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Course Descriptions for WRI 101 & WRI 102
WRI 101: First Year Writing
Offered Every Semester
Prerequisite : Placement
First Year Writing offers writing support for FSP First Seminar and WRI 102 Academic Writing. A zero-credit, ungraded, repeatable studio course, First Year Writing must be taken concurrently with FSP or with WRI 102. May be repeated.
WRI 102: Academic Writing
1 Course Unit
Offered Annually
Academic Writing offers students the opportunity to develop, advance, and practice skills in the production of academic prose. Within a framework of sophisticated readings, highly coordinated writing workshops, and instructor feedback, students practice the modes of writing necessary to succeed in college. Students read critically, cultivate habits of effective and ethical research, practice conventions of documentation, and use information technologies. Topical readings may vary among sections.
Body Image and Visual Media
WRI 102-01, MR 8:30-9:50am
WRI 102-02, MR 10:00-11:20am
Mike Schwartz
How do media images (from advertisements, magazines, television, film, etc.) featuring often-idealized human bodies shape our perceptions of our own bodies? Our perceptions of what is “ideal,” “normal,” “feminine,” and “masculine”? What kinds of effects do such images have on us? By examining essays concerned with the visual representation of bodies in American culture as well as by analyzing actual media images students will develop arguments about the complicated relationship between media images and our collective and individual ideas about our gender and sexual identities.
Food, Glorious Food: Environment, Ethics, and Personal Preferences
WRI 102-03, MR 12:30-1:50pm
Janet Hubbard
Affordable, plentiful food is now more readily produced and available than it ever has been--formerly, tending and procuring enough food for one's family took up huge portions of a person's life and resources. Students will write argumentative papers that examine the current cheap abundance of food and its costs to society and individualism terms of health, pollution, and social abuses.
Wanderlust: Exploring Issues in Travel
WRI 102-04, TR 7:00-8:20pm
Jennifer Hunter
Why do we travel? What motivates us to seek cultures and experiences beyond what we know? Students in this class will read articles and essays as well as examine videos and advertising in order to debate not only the motivating factors for travel, but also travel’s social political and economic impact. Paper topics will focus on current debates in travel including authentic travel, voluntourism, slum tourism, and vacationing.
Dilemmas of the Digital Domain
WRI 102-05, MR 10:00-11:20am
Janet Mazur
There's no doubt about it -- we're addicted to technology. From the Blackberries, iPhones and other tools that we carry like an extra appendage, to the social networking sites that keep us connected, we're hooked. But do the very devices that enable us to access a virtual world in our pockets actually do more harm than good? How much is technology shaping what it means to be human? In this course we will examine the possibilities and the problems that digital technology poses.
Bioethics and Human Enhancement
WRI 102-06, TF 10:00-11:20am
WRI 102-07, TF 12:30-1:50pm
Noelle Davies
Do recently advanced technologies interfere with or provide a necessary aid to the “natural” processes of the human body? If a shared anatomy is an aspect of what makes us human, what does it mean when we alter it? When we play with genetics are we playing God and should it matter? What are the ethical arguments surrounding human bio-enhancement technologies? This course will teach students to think deeply about and develop arguments within the complex realm of modern bioethics.
The Promise and Perils of Education
WRI 102-08, MR 8:30-9:50am
Michael Howerton
In this class, we will focus on what happens in classrooms. Namely, what role does education have in the United States? What role should it have? Does it empower students, assimilate them, or sort them according to race, class and expectation? Does it even the playing field or tilt it horribly askew? Does it lift students up or hold them down? What does it mean to educate, and to be educated? For decades, there has been clamor for “reform” of our nation’s education system, but parents, educators and politicians have often been at odds about what exactly should be done. In this class, we look at some of the current debates about education, examine how the various positions are depicted in the media, and analyze some current proposals about how to reform education.
The Rhetoric and Representation of Rock & Roll Culture
WRI 102-09, MR 12:30-1:50pm
WRI 102-10, MR 2:00-3:20pm
Patrick Maley
This course is a sustained investigation of how rock & roll has been represented and debated in popular culture. We will seek first to uncover the rhetorical structure of texts like rock criticism, rock journalism, concert posters, album covers, and songs and then to engage directly with the controversies they spark. Specific questions of the course include (but are not limited to): to what degree can we define what rock & roll is and what it sounds like? How and to what end is rock & roll music used to negotiate issues of identity? How do visual representations of rock & roll express meaning, feeling, or an image? What role can rock & roll play outside of its own community? The ultimate goal of this course is to help students through a treatment of rock & roll culture to develop and hone the analytical thinking, reading, and writing skills essential for college work.
Exploring Literacy
WRI 102-11, MR 10:00-11:20am
WRI 102-12, MR, 12:30-1:50pm
Meaghan Brewer
In this course we will be discussing what literacy is and how these definitions can change according to one’s culture, gender, race, and circumstances. Literacy has long been a topic of national concern. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in America many argued that citizens had to be literate in order for our country to function as a democracy. At the same time many opposed educating the lower classes for fear of what they might do with their newfound knowledge, and educating a slave was against the law. Most Americans today would agree that literacy is pretty important and everyone from educators to presidents and legislators talk about why we need to be literate. But what does it mean to be literate and how have these definitions changed? Students will explore different theories on literacy as well as autobiographies of learning to read and write in order to hone their own critical thinking and writing skills.
Celebrity and Society
WRI 102-13, TF 10:00-11:20am
WRI 102-14, TF 12:30-1:50pm
Jessica Gicking
In 1966 John Lennon said of the Beatles “We’re more popular than Jesus now. I don’t know which will go first — rock ‘n’ roll or Christianity.” Pop culture and celebrity interest has increasingly become an obsession in America. From clothing choices to political opinions celebrities help shape how people view themselves and the world around them. But in a secular society just how much of a cultural effect do celebrities have? In this course we will use scholarly articles magazine and newspaper articles as well as visual media to look at the American obsession with celebrities and critically assess how our starry-eyed obsession affects society.
The Argument of Film
WRI 102-15, TF 10:00-11:20am
WRI 102-16, TF 12:30-1:50pm
Nina Ringer
In this section we will analyze films exploring how screenplay, camera angle, editing, acting, and direction help form story and particularly our response to it. How we engage with a film shows us the impact of the argument the filmmaker is making. That argument might be about how we see each other, how film provides an escape, how it engages us, or the impact of oppression and the possibility of change. Why is a film compelling? How can an audience’s response to a film make a difference in the world? Focusing on the implicit visual arguments that films make will allow us to create our own explicit written arguments about these films.
The Evolution of the American Dream
WRI 102-17, TF 12:30-1:50pm
WRI 102-18, TF 2:00-3:20pm
Adam Brock
What is the American Dream? Is the dream still alive today? We will explore these questions as we trace the evolution of the American Dream over the past century through essays literature and film. Of particular interest will be the relationship between the American Dream and immigration. Students will sharpen their critical thinking, writing, revising, and close reading skills by composing a sequence of blogs and formal papers that address diverse interpretations of the American Dream.
Everything’s An Argument: Rhetoric in Society
WRI 102-19, TR 5:30-6:50pm
WRI 102-20, TR 7:00-8:20pm
Jamal Eric Watson
In political speeches and personal conversations, in popular advertising and private emails - rhetoric is all around us. But what is rhetoric? Broadly defined rhetoric is the use of language to influence others. While rhetoric is often thought of as showy sometimes meaningless speech meant to deceive listeners, it encompasses much more. Rhetoric is a vital and vibrant way of understanding the world – and of getting what we want. To understand the ways in which rhetoric works we will first look at how its meaning has grown from a classical method of oral argument which was originally written about by such great thinkers of the ancient world as Plato and Aristotle to the contemporary study of how groups of people – for example groups formed by race, gender, or region - use language in purposeful ways. We will read about and discuss rhetoric in the age of digital media focusing on how advanced technology and online networks like YouTube and Facebook affect why and how we communicate. Throughout the course students will analyze the use of rhetoric to hone their own critical thinking and writing skills.
"Green" Marketing
WRI 102-21, MW 5:30-6:50pm
WRI 102-22, MW 7:00-8:20pm
Kelsey Maki
Sometimes subtle, sometimes blatant: green claims are everywhere. Some would say that these advertisements are helpful in making consumers and businesses more environmentally aware, while others maintain that the lack of regulatory standards for terms such as "natural" and "green" has led to an epidemic of "greenwashing." In this section of Academic Writing, students will work to become more effective writers as they analyze and evaluate green advertisements, considering the effects that these labels might have upon the consumer and the environment.
Environmental Ethics and Sustainability
WRI 102-23, MW 5:30-6:50pm
Patricia Ruby
What is the relationship between humans and the environment? How should we interact with animals and the environment? Sustainable development is broadly defined as satisfying current societal needs without jeopardizing the ability of future generations to enjoy the same quality of life. This ethic is considered pragmatic when compared to the broad spectrum of belief systems that dictate human relationships with the environment and greater community. This course will provide an introduction to environmental ethics as the foundation for analyzing the context of and arguments associated with specific environmental policies, natural resource management dilemmas, and sustainability initiatives. Through exploration of such issues, students will hone their own critical thinking and writing skills.
Title Nine Turns Forty
WRI 102-24, TF 8:30-9:50am
WRI 102-25, TF 10:00-11:20am
Keri Mikulski
Four decades after Richard Nixon signed Title Nine, names like Serena Williams, Hope Solo, and Jennie Finch are as recognizable as their male counterparts. However, Title Nine has also experienced its share of criticism, controversy, and consequences over the years. Students will examine the impact of Title Nine on gender roles, equality, sports, and society using rhetorical strategies to develop in depth argumentative essays.
Mixed Messages about Gender in Popular Culture
WRI 102-26, MR 10:00-11:20am
WRI 102-27, MR 12:30-1:50pm
Erin M. Lucas
What are the mixed messages about masculinity and femininity embedded in American popular culture, and how do these messages place undue pressure on men and women to conform to impossible ideals? In this course we will be investigating the contradictions that exist in widely disseminated cultural messages of gender identity, beauty norms, men and women’s social and sexual roles, and numerous other aspects of gender in which society demands conflicting expectations of us. Through engagement with a variety of visual and written texts, we will analyze the means through which cultural definitions of gender are transmitted and diagnose the consequences of conflicting gender ideals on the modern man and woman.
Social Media in Contemporary Society
WRI 102-28, TF 10:00-11:20am
WRI 102-29, TF 12:30-1:50pm
Kathryn Ionata
How has social media changed us as a society? Ten years ago, we couldn’t have imagined chatting with our favorite athletes, getting famous because of an amateur video, or spreading news worldwide within seconds, but now this is all possible because of Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and other social media outlets. In this course, we will examine the way social media has impacted the world. This can range from the good (raising political awareness through new grassroots efforts) to the bad (cyber-bullying) to the profound (increased communication during national disasters) to the truly bizarre (the “Bed Intruder” song). Throughout the semester, we will consider questions such as the following: How have blogs and other social media tools changed the way we communicate with each other? In what ways has Web 2.0 affected our social order? Should there be restrictions placed on Internet use to counter and prevent cyber-bullying? How can we use the social media to improve the quality of our lives? Through exploration of such issues, students will hone their own critical thinking and writing skills.
