Professor David Farley
Creative
Passports
This intensive writing course will use the document of the
passport as a means to explore the boundary between the public and
private, a boundary that is both a particular place and an abstract
idea. In particular, we will focus on how the passport organizes
information about us into a neat little booklet and asks us to
verify our identity in a certain way in order to pass. Through a
series of papers that emerge from the different categories present
in the passport – categories such as name, language, gender,
nation, and the like – we will attempt to “reclaim” this document
from the government bureaucracy of which it is a part and recast it
in a form that can better represent who we are and how we engage
the world, ultimately allowing us a greater freedom to travel where
we will. In addition to this series of papers we will read authors
such as Chekhov, Sebald, Tan, and others. Students will complete
weekly writing assignments, both in class and out, as well as a
final “Creative Passport,” where they will collect, reflect, and
reclaim the writing they did over the course of the
semester.
Professor Ikuko Fujiwara
In this course you will think, read, discuss, and write with
cultural contexts in mind. You will explore the impact of cultures
on the way we see ourselves and others. You will also explore
different approaches to writing about culture as you pursue writing
as a means of analyzing and critiquing culture, and of engaging
with cultural images, artifacts, spaces, texts, and discourse.
Throughcritically examining, analyzing, articulating, synthesizing,
documenting, sharing perspectives, experiences, and writings, my
hope for you is to gain a better understanding of who you are and
where you belong, and to discover new ways of viewing your own
lives, and the lives of others.
Professor Stephanie Gray
Writing the Self Through the City and Place, Keepin’ It
Real
We live in one of the most diverse and remarkable metropolises
in the world – yet this large city is comprised of countless
neighborhoods, places, and people – millions of people, including
YOU, all with a story (and maybe a mystery or secret) behind each
and every one. In this class you will navigate your own story and
sense of self through reading and writing about our city (and other
places) and the many stories behind them, in order to create your
own. We will write several types of pieces where we explore notions
of self through place, NYC, and our own relationships to our city
or place. We will write our own narratives, portraits, and analysis
of different places and works we will read – mostly nonfiction, but
ending with a special series of fiction short stories based on the
author’s real life.We will explore all of these different elements
of place and the personal for inspiring the writing of our essays,
journals, research piece, and reflection with our end of semester
portfolio. With so many interesting aspects to our class theme,
there WILL be something for everyone to pursue – something YOU are
interested in and excited by. While we will be working with this
theme and focused assignments, within them you will always be able
to choose YOUR specific topic/subtopic, so make it fun for YOU!We
will learn that writing is a continual learning process rather than
just a finished product to be evaluated and graded, end of story.
Think of the analogy of a writer’s practice to that of an athlete
and musician – do they do a perfect long jump or symphony on the
first try? It’s about practice, practice and not always what we
think is perfection. Besides supporting your continuing development
of written sophistication and innovative/real life research (not
the typical research you might always think of) this class will
introduce you to different and exciting writing strategies through
essays and a creative research work, and will culminate with a
portfolio, with a personal reflection. We’ll write journals in
which you will express your personal take/interpretation on the
reading as well as what you think the writer is trying to express.
Writers we will read and become inspired by include nonfiction
works of: Touré, Colum McCann, “The Long Winded Lady”/Maeve
Brennan, E.B. White, Sandra Cisneros, Jane Jacobs, Edmund Berrigan,
Sloane Crosley, Nora Ephron, and others, as well as to be
announced, yet to be published readings we’ll find on blogs and
news sites that fit in with the explorations in our class (a little
surprise can’t hurt!)
Professor Jeff T. Johnson
I’m New Here Where is the self?
We will use the Gil
Scott-Heron album I’m
New Here (2010) as a launch text for this First Year
Writing course. In particular, the song “I’m New Here” (along with
Smog’s original, from the 2005 album A River Ain’t Too Much to Love) will be a through-line
and reference point for our discussions about reading and writing.
The theme is starting anew, and negotiating new and old selves in
terms of opportunity and loss, baggage and burden, alienation and
community-building. The drama of being new here plays out with(in)
the self and in a society (or societies) of displacement and
inclusion. One is estranged from, rejected and embraced by the self
and others. Place and self, self and other may be conflated, and
differentiating these is an ongoing process of self-realization and
being in the world. Writing is a negotiation between the self and
the world, which affect one another. We learn the signs, codes and
customs of a new place through our reading and writing practice,
and in doing so we learn to communicate with the people and culture
of that place. We change, and so does the place, and our changing
sense of place is related to our changing sense of self. As we
consider our shifting notions of place and self, we will explore,
in writing and conversation, ideas of relocation, change,
relationality/intersubjectivity, home, exile, redemption,
discovery, and anything else that occurs to us in relation to
readings and discussion. We will have the opportunity to explore
various forms and strategies in our writing, including the epistle,
obituary, meditation, song lyric, digression, classified ad, prose
poem, erasure, discursive music review, journalistic account, and
transcript. We will also develop our writing skills in relation to
the traditional scholarly essay and hybrid essay forms. How
does the use of multiple forms to express our thoughts and ideas
relate to course themes of leaving, arrival and the relational
self? Throughout the semester, we will reflect on this question.
The goal is for us to become more agile writers, as we broaden our
sense of what writing is, and what the writing self is. Meanwhile,
we will explore the ways we engage each other, ourselves, and the
world through letters. By the end of the course, we will be in
another place, ready to be new (t)here
again.
Professor Angie A. Lalla
Humor
The goal of this course will be to explore the purpose(s) and
purpose-ful-ness of writing in, and through, a humorous lens. In
order to for us to undertake such a theme-based approach to
writing, we must first work towards the understanding that writing
is not simply an arrangement of words that convey meaning; it is a
medium - a tool that can be used for 1. representing and
re-presenting society, 2. investigating meaningful experiences 3.
claiming and arguing a perspective, and perhaps most significantly,
4. provoking action and instrumenting social change through a comic
style. Throughout our time together, we will be examining various
forms of writing such as humorous fictions and critical essays, and
utilizing both traditional (short-stories, poetry, novel excerpts,
etc.) and nontraditional (spoken word performances, stand-up
comedy, memes, etc.) literary mediums as a means of developing our
conceptions about self, society, language, and the writing process.
We will also be coming to terms with this idea of writing as a
process - which requires you to think, research, draft,
revise, and above all, be committed and accountable
writers. While our schematic focus will be to consider the
ways in which humor is represented in texts - especially in
relation to oppression, subversion, liberation, etc. - we will also
be rethinking the notion of readable texts, and looking to digital
forms of writing such as memes and image macros, to determine if
and how society has reappropriated writing. This course also
emphasizes your role as a writer, and will be actively engaging
your positionality (in terms of race, class, gender, etc.) through
our readings and your writings. I also promise that by the end of
the semester, you'll be leaving our class with more than a few
laughs!
Professor M. Amanda Moulder
Personal Stories/Public Engagement In 1990, activist and New
York City Teacher of the Year Award recipient John Taylor Gatto
stated that: “The truth is that schools don’t really teach anything
except how to obey orders. This is a great mystery to me because
thousands of humane, caring people work in schools as teachers and
aides and administrators, but the abstract logic of the institution
overwhelms their individual contributions.” His statement
upset people and has been rejected by many, yet it hits on a
central tension in contemporary society: What do we need
educational institutions for? For that matter, how do
institutions of all types tend to “overwhelm” our individual
contributions and why? During this semester, you will begin
to answer these questions and will focus on the purpose and value
of a college education in your life. Next, you will explore
your personal encounters with identity, education, and
institutional injustice. Finally, you will analyze your own
stories to locate the topics that inspire you to take part in
larger public conversations. During this final unit, you will
insert yourself into a signification public discussion, conduct
primary and secondary research, and search for common ground with
people who care about the same issues as you. The entire semester
will be guided by the idea that when we investigate and write about
what we already love to think about, we are better writers and
sharper critical thinkers.This section of English 1000c will share
many ideas and assignments with Professor Sophie Bell’s section of
ENG 1000C.
Professor Jon L. Peacock
This English Composition class will focus on developing your skills
as a critical reader and writer. The class theme, “Us & Them: A
Critical Look at Stereotypes and Misconceptions,” looks at
misconceptions and prejudices that create social barriers. We will
read articles throughout the semester, and will use these as a
starting point to take a critical look at social difference. Beyond
that, we will have class discussions, weekly reading responses, and
four formal writing projects throughout the semester.
Professor Meghan Punschke
Exploring Disparate Identity through the Critical and
Creative
Do I contradict myself?
Very well then I contradict
myself,
(I am large. I contain
multitudes.)-
Walt Whitman, “Song of Myself”The “self” is a complex form
of identification that is made up of many disparate parts.
Fortunately, the written word is one of the most powerful tools for
expressing and uniting these fundamental facets of identity.This
course will provide an overview of the dynamic nature of identity
through various types of texts and composition, both critical and
creative. Throughout the semester, students will examine how others
classify themselves through a diverse set of readings, and start to
piece together the many divergent components that make-up the
“identified self.” They will simultaneously explore their
uniqueness in terms of these ideals, and attempt to further define
their own identities through their writing.This writing intensive
course will cover the core forms of academic composition and the
associated process in a collaborative environment— ideas will
regularly be shared through peer-review and group discussion. These
activities will help students sharpen their critical thinking
skills and become better scholarly readers and writers. As a
result, each student will leave a written legacy, which will
showcase his/her reflective identity via a portfolio that is
analytical and artistic in nature.
Nicola Ruiz
Finding ourselves, finding our
voices This class is all about YOU! Using
in-class writing prompts and a selection of non-fiction writing,
you will unearth your own, individual narratives. Everyone has a
unique story within them. For your semester-long project you will
be asked to think about your personal history, how and where you
were raised, the stories passed down to you, influential or
life-changing moments, and the people in your lives. Piece by
piece, week by week this narrative will grow and evolve and you’ll
begin to learn more about yourselves, your pasts and how these
pieces of the puzzle impact who you are as individuals today.You’ll
discover how to take your ideas and develop, organize, revise and
edit them into a coherent and compelling text. Using a variety
of research tools, from interviewing the “characters” in your
narratives to digging up historical facts online and in the
library, you’ll learn how to deepen and strengthen your
narratives.In this class writing will be an exciting, challenging
and collaborative process and we’ll explore how writing is
inextricably linked to the larger questions of culture and
community. In sharing these stories with your peers you will learn
about one another and about different cultures and ways of
life.
Professor Tara Roeder
Forms that Challenge: Traversing Genre
Artists and intellectuals have a commitment to try to make
their work […] not in the watered down forms that only capitulate
to the mediocracy, but in forms that challenge, confront,
exhilarate, provoke, disturb, question, flail, and even
fail. —Charles Bernstein, “Revenge of
the
Poet-Critic”
I
couldn’t agree with the above quote more. That’s why this
course is designed to give you, as artists and intellectuals, the
opportunity to explore writing through multiple lenses, forms,
and approaches. For the next few months, we will become a
community of writers, thinking about our craft and looking at how a
variety of texts—especially your own and those of the other writers
in
class—work.
The
texts you create this semester will come out of your passion, your
experiences, and your beliefs, and they will grow as you critically
re-envision them. I will not give you a list of topics
to write about; this course will allow you the opportunity to
create your own content, exploring concepts like self,
family, memory, place, culture, and politics through the use
of forms such as memoir, research project, documentary, manifesto,
poetry, graphic text, critical analysis, and letter. You
will have the opportunity to craft your own vision as a
writer while exploring the conversations surrounding various
genres.
As
you compose your texts, both your work and you as a writer will
grow in significant ways. We’ll look at writing both as an
act of self-construction and a way of connecting to a larger world,
and we’ll engage in a process of dialogue with each other, one that
includes drafting, sharing, responding, listening, and
revising. We'll move through various genres, exploring
their possibilities and pushing their boundaries, as we
attempt to make meaning out of issues we care deeply
about.
Professor Deborah
Taranto
Writing is a powerful tool for learning. When we write we
become conscious of ourselves. We define ourselves, and we
come to understand our lives. We give our inner voice a more
public place in the world. By choosing Memoir as the focus of
this class, it becomes a window into our life. Memoir-making
offers a chance to pause and take a vantage point from which to
explore the inner and outer landscape of our lives. Students
will have occasion to pause and ask questions of themselves that
they may not ordinarily do, or may deliberately shy away from.
What window are you opening? What is its frame?
When I look at my past is there a pattern that tells me
something about my relationships and myself? What have been my
standards? What do I regret? Working with these
questions and with examples of contemporary memoirs and guided
exercises, this course will help to give the student the confidence
he/she may need to be honest and open about expressing themselves
in their writing and in their class.
These
exercises will teach the student discipline, how to choose what to
keep in one's work and what to take out, editing, the importance of
revision, the basic landscape of what we know and understand to be
the art of writing.
Through the various readings the student will
discuss the author's particular issues and come to understand the
motivation behind the action and/or thoughts. Questions such
as: "How does this apply to my life? "When have I felt these same
emotions?" and many others will be addressed and connections
between the readings and the student will be realized. It
will also serve as a bridge of cultures and genders by openly
exploring the commonalities that populate our communities,
environments and
world.
Professor Bill Torgerson
Taking a cue from Nicholas Carr’s book The Shallows: What The
Internet is Doing to Our Brains, I ask the students I work with to
consider a series of questions: Where are you spending your time
online? Toward what purpose? What does it mean to be digitally
literate? These are all questions students will investigate as
they write a digital literacy narrative. Conversation will be a
major feature of the course and take the form of face-to-face
discussions, hand-written notes, Tweets around the hash tag
#torgchat, excerpts from books, and the creation of a short
documentary film. The notion of what it means to write will be
expanded. Students will have the freedom to take on additional
inquiry projects of their choosing and write a documentary-style
research text that weaves scholarly sources with a personal story.
Final writing portfolios will be turned in electronically through
the Digication ePortfolio platform. It’s my hope to reinvigorate
intellectual curiosity and to begin conversations that will
continue long after the semester
ends.
Professor Christine Utz
If all writing is a form of self-expression, what are we saying
about ourselves when we put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard)?
Identity is conveyed through various means, from the clothes we
wear to the people we associate with, but among these cues, our
voice says a great deal about who we are and what we believe in. In
this class, we will explore what it means to have a “voice” not
only in writing, but also in the way we think and respond to
various modes of communication. How do our backgrounds,
experiences, culture, family, and friends affect the way we think,
read, and write?Though we will be working toward a similar
goal—whether that involves writing a particular kind of essay, or
reading the assigned text—we will all approach it from different
perspectives. This is the beauty of our differences, the value of
individuality. By embracing your unique perspective, you will be
able to produce original writing that is thoughtful and creative,
while also adhering to academic conventions. You will learn to take
your essays through multiple revisions in order to
re-visit your purpose and re-shape your ideas,
understanding that an essay might never be totally “finished;” even
professional writers write, and rewrite, and rewrite again.
Throughout your investigation of self, you will examine and try
your hand at various genres of writing, such as the personal essay,
analytical essay, research essay, documentary proposal, letter,
dramatic dialogue, editorial, and analogy. We will work
collaboratively to respond to each others' written work in peer
groups and as a class, and we will continually question, study, and
comment on perceptions (and misconceptions) of identity. The course
will conclude with the handing in of a final portfolio that
displays the quality and breadth of your work over the course of
the semester
Professor Nick Young
Writing for Self, College, & World
In this course, you will be challenged to immerse yourself in
writing through a variety of practices: pre-writing and generating
techniques, multiple approaches for developing and organizing the
unique message that you would like to convey, strategies for
revising and editing your own texts, planning your time and efforts
to meet deadlines, and ways of preparing your writings for public
audiences. You will be asked to take on a meta-awareness of
writing. This means that you will be asked to speak to the
multiple processes of writing for both yourself and others rather
than simply seeing writing as the final essay that you submit or an
essay test for you to pass. You will have many opportunities
to discuss writing with your peers, attend writing conferences, and
meet with consultants at the writing center. You will
discover how, in so many ways, you are already a writer and we will
build from that strength!