability and skill than simply using generative AI. In this course, students acquire the tools and confidence to write successfully throughout their college career and beyond. By reading, watching, and listening to a variety of texts, students will examine different formal models and practical strategies for writing in various genres and styles, from the analytic and academic to the reflective and personal. Students will explore core concepts of writing, such as argument and audience, with an emphasis on process and practice. Offered in summers only.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Open
- Seats Available: 6/15
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.108 (86) |
Process and Practice in College Writing |
|
Blackmon, Codi Renee Renee |
Online |
Summer 2026 |
- Description: First-year college students, biomedical researchers, and CEOs all must be able to write successfully for a range of audiences and situations. Effective research papers, scientific articles, and board reports require more ability and skill than simply using generative AI. In this course, students acquire the tools and confidence to write successfully throughout their college career and beyond. By reading, watching, and listening to a variety of texts, students will examine different formal models and practical strategies for writing in various genres and styles, from the analytic and academic to the reflective and personal. Students will explore core concepts of writing, such as argument and audience, with an emphasis on process and practice. Offered in summers only.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Open
- Seats Available: 10/15
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.360.430 (30) |
ERL Fieldwork: Collaborating with Elephants/People/Rivers/Kidneys/Soil in Sri Lanka |
|
Ludden, Jason |
|
Summer 2026 |
- Description: This travel course is the second part of a writing-intensive Experiential Research Lab focused on Human-Elephant Conflict and community health in Sri Lanka. Students will work alongside the Sri Lanka Wildlife Conservation Society in the Mahaweli Development Project, mapping elephant movements, surveying farmers, and using GIS, field methods, and community-engaged research. They will meet with faculty and researchers from Sri Lankan and international organizations, visit sites of ecological and historical importance, and develop proposals for their own research projects after returning. Enrollment by permission only.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Approval Required
- Seats Available: 4/6
- Tags: ENVS-MAJOR, ENVS-MINOR
|
| AS.001.100 (01) |
FYS: What is the Common Good? |
T 1:30PM - 4:00PM |
Watters, Aliza |
Greenhouse 113 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: What is “the common good”? How do individuals consider this idea, this question, and how are societies led, or misled, by its pursuit? Together, we will explore sources from a range of perspectives: What does Aristotle’s theory of the common good teach us? Or the Federalist Papers, the design of Baltimore’s public transportation system, meritocracy in higher education, the perniciousness of pandemics, proliferation of nuclear weapons, restorative justice, or intimate love? Drawing from film, journal articles, literature, and other sources—authors/creators include Rachel Carson, James Baldwin, Bong Joon-ho, Jhumpa Lahiri, Michael Sandel, and more—this First-Year Seminar is as much about how we ask and interrogate challenging, timeless questions as it is about the answers themselves. Engaging our material and each other, we will work together to hone the habits of scholarly inquiry essential to this practice: reading, writing, talking. The seminar will culminate in a final, collaborative research project that seeks to map, and manifest, versions of the common good.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Open
- Seats Available: 12/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.001.200 (01) |
FYS: Great Adaptations in the Animal Kingdom |
F 1:30PM - 4:00PM |
Moss, Cynthia F. |
Ames 217 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: Animals have evolved a vast array of sensory systems that support a rich repertoire of natural behaviors. Some animals live in dark environments and use tactile, chemical, electrical and auditory sensors that allow them to operate in the absence of light. Other animals rely heavily on vision and take advantage of colors that humans cannot see. In this First-Year Seminar, we will explore extraordinary adaptations of sensory systems in animals that live on land and under water. Our focus will be on sensory systems that guide navigation and foraging behaviors in species as diverse as star-nosed moles, weakly electric fish, honeybees, and echolocating bats. As we delve into understanding the extraordinary sensory systems of selected species, we will also consider how these animals have inspired literary and visual artists. We aim to introduce students to a rich interdisciplinary experience that opens their eyes to new areas of inquiry as they take advantage of local resources, such as the National Aquarium, Baltimore Zoo, Wyman Park, Peabody Institute, and Baltimore Museum of Art.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Open
- Seats Available: 12/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.001.280 (01) |
FYS: Spilling the Tea - The Political Economy & Ecology of Tea |
W 3:00PM - 5:30PM |
Kuo, Huei-Ying; Ludden, Jason |
Greenhouse 113 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: Tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world, with almost 7 million tonnes grown, harvested, processed, and packaged annually. Whether you use loose leaf or tea bags, drink green tea or black, add sugar or cream, use it to stay awake or go to sleep, or consume it in solitude or with friends to share gossip, you are participating in the worldwide consumption of tea, which has created economic relations (and wars), new ecosystems for plants and animals (and humans), and is culturally significant in public and private spaces. In short, tea organizes people’s homes, government meetings, economies, investment markets, and landscapes. In this First-Year Seminar, we will examine the history and present-day production of tea and how it creates and recreates social relations and environments. In addition to learning about tea (and tasting different kinds), students will be exposed to research methodologies in the fields of sociology, anthropology, and communication studies. By the end of class, students will have an understanding of the different kinds of teas (and how to prepare them), the role tea plays in society, and how tea functions within ecosystems.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Open
- Seats Available: 12/12
- Tags: CES-LE
|
| AS.004.101 (01) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Writing for Social Justice |
TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM |
Blackmon, Codi Renee Renee |
Gilman 381 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: What is at risk when we create space for justice in an unjust world? This course invites students to explore writing as both a means of personal expression and a tool for social intervention. Through storytelling, analysis, and research, we will examine how writers respond to systems of inequality, including racism, ableism, sexism, classism, and more, and how language itself can resist or reinforce those systems. Students will engage with essays, protest literature, digital activism, and public discourse to investigate how writing shapes not only power, but also possibilities for liberation. As students develop their own voices, they will also build foundational skills in academic writing, including critical reading, rhetorical analysis, and research-based argumentation. Projects will include a personal narrative about students’ relationships to social justice, a rhetorical analysis of a public text or movement, and a researched argument on a contemporary issue of their choice. Throughout the course, students will practice writing rooted in reflection, revision, and community accountability, while strengthening their ability to write with clarity, purpose, and audience awareness. Through peer collaboration and feedback, we’ll interrogate what we want to say, who we’re speaking for, with, and to, and what is at stake when we do.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Open
- Seats Available: 2/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (02) |
Reintroduction to Writing: A Tree Grows in Baltimore - Community, Genetics, & Ecosystems, B |
MW 1:30PM - 2:45PM |
Fusilier, Lauren |
Gilman 313 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: "Who will speak for the trees?” the Lorax asks. This is more than a question; it is an invitation to action. Trees exist both in nature and in our human landscapes: we plant, trim, protect, harvest, and burn them; they provide shade, food, habitats, water, pharmaceuticals … But what are they? In this class, we will explore arboreal politics: how do trees shape communities for themselves and for others; what is the economic value of (a) tree(s); who owns the genetic and intellectual property of tree; and where do trees fit in ecosystems? Students will research tree species, grapple with the generic conventions of field guides, collaborate with community partners to
understand the work trees do in Baltimore (and beyond), and play with the rhetorics of space and place to create/recreate/disrupt public engagement.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Open
- Seats Available: 5/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (03) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Sonic Storytelling |
TTh 4:30PM - 5:45PM |
Fusilier, Lauren |
Gilman 277 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: How does sound shape our experiences and influence our understanding of the world? This course explores the multifaceted impact of sound through storytelling, utilizing sources like the Baltimore Soundscape Project, the industrial echoes of Baltimore's past at the Museum of Industry, and the musical diversity of the Peabody Conservatory. Throughout the course, students will engage in multimodal writing projects to develop iterative writing processes, enhance their critical thinking, and improve their skills in summarization, evidence-based argumentation, synthesis, and citation. Readings will span academic theory on sonic rhetoric, popular sources on social justice and accessibility issues, and scientific writings on sound phenomena, supporting students as they explore topics aligned with their personal and scholarly interests. The analytical and technical approaches to sound explored in this course will be particularly relevant for students in STEM fields, illustrating how strong communication skills can enhance their abilities in research documentation, technical writing, and presenting scientific findings.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Open
- Seats Available: 6/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (04) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Writing the Hopkins Sesquicentennial |
TTh 6:00PM - 7:15PM |
Hartmann-Villalta, Laura A |
Gilman 217 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: In 2026, Johns Hopkins University is celebrating the 150th anniversary of its founding. In celebration, commemoration, and investigation of this historic year and its array of events, this writing course will only be offered Fall 2026. As such, this course will take you across time and space on campus as we navigate the past, present, and future of the institution. This is the course for you if you enjoy questions like: when did Hopkins first admit women as undergraduates? How do we continue to use and support libraries, university publishing, and academic freedom as educational technology grows within the institution? Whose history are we centering when we mark the sesquicentennial? We will work with Hopkins Retrospective at the Sheridan Library to explore Hopkins history, seeing global history – such as World War I – as local history through campus contributions, ultimately writing a short essay about an archival item. Over the course of the semester, we’ll read excerpts from University Keywords (JHU Press, 2025), edited by Andy Hines, and students will apply a key word to Hopkins, investigating its presence and hypothesizing its future. And more!
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Open
- Seats Available: 8/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (05) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Exploring the Rhetorics of Care |
TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM |
Hull, Brittany S |
Gilman 313 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: Doctors spend an average of 15 years in medical school and residency to become trained to care for sick patients. Athletes practice daily and maintain a balanced diet to enhance their skills. Moreover, many parents work diligently to support the well-being of their child(ren). The idiomatic phrase take care has a two-fold meaning. First, the phrase is a message associated with one being cautious. Second, it is connected with focusing on something or someone closely. Commonly, take care is used as an informal way of saying “goodbye” when ending a conversation or seeing a guest off after a visit or event of some sort. However, what does it mean to “take care” of someone or something? In what ways do you show that you care about someone/something? How do you know when someone is taking care of you? Who do you care about? Who takes care of you? In this course, students will explore these questions and more to explore the phenomenon of care and taking care in their lives. Students can expect to explore these important questions via scaffolded writing activities which support the major assignments: personal essay, literature review, research-based argument essay, and oral presentation w/visual aid.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Open
- Seats Available: 9/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (06) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Exploring the Rhetorics of Care |
TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM |
Hull, Brittany S |
Gilman 313 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: Doctors spend an average of 15 years in medical school and residency to become trained to care for sick patients. Athletes practice daily and maintain a balanced diet to enhance their skills. Moreover, many parents work diligently to support the well-being of their child(ren). The idiomatic phrase take care has a two-fold meaning. First, the phrase is a message associated with one being cautious. Second, it is connected with focusing on something or someone closely. Commonly, take care is used as an informal way of saying “goodbye” when ending a conversation or seeing a guest off after a visit or event of some sort. However, what does it mean to “take care” of someone or something? In what ways do you show that you care about someone/something? How do you know when someone is taking care of you? Who do you care about? Who takes care of you? In this course, students will explore these questions and more to explore the phenomenon of care and taking care in their lives. Students can expect to explore these important questions via scaffolded writing activities which support the major assignments: personal essay, literature review, research-based argument essay, and oral presentation w/visual aid.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Open
- Seats Available: 6/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (07) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Nonhuman Speech |
MW 3:00PM - 4:15PM |
O'Connor, Marisa T |
Gilman 400 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: Who (or what) speaks? Humans are increasingly thinking about their relationship with nonhumans, ranging from AI to animals to corporations, including whether some nonhumans can or should be said to speak. AI speech can be mistaken for human speech, though it is commonly thought not to have meaning or intention in the same way. Researchers are increasingly turning to AI to try to decode the communications of animals and raising the possibility that some animals, such as sperm whales, may be said to use language not unlike we do. Corporations in the United States have legal personhood, which includes the right to free speech. This class will query how we should interpret nonhuman “speech.” How do we recognize speakers, and according to what criteria? What is the relationship between speech and rights? And how does nonhuman speech change our understanding of how we create meaning and connection with one another? Writing will be at the heart of our class. Across a series of writing assignments, we will study and write in multiple genres, including scholarly arguments, personal narratives, proposals, and reflections. Throughout the course, we will explore connections between nonhuman speech and our own.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Waitlist Only
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (08) |
Reintroduction to Writing: When Doctors Write |
MW 4:30PM - 5:45PM |
Wexler, Anthony Charles |
Gilman 313 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: What can stories, essays, and memoirs reveal about medicine that charts and case reports cannot? In this first-year writing course, students will explore how doctors use writing to examine different aspects of the medical profession, from the realities of patient care to the human experience of illness and mortality. Over the course of the semester, students will read and analyze contemporary memoirs and essays by physicians, alongside short stories and reflective writing about medical training and practice. These readings invite students to reflect on essential questions about their own personal and professional identities: Why do I want to become a doctor? What experiences have shaped my understanding of medicine? How can writing help us make sense of the demands—both intellectual and human—of a medical career? Through a series of reflective and analytical essays, students will develop skills in close reading, argumentation, and revision. They will also gain a deeper appreciation for the ways language shapes our understanding of the body, illness, and care.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Open
- Seats Available: 1/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (09) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Imagination and Research |
TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM |
Brodsky, Anne-Elizabeth Murdy |
Gilman 134 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: To imagine is to construct something that is not real—to play, create, hypothesize. To do research is to engage in, as Zora Neale Hurston put it, “formalized curiosity.” And to write is to think, learn, discover, and act. This course explores the nature of writing, imagination, and research in situ: We’ll read the work of JHU faculty, wander and write at the Baltimore Museum of Art, and hold rare books in our hands at Sheridan Libraries’ Hinkes Collection of Scientific Discovery. We’ll read poems by Lucille Clifton and Richard Blanco, listen to interviews with Richard Feynman and Ruha Benjamin, look closely at sculpture by Edgar Degas and Simeon Leigh, and draw on scholarship from economics, philosophy, neuroscience, linguistics, education, and writing studies. Throughout, we’ll look closely and write broadly. Students will compose for different audiences and purposes: reflections, inquiries, academic arguments, public writing, field notes. As in all Reintro courses, we’ll work together toward becoming agile writers who understand writing as a social habit, an intellectual practice, and a way to make things happen in the world.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Canceled
- Seats Available: 12/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (10) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Drugs in Society |
TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM |
Devenot, Nese Lisa |
Krieger Laverty |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: 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.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Reserved Open
- Seats Available: 12/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (11) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Drugs in Society |
TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM |
Devenot, Nese Lisa |
Gilman 217 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: 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.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Reserved Open
- Seats Available: 12/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (12) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Caring and Writing from the Clinical Margins |
MW 8:30AM - 9:45AM |
Eduaful, Fredrica Markson |
Gilman 217 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: We live in a cure-obsessed society. Clinicians find new medical solutions, while society invents newer ways to make ailing bodies (in)visible. In this course, we are invited to explore the meaning of living within the margins of clinical diagnosis, and to contend with identity transformation during such moments. Here, we position health and illness as clinical and socio-cultural constructs that shape lived experiences. We will read texts like When Breathe Becomes Air, The Cancer Journals, The Yellow Wallpaper and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, using them as guides to learning how narrative-rhetorical writing navigates the tension between medical, socio-cultural, and personal illness experiences. Through empathetic listening and witnessing, we will craft personal narratives, reflective essays and multimodal pieces for advocacy and meaning-making purposes. Together, we are invited to sit with the questions: what is made visible and rendered invisible within the clinical experience of illness? And how can writing resist dominant notions about illness and reclaim agency? For us, care along with cure is the goal.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Reserved Open
- Seats Available: 12/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (13) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Caring and Writing from the Clinical Margins |
MW 12:00PM - 1:15PM |
Eduaful, Fredrica Markson |
Gilman 217 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: We live in a cure-obsessed society. Clinicians find new medical solutions, while society invents newer ways to make ailing bodies (in)visible. In this course, we are invited to explore the meaning of living within the margins of clinical diagnosis, and to contend with identity transformation during such moments. Here, we position health and illness as clinical and socio-cultural constructs that shape lived experiences. We will read texts like When Breathe Becomes Air, The Cancer Journals, The Yellow Wallpaper and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, using them as guides to learning how narrative-rhetorical writing navigates the tension between medical, socio-cultural, and personal illness experiences. Through empathetic listening and witnessing, we will craft personal narratives, reflective essays and multimodal pieces for advocacy and meaning-making purposes. Together, we are invited to sit with the questions: what is made visible and rendered invisible within the clinical experience of illness? And how can writing resist dominant notions about illness and reclaim agency? For us, care along with cure is the goal.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Reserved Open
- Seats Available: 12/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (14) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Play, Logos, and Classical Rhetoric |
MW 8:30AM - 9:45AM |
Essam, Richard James Llewellyn |
Gilman 77 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: Rhetoric, says the scholar Sister Miriam Joseph, is “the art of communicating thought from one mind to another, the adaptation of language to circumstance.” But what happens to this art when we play with language? Does wordplay — like puns and plays on words, parallelisms and paradoxes, alliteration and anagrams — muddy our thoughts, elevating cleverness and linguistic trickery over truth and virtue? Or can wordplay serve to heighten our ability to express truth, goodness, and beauty in our writing? In this course, we'll approach these questions in conversation with authors and texts both ancient (Gorgias, Plato, Aristotle, the Bible) and modern (Lewis Carroll, G. K. Chesterton, Dr. Seuss). We’ll read and write across a variety of genres and forms, including academic arguments and personal narratives. We’ll approach language in a spirit of play and whimsy, engaging in hands-on rhetorical revelry and wordplay. And we’ll spend time in both Sheridan Libraries' Special Collections and the JHU Archaeological Museum, reading and handling old books and artifacts. Please note that the use of electronic devices is not permitted in this class, in order to promote the active engagement of all students in the seminar.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Reserved Open
- Seats Available: 12/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (15) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Play, Logos, and Classical Rhetoric |
MW 12:00PM - 1:15PM |
Essam, Richard James Llewellyn |
Gilman 277 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: Rhetoric, says the scholar Sister Miriam Joseph, is “the art of communicating thought from one mind to another, the adaptation of language to circumstance.” But what happens to this art when we play with language? Does wordplay — like puns and plays on words, parallelisms and paradoxes, alliteration and anagrams — muddy our thoughts, elevating cleverness and linguistic trickery over truth and virtue? Or can wordplay serve to heighten our ability to express truth, goodness, and beauty in our writing? In this course, we'll approach these questions in conversation with authors and texts both ancient (Gorgias, Plato, Aristotle, the Bible) and modern (Lewis Carroll, G. K. Chesterton, Dr. Seuss). We’ll read and write across a variety of genres and forms, including academic arguments and personal narratives. We’ll approach language in a spirit of play and whimsy, engaging in hands-on rhetorical revelry and wordplay. And we’ll spend time in both Sheridan Libraries' Special Collections and the JHU Archaeological Museum, reading and handling old books and artifacts. Please note that the use of electronic devices is not permitted in this class, in order to promote the active engagement of all students in the seminar.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Reserved Open
- Seats Available: 12/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (16) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Revising ourselves, our texts, our world |
MW 3:00PM - 4:15PM |
Goransson, Jennifer |
Gilman 186 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: Revision describes the development of a text into a new (potentially improved) form. This class explores the concept of revision not only in a writing context but also in terms of the ways our identities or beliefs can shift over time, with the help of writing, reading, research, and collaboration. College can be an important time of reflecting on who we are, perhaps revising earlier “drafts” of ourselves; for this reason, we’ll discuss writing for internal purposes, such as: (a) writing to explore one’s thinking and access one’s internal rhetoric (self-talk) for self-understanding, potentially working to revise certain detrimental patterns of thinking, and (b) expressive writing as an intervention in healthcare and counselling contexts. As we shift to focus on external purposes for writing, we will consider how writing choices shift depending on our target audience and the change/revision we hope our text might bring about in the world. Students will learn effective ways to help other writers revise their writing, and how to best utilize feedback from others during revision. Students will explore the many meanings of revision as they work on informal journals, a narrative argument essay, a research-based paper, and a multimodal revision project.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Reserved Open
- Seats Available: 12/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (17) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Forensics Between Fact & Fiction |
TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM |
Grousdanidou, Antonia |
Gilman 217 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: Ever wanted to be a detective? From crime novels to procedural TV and true crime podcasts, forensic description teaches us how to observe and produce 'objectivity' and truth for entertainment. How does forensic thinking enhance our storytelling and inform our engagement with our everyday surroundings? Why are forensic techniques so fascinating and what are the social implications of our fascination with them? By investigating rhetorical uses of forensic description, we will critically reflect on how different kinds of writing can create truth and the assumption that forensic procedures necessarily yield justice. We will examine texts across popular culture, crime fiction, forensic science, criminology, philosophy, literary theory and the history of medicine. Using forensic tools and concepts, we will critically reflect on how fact-making and storytelling work together in writing. During the semester, students will assemble a case file and try to solve the mystery of themselves as writers. Other assignments will include an academic essay, personal narrative and formal presentation that emphasizes visual storytelling. By connecting forensics with different genres and audiences, and through drafting, peer review and revision, students will develop their process and agility as thinkers and writers.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Reserved Open
- Seats Available: 12/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (18) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Forensics Between Fact & Fiction |
TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM |
Grousdanidou, Antonia |
Gilman 217 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: Ever wanted to be a detective? From crime novels to procedural TV and true crime podcasts, forensic description teaches us how to observe and produce 'objectivity' and truth for entertainment. How does forensic thinking enhance our storytelling and inform our engagement with our everyday surroundings? Why are forensic techniques so fascinating and what are the social implications of our fascination with them? By investigating rhetorical uses of forensic description, we will critically reflect on how different kinds of writing can create truth and the assumption that forensic procedures necessarily yield justice. We will examine texts across popular culture, crime fiction, forensic science, criminology, philosophy, literary theory and the history of medicine. Using forensic tools and concepts, we will critically reflect on how fact-making and storytelling work together in writing. During the semester, students will assemble a case file and try to solve the mystery of themselves as writers. Other assignments will include an academic essay, personal narrative and formal presentation that emphasizes visual storytelling. By connecting forensics with different genres and audiences, and through drafting, peer review and revision, students will develop their process and agility as thinkers and writers.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Reserved Open
- Seats Available: 12/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (19) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Fear and Writing |
TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM |
Koullas, Sandy Gillian |
Gilman 381 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: Do you ever feel afraid to write? Perhaps you’re anxious about how what you write will ‘sound,’ depending on who you are writing for. Or maybe fear shapes what you write about—or prevents you from writing about some things. You may have written in fear, or through fear. Writing is a process of inquiry, reflection, and revision. Can it also be an act of courage? Resistance? Transformation? What do you think about writing that is intended to provoke or instill fear? In Fear and Writing, students will explore how fear shapes our stories, our arguments, and our identities, and the ways in which writing influences fear. Through a diverse selection of texts—ranging from memoirs and cultural critiques to horror fiction and political rhetoric—students will investigate fear as a personal, social, and rhetorical phenomenon. Topics may include fear in media and politics, the role of fear in shaping public discourse, writing about trauma and vulnerability, and the enjoyment of fear in entertainment and amusement. Writing assignments may include personal narratives, analytical essays, film or literature reviews, and a research project that invites students to explore a fear-related topic of their choice.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Reserved Open
- Seats Available: 12/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (20) |
Reintroduction to Writing: A Tree Grows in Baltimore - Community, Genetics, & Ecosystems, A |
MW 1:30PM - 2:45PM |
Ludden, Jason |
Gilman 413 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: "Who will speak for the trees?” the Lorax asks. This is more than a question; it is an invitation to action. Trees exist both in nature and in our human landscapes: we plant, trim, protect, harvest, and burn them; they provide shade, food, habitats, water, pharmaceuticals … But what are they? In this class, we will explore arboreal politics: how do trees shape communities for
themselves and for others; what is the economic value of (a) tree(s); who owns the genetic and intellectual property of tree; and where do trees fit in ecosystems? Students will research tree species, grapple with the generic conventions of field guides, collaborate with community partners to understand the work trees do in Baltimore (and beyond), and play with the
rhetorics of space and place to create/recreate/disrupt public engagement.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Reserved Open
- Seats Available: 12/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (21) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Repair: Recycle: Reuse: Rewrite |
TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM |
Menezes, Benita Maria |
Gilman 277 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: Our consumer culture relies on the mindset that everything is replaceable. As soon as something stops working, or we grow tired of it, we want the next new thing. And we rarely think about these objects after we discard them. Their stories end, at least for us, the moment we throw them away. But what if we slowed down and tried to extend their lives? What if we took the planet's long-term health more seriously? How might our relationships with these objects change?
In this writing course, we'll consider the important role that repairing, recycling, and reusing can play in our lives. Over the course of the semester, we'll perform visible repair (sashiko), reuse materials to craft objects (papier mache), upcycle waste (tees into totes), and discuss art conservation practices (restoration), all in an effort to challenge the mindset associated with our consumer culture.
These restorative practices will also help us to think more deeply about writing and the work of revision—a process that involves the recycling of words and ideas from one draft to another. The class will feature three main assignments: Through personal narrative, we will learn how to narrate our life experiences; through an op-ed, we'll add our voices to public debates about climate change; and through a literature review, we'll learn how to research some aspect of climate change. The work of writing and revising these essays will help us think more deeply about how we care for our increasingly fragile world.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Reserved Open
- Seats Available: 12/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (22) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Writing in Place |
MW 4:30PM - 5:45PM |
Murphy, Jamison F |
Gilman 217 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: How do writers, artists, and musicians represent places, and how do places shape their works? In this course, we will explore regionalism in arts and culture, engaging with the geographies, communities, and distinctive styles of often-forgotten places. Our focus on local contexts will allow us to think about national and global contexts in new and surprising ways. Representations of place will serve as our starting point to raise and answer questions about social and political history, environmental issues, and rural and urban space. Students will write across genres; assignments include a literary analysis essay, a journalistic place profile, a collaborative audio project, and a conference presentation. These assignments will help students develop skills in critically interpreting media, contributing to academic conversations, and communicating their experiences and interests.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Reserved Open
- Seats Available: 12/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (23) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Writing in Place |
MW 6:00PM - 7:15PM |
Murphy, Jamison F |
Gilman 217 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: How do writers, artists, and musicians represent places, and how do places shape their works? In this course, we will explore regionalism in arts and culture, engaging with the geographies, communities, and distinctive styles of often-forgotten places. Our focus on local contexts will allow us to think about national and global contexts in new and surprising ways. Representations of place will serve as our starting point to raise and answer questions about social and political history, environmental issues, and rural and urban space. Students will write across genres; assignments include a literary analysis essay, a journalistic place profile, a collaborative audio project, and a conference presentation. These assignments will help students develop skills in critically interpreting media, contributing to academic conversations, and communicating their experiences and interests.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Reserved Open
- Seats Available: 12/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (24) |
Reintroduction to Writing: The Cost of Free Speech? |
MW 1:30PM - 2:45PM |
Oppel, George |
Gilman 277 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: 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 treatise On Liberty. You write an argumentative essay that challenges Mill’s view. Next, you will engage with a variety of scholarly critics and timely case studies on “hate speech” before writing an opinion piece that proposes what we should do about it. And in the final unit you are invited to research a free speech controversy that interests you. Using online resources like the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), you will map a particular controversy and produce an oral and written report of your findings. Balancing the value of free speech with its costs, we will be focused on how effective counter-speech might hold promise in elevating our public discourse without resorting to heavy regulation and censorship.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Reserved Open
- Seats Available: 12/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (25) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Making the Silences Speak |
MW 3:00PM - 4:15PM |
Pilatte, Malaurie Jacqueline |
Gilman 277 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: In the history of the United States, the voices of women, enslaved people, and indigenous people, among others, have been systematically underrepresented. Their stories have been kept out of the archives, and they have been largely excluded from this nation's history as a result. In recent years, however, scholars, writers and artists have turned their attention to these omissions and tried to bring these silenced voices back to life. In the process, a more complete version of U.S. history has begun to emerge. In this writing course, we'll explore the forces responsible for these silences—illiteracy, racism, violence—and the ways that writers and artists have attempted to make these silences speak. Over the course of the semester, students will analyze multiple genres of historical writing, consider a broad range of literary and artistic works, and visit different archives—the places where historians go to learn about the past. Students will also produce a series of writing assignments, from a museum exhibit script to an academic essay, and from a “guest essay” in the style of the New York Times to a series of personal reflections.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Reserved Open
- Seats Available: 12/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (26) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Making the Silences Speak |
MW 4:30PM - 5:45PM |
Pilatte, Malaurie Jacqueline |
Gilman 277 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: In the history of the United States, the voices of women, enslaved people, and indigenous people, among others, have been systematically underrepresented. Their stories have been kept out of the archives, and they have been largely excluded from this nation's history as a result. In recent years, however, scholars, writers and artists have turned their attention to these omissions and tried to bring these silenced voices back to life. In the process, a more complete version of U.S. history has begun to emerge. In this writing course, we'll explore the forces responsible for these silences—illiteracy, racism, violence—and the ways that writers and artists have attempted to make these silences speak. Over the course of the semester, students will analyze multiple genres of historical writing, consider a broad range of literary and artistic works, and visit different archives—the places where historians go to learn about the past. Students will also produce a series of writing assignments, from a museum exhibit script to an academic essay, and from a “guest essay” in the style of the New York Times to a series of personal reflections.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Reserved Open
- Seats Available: 12/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (27) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Making. Art. Matter. |
TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM |
Russell, Arthur J. |
Gilman 313 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: This course invites art-curious students to rewrite the material histories of art objects and art museums. 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 “matter” of art. Course discussion and writing projects will pay special attention to questions of what it means to make and practice a socially engaged art. 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.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Reserved Open
- Seats Available: 12/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (28) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Creative Computation and Composition |
TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM |
Schnitzler, Carly Elisabeth |
Gilman 77 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: The laptops we carry around today exist in a long, expansive lineage of creative tools: typewriters and index cards, sure, but even looms, tarot decks, and player pianos. This course explores how the act of writing has always involved tinkering with creative machinery, analog and digital. Through hands-on projects, students will experiment with different compositional technologies—creating weavings and cut-up poems, building hypertext narratives, and learning basic creative coding (no programming experience required). We'll ask: How do constraints allow for creativity? What happens when we treat writing as a system? How can we work with our tools rather than just using them? Assignments emphasize experimentation and process: keeping a commonplace book, translating analog procedures into code, and creating a final portfolio that reflects your evolving practice. Students will develop critical thinking skills, learn to communicate with agility and precision across different genres, and reflect on the relationship they want to cultivate with their compositional tools—whatever they may be.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Reserved Open
- Seats Available: 12/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (29) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Beyond the Hopkins Bubble |
TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM |
Speller, Mo Elsmere Longley |
Gilman 217 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: Undergraduates at Hopkins often bemoan what they call the “Hopkins Bubble”—an invisible boundary that separates life on campus from the “real” world. Such sentiments, however, run counter to Hopkins’ mission to produce “knowledge for the world” and its appeals for students to think of Baltimore as an “extension of campus.” Through critical reading and personal reflection, students will probe their experiences of campus life and Baltimore. We’ll craft orientation guides that map new ways of thinking about the relationship between Hopkins and Baltimore. We’ll collaborate with the University Archives and write an academic essay exploring themes such as: how have past students fought for inclusion in the Hopkins community, how have student activists encouraged Hopkins to be more fully engaged in the larger community, and how have the boundaries between Hopkins and Baltimore shifted over time? We’ll share what we’ve learned with public audiences by writing a call-to-action that probes the divisions between Hopkins and the city. Throughout the semester, we will also consider the ways that practice of writing itself asks us to think critically about how we imagine, enact, and engage with community, and therefore informs our work to trouble the Hopkins Bubble.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Reserved Open
- Seats Available: 12/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (30) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Beyond the Hopkins Bubble |
TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM |
Speller, Mo Elsmere Longley |
Gilman 217 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: Undergraduates at Hopkins often bemoan what they call the “Hopkins Bubble”—an invisible boundary that separates life on campus from the “real” world. Such sentiments, however, run counter to Hopkins’ mission to produce “knowledge for the world” and its appeals for students to think of Baltimore as an “extension of campus.” Through critical reading and personal reflection, students will probe their experiences of campus life and Baltimore. We’ll craft orientation guides that map new ways of thinking about the relationship between Hopkins and Baltimore. We’ll collaborate with the University Archives and write an academic essay exploring themes such as: how have past students fought for inclusion in the Hopkins community, how have student activists encouraged Hopkins to be more fully engaged in the larger community, and how have the boundaries between Hopkins and Baltimore shifted over time? We’ll share what we’ve learned with public audiences by writing a call-to-action that probes the divisions between Hopkins and the city. Throughout the semester, we will also consider the ways that practice of writing itself asks us to think critically about how we imagine, enact, and engage with community, and therefore informs our work to trouble the Hopkins Bubble.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Reserved Open
- Seats Available: 12/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (31) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Exploring Multiple Literacies |
MW 3:00PM - 4:15PM |
Vinyard, Deirdre Will |
Gilman 413 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: 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.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Reserved Open
- Seats Available: 12/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (32) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Black Birthing Women |
TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM |
Wright, Lisa E. |
Gilman 413 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: 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 narratives, 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.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Reserved Open
- Seats Available: 12/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (33) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Is this Art? Criticism in the Age of Content |
TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM |
Joshi, Kunal |
Gilman 313 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: What is art? One can be reasonably certain that one is in the presence of ‘Art’ when confronted, say, by a Chopin nocturne, an Impressionist painting, or an episode of The Wire. But we find that our certainties quickly leave us in the face of, say, a YouTube video, an episode of The Simpsons, or a comic book. Are memes art? What about AI-generated images? In a world where ‘art’ is increasingly being replaced by 'content', this course aims to explore the provocation: can responding to art be a creative act akin to producing art? Over the course of the semester, students will engage regularly with works of art, both virtually and in person (via field trips to museums around Baltimore). Students will learn to write about art in variety of genres and styles over the course of the semester: starting with descriptions, moving on to reflections about art (in the form of journal entries), as well as more formal summaries of and responses to academic texts. Finally, at the heart of the course will be an art object/event 'in the wild' (a piece of live music, a play, a puppetry show at one of Baltimore's many theaters, and so on), which the students will research and review, reflecting on a work of art that they could only experience in person, in this place and time.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Reserved Open
- Seats Available: 12/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (34) |
Reintroduction to Writing: Is this Art? Criticism in the Age of Content |
TTh 4:30PM - 5:45PM |
Joshi, Kunal |
Gilman 77 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: What is art? One can be reasonably certain that one is in the presence of ‘Art’ when confronted, say, by a Chopin nocturne, an Impressionist painting, or an episode of The Wire. But we find that our certainties quickly leave us in the face of, say, a YouTube video, an episode of The Simpsons, or a comic book. Are memes art? What about AI-generated images? In a world where ‘art’ is increasingly being replaced by 'content', this course aims to explore the provocation: can responding to art be a creative act akin to producing art? Over the course of the semester, students will engage regularly with works of art, both virtually and in person (via field trips to museums around Baltimore). Students will learn to write about art in variety of genres and styles over the course of the semester: starting with descriptions, moving on to reflections about art (in the form of journal entries), as well as more formal summaries of and responses to academic texts. Finally, at the heart of the course will be an art object/event 'in the wild' (a piece of live music, a play, a puppetry show at one of Baltimore's many theaters, and so on), which the students will research and review, reflecting on a work of art that they could only experience in person, in this place and time.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Reserved Open
- Seats Available: 12/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (35) |
Reintroduction to Writing: The Arts of Noticing: Writing and Ecological Thought |
MW 1:30PM - 2:45PM |
Maddox, Perry |
Shaffer 202 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: In a time of deeply intertwined ecological and social challenges, how can we imagine and create more livable futures? As a first step, anthropologist Anna Tsing calls for the revitalization of “the arts of noticing,” to become receptive to social and ecological possibilities existing beyond blunt narratives of crisis and collapse. From early Romantic scholar Johann Goethe to biologist Jane Goodall to contemporary authors like Tsing, those interested in the arts of noticing have long relied upon writing as a central practice. In this course, guided by Tsing, we will work to develop our attention to the lives of others (human and otherwise) through written observation, reflection, and analysis.
Over the semester, students will pursue their own project of sustained attention through weekly ethnographic observations building towards a final reflective project. Along the way we will explore various approaches to writing, from analytic essays to creative writing exercises to reportage and op-eds. We will read authors ranging from contemporary scholars and activists to early natural historians and poets. Across these genres, students will develop an ethnographic sensibility towards the arts of noticing, which derives from anthropology but may be applied in any field concerned with ecological and social change.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Reserved Open
- Seats Available: 12/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.101 (36) |
Reintroduction to Writing: The Arts of Noticing: Writing and Ecological Thought |
MW 3:00PM - 4:15PM |
Maddox, Perry |
Bloomberg 276 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: In a time of deeply intertwined ecological and social challenges, how can we imagine and create more livable futures? As a first step, anthropologist Anna Tsing calls for the revitalization of “the arts of noticing,” to become receptive to social and ecological possibilities existing beyond blunt narratives of crisis and collapse. From early Romantic scholar Johann Goethe to biologist Jane Goodall to contemporary authors like Tsing, those interested in the arts of noticing have long relied upon writing as a central practice. In this course, guided by Tsing, we will work to develop our attention to the lives of others (human and otherwise) through written observation, reflection, and analysis.
Over the semester, students will pursue their own project of sustained attention through weekly ethnographic observations building towards a final reflective project. Along the way we will explore various approaches to writing, from analytic essays to creative writing exercises to reportage and op-eds. We will read authors ranging from contemporary scholars and activists to early natural historians and poets. Across these genres, students will develop an ethnographic sensibility towards the arts of noticing, which derives from anthropology but may be applied in any field concerned with ecological and social change.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Reserved Open
- Seats Available: 12/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.221 (01) |
Writing Methods: Writing with the Body in Mind |
MW 12:00PM - 1:15PM |
Goransson, Jennifer |
Gilman 313 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: While writing is often considered a purely cognitive activity, this class will explore the role of our physical body in our work as writers in academic, professional, and personal contexts. We will review research from psychology, education, medicine, and writing studies that discusses writing as not only a tool for communicating ideas to others, but also for self-understanding, coping with illness, or becoming more connected to the present. To more fully understand the mind-body connection, classes will include experiential learning activities such as meditation or yoga exercises, engaging with nature, or writing with different tools. Students will reflect on their own writing challenges, while learning about research-based embodied strategies to face them. We’ll explore Chrisy Wenger’s (2015; 2019) work on “attention literacy” and yoga practices/principles for writers, Alexandria Peary’s (2018) mindful writing practices for combatting writing blocks, and other scholarship about how our individual lived experiences and linguistic/cultural identities can impact our writing in different academic or professional spaces. Students write in new modes and new environments throughout this embodied advanced writing course, while also practicing empirical research methods to explore a topic of interest and share findings through a multimodal public writing piece. All first-year students who have taken Reintro and all students at the sophomore level or above are welcome.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Open
- Seats Available: 1/15
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.241 (01) |
Special Topics in Writing: Technical Communication and Why It Matters |
TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM |
Blackmon, Codi Renee Renee |
Gilman 134 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: Following and adapting conventions of professional writing is much more than teaching grammar and formatting documents. Technical communication involves conveying complex, specific information to new audiences unfamiliar with the form and/or content knowledge. This course is intended to teach students technical writing skills that may be applied in any professional context. These skills include composing visual and verbal arguments for professional purposes, considering the ethical dimensions of professional communication standards, advocating for reader/user needs, and using effective collaboration techniques. Students will adapt form and content to various contexts and learn the sociopolitical implications of these adaptations, particularly when balancing business, industry, and organizational concerns. We will learn about corporate disasters working under pressure, study cultural climate and branding, develop fundraising content, cater to different stakeholders, and produce standard reports such as executive summaries, proposals, and progress reports. We will also look at genres such as email and the careful languaging practices that can make this rhetoric relevant to today’s audiences. All first-year students who have taken Reintro and all students at the sophomore level or above are welcome.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Open
- Seats Available: 11/15
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.241 (02) |
Special Topics in Writing: AI Language and Rhetoric |
MW 12:00PM - 1:15PM |
O'Connor, Marisa T |
Shaffer 202 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: LLMs (like Claude and ChatGPT) are profoundly mysterious. They are often called black boxes, because they resist interpretation even by those who created them. They are also having significant effects on how we feel, what we want, and how we understand ourselves. Consequently, some of big emerging questions of our time are about the implications of humans conversing with LLMs as part of daily life. Should we approach AI rhetoric in the same way that we approach human rhetoric? Can we better understand LLMs by talking to them? In this course, we will read and analyze the vibrant ongoing conversations in AI studies around these questions. Students will embark on a series of writing projects, including observation, analysis, and reflection, that build toward writing a research proposal on a question of your choice. Please note that this is a course in which we read, research, and write about AI, instead of using it. All first-year students who have taken Reintro and all students at the sophomore level or above are welcome.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Open
- Seats Available: 4/15
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.241 (03) |
Special Topics in Writing: Great Trials: On Legal Reasoning and Writing |
TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM |
Oppel, George |
Gilman 381 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: How does legal reasoning differ from scientific, moral, or everyday reasoning? When do rules matter more than outcomes? And what happens when law and justice seem to diverge? This course introduces students to the distinctive logic, language, and persuasive forms of legal argument. We begin with the law of murder, learning how crimes are broken into elements and how lawyers argue about intent, causation, and responsibility. Students will read and discuss famous murder cases, including the nineteenth-century cannibalism case of Dudley v. Stephens, to see how extreme facts test legal principles. We’ll then broaden focus to examine historically significant trials – the condemnation of Socrates, the teaching of evolution in schools, crimes against humanity – to get a sense of how politics can intrude upon and determine legal outcomes. The final unit will focus on judicial rhetoric and how landmark decisions from the US Supreme Court have shaped US history for better and worse. Assignments include an oral argument in a mock trial, a written prosecution or defense brief, an academic essay, and a guided research project on a Supreme Court decision of your choice. The course builds skills in close reading, clear speaking and writing, and disciplined argument. All first-year students who have taken Reintro and all students at the sophomore level or above are welcome.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Open
- Seats Available: 2/15
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.321 (01) |
Writing Methods: Science in Situ - Effective and Meaningful Science Communication |
Th 1:30PM - 4:00PM |
Thyagarajan, Sunita; Wilbanks, Rebecca |
Smokler Center Library |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: Science in Situ introduces students to the art of science writing via an exploration of the sites where science is happening in Baltimore. Effective science communicators have a deep understanding of their subject matter and are skilled at conveying complex ideas in accessible ways. However, explaining the facts is not enough; science writers also need to make meaning out of information by placing it in social and narrative contexts that are relevant to their audience. This course encourages students to write creatively, with humor, and in multimedia formats to communicate scientific content to a wide range of audiences. Students will learn about key techniques as well as challenges in science journalism and gain practice communicating technical subject matter in a variety of modalities. Through field trips to local museums and forensic labs, and interviews with researchers and editors of science magazines, students will identify opportunities to share their ideas and knowledge in engaging ways, and to reflect on why science matters to broader audiences. This course is aimed at junior and senior undergraduate students who are STEM majors. All first-year students who have taken Reintro and all students at the sophomore level or above are welcome.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Open
- Seats Available: 7/18
- Tags: BEHB-SOCSCI
|
| AS.004.351 (01) |
Community-Engaged Writing: Latino/Jewish Intersections – Jewtina |
TTh 4:30PM - 5:45PM |
Hartmann-Villalta, Laura A |
Gilman 217 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: In partnership with the non-profit organization Jewtina y Co, this course explores the intersectional identity of Latin and Jewish life through academic, public, and reflective writing. This is a community-engaged course, though our community will be national and international: Jewtina y Co. works towards building a world in which the global Jewish and Latin communities work together to interrupt inequities and celebrate their multicultural histories. Rooted in anti-oppressive theory, Jewtina y Co. is on a mission to nurture Latin-Jewish community, identity, leadership and resiliency and our course priorities will mirror these values. In addition to learning about the history and culture of Latin-Jews through readings, guest speakers, and excursions, the course’s main work is our collaboration with Jewtina y Co., whose Executive Director will brief the class with real-world writing requests to meet the organization's needs. This course is for you if: you want to learn more about the difficulties of holding space for intersectional identity; you want your writing to make a difference outside of the classroom; you want to build your leadership and collaboration skills; you're curious to learn more about the Latin identity or the Jewish identity; you like interdisciplinary classes that challenge you. No prior knowledge of Judaism, Spanish language, or personal Jewish or Latinx background expected or necessary. All first-year students who have taken Reintro and all students at the sophomore level or above are welcome.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Open
- Seats Available: 7/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.351 (02) |
Community-Engaged Writing: Composing the Commons |
Th 4:30PM - 7:00PM |
Russell, Arthur J.; Schnitzler, Carly Elisabeth |
Gilman 4 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: The Commons is Hopkins’ newest arts and culture magazine, responding to the annual Common Question. Our course will collaboratively design and produce an issue of The Commons over the course of the semester. Composing The Commons takes a hands-on, lab based approach to writing technologies, media archeology, and accessibility studies. This writing methods course will examine print and digital media, explore physical and digital archives, and experiment with methods of intermedia composition and translation. Students will write a peer-reviewed article and create photo essays, short stories, poems, games, and print and digital ephemera. Our aim is to publish and translate a well-researched, well considered magazine in both print and digital formats, for many publics. All first-year students who have taken Reintro and all students at the sophomore level or above are welcome.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Waitlist Only
- Seats Available: 0/12
- Tags: n/a
|
| AS.004.441 (01) |
Special Topics in Writing: The Mothers of Gynecology |
TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM |
Wright, Lisa E. |
Gilman 400 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: 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 first-year students who have taken Reintro and all students at the sophomore level or above are welcome.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Waitlist Only
- Seats Available: 0/18
- Tags: MSCH-HUM
|
| AS.211.441 (01) |
Literary Translation Workshop |
Th 1:30PM - 4:00PM |
Jewiss, Virginia C |
Mergenthaler 431 |
Fall 2026 |
- Description: This course is grounded in the double conviction that translation is the most intimate form of reading and that literary translation is a form of literary writing. The goals of this course are to better understand the potential and challenge of translation as we learn to practice it ourselves. We will study what translators say about their craft and work closely with a wide range of translations. There will be two parts to each seminar: --discussion of assigned readings and analysis of published translations --workshopping of our translations. Students are free to translate from any language into English. Reading knowledge of a language other than English is required.
- Credits: 3.00
- Status: Open
- Seats Available: 4/12
- Tags: n/a
|
