WRI 101 - Course list for Writing in the Liberal Arts

Fall 2022 Sections

WRI 101 [A]: American Dream of Success
MWF 9:30 - 10:20
Roberts
Whether you consider the American Dream to be a promise or a goal, the term is used frequently; one assumes the concept means the same thing to everyone. Today Americans perceive many challenges to this “American Dream,” a belief that upward mobility can result from hard work and determination. Beginning in the 1930s, the phrase “The American Dream” found its way into our political, cultural, and popular discussion. Without a doubt, America’s economic crisis has compromised our “American Dream of Success.”  Many scholars are skeptical about the accessibility of this dream to all Americans. What are consequences of this loss as a centerpiece of our national culture? As sociologist Barry Glassner explains, “You want to hold to your dream when times are hard. For the vast majority of Americans at every point in history, the prospect of achieving the American Dream has been slim, but the promise has been huge.” An analysis of the American Dream allows us to explore a number of different disciplines so as to unpack what political scientist Carl Jilson has called “one of the most evocative phrases in our national lexicon.” Through looking at legislation and political discourse, we will come to understand how the concept has become embedded in our collective psyche.   

WRI 101 [B]: #Me Too
TR 12:15 - 1:30 p.m.
Horowitz
This course examines the rhetoric of #MeToo, the most recent iteration of the movement against gender-based violence, in the context of earlier representations of sexual harassment and assault. We will begin by studying recent historical flashpoints in the national dialogue about sexual abuse, including the Anita Hill hearings (1991); David Mamet’s controversial play Oleana (1992); President Bill Clinton’s impeachment (1998); and the Boston Globe’s exposé on the Catholic Church (2002). Approaching #MeToo as a genre of storytelling still taking shape , we will uncover emerging tropes and patterns in the narration of experiences of sexual abuse, in media portrayals thereof, and in the critical backlash. Based on our investigations, we will attempt to answer the questions, “Whose and what kinds of stories of sexual violence are likeliest to capture a national audience? Whose and what kinds are likeliest to be silenced or ignored, and why” Our rhetorical analyses will follow the method advanced in David Rosenwasser’s and Jill Stephens’ Writing Analytically. The first assignment asks students to analyze the organizing themes and contrasts of a popularly circulated #MeToo story of their own choosing. In the second, we will uncover assumptions about who and what constitutes an “ideal victim” in our class readings. The third assignment asks students to use a theoretical text on narratives of sexual abuse as a lens through which to interpret characters’ actions and motivations in a fictional work on the topic. For their final project, students will perform close textual analysis of interviews with women faculty about their experiences of workplace sexual harassment and situate them with respect to the narrative priorities, possibilities, and limitations we have identified as shaping the broader movement. 

WRI 101 [C]: Atheism
MWF 10:30 - 11:20
Blum
Atheism may begin with the denial of God’s existence, but it need not end there. Various thinkers worked to expand and deepen atheism, seeking to develop it into a functional worldview-an understanding of the self and its place in the world that could be meaningful, moral, and intellectually coherent. The task of this course is to assess that attempt: to determine whether and to what degree atheism can be elaborated into a satisfying and livable understanding of the self in the world. Class assignments include three major papers and a number of shorter, lower-stakes writing assignments throughout the semester. 

WRI 101 [D]: Bad Art
MWF 10:30 - 11:20

WRI 101 [E]: Bad Art
MWF 11:30 - 12:20

WRI 101 [F]: Bad Art
MWF 12:30 - 1:20
Rippeon
This writing course examines “bad art”: cultural productions that raise questions about censorship and freedom of expression, the ethics of representation, kitsch and camp, and good art made by bad people.  We will consider a variety of cultural forms, including literary texts (poems, fiction); music, television and film; and the visual arts.  We will work to develop criteria for engaging with these forms; to develop these criteria, we will read critical theory, popular journalism, and literary and art criticism.  We will also occasionally make use of the College’s art collection, and our own practices of cultural consumption.  Student writing will include shorter, low-stakes assignments, informal presentations, and a series of essays (four) executed through a sequence of individual and group-oriented activities (e.g. conferences, peer-review, drafting and revision). 

WRI 101 [G]: Writing Criticism
MWF 10:30 - 11:20
Ingram
This section of WRI 101 considers criticism broadly, from online reviews to professional scholarship. Pushing beyond simple thumbs-up or thumbs-down assessments, this section focuses on criticism as writing that deepens our understandings of cultural texts-literature, theater, visual art, film, and more. By the end of the semester, students will have developed skills for analyzing those cultural texts, including their own writing.

The semester begins with minute attention to one of the most influential rhetorical performances of American history, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” Our discussions will emphasize King’s style and will explore what his famous “Letter” can teach us academic writers. Next, we will study the novel recognized by the 2020 National Book Award, Charles Yu’s genre-defying satire Interior Chinatown. Even Yu’s title raises questions (what does it mean to call a neighborhood “a Chinatown”?), and we will pursue those questions through the resources of the library. Finally, near the end of the semester, students will choose a film for our last exercises in analysis and research, as they undertake their transition out of WRI 101 and into a world of texts waiting for alert readers.

WRI 101 [H]: Vicious Ignorance
TR 9:40 - 10:55
Busch
Ignorance, strictly speaking, is the lack of knowledge. That in itself isn’t a bad thing. You and I can be ignorant about the variety of fonts available in a word processor, and the world would keep turning. But other forms of ignorance aren’t so innocent. Take for instance a politician’s willful ignorance about the needs of their constituents: It may result in harmful policies that deprive people of affordable housing, access to healthcare, safety from violence, or other basic needs. This raises an important question: To what extent do various harmful social institutions, practices, or events involve vicious ignorance, or ignorance that results from personal vice? 

The course confronts this question through four writing projects. In the first project, we shall reflect on the nature and cognitive origins of vicious ignorance by engaging with philosopher Quassim Cassam’s Vices of the Mind. In the second project, we shall examine discourse on the role of vicious ignorance in empty talk. In the third project, we shall examine discourse on the role of vicious ignorance in tokenism (racial, sex-based, class-based). In the fourth project, each of us shall use the vicious ignorance model to help explain a given harmful social institution, practice, or event such as warmongering, squandering, or profiteering.

WRI 101 [I]: Medicine and Otherness
TR 8:15 - 9:30
Vaz

In this course, we will explore how cultural perceptions of otherness and difference emanate from or infiltrate medical conceptualizations of illness and disease. We will use fictional and nonfictional texts to explore a variety of questions like:  

·       What is “otherness”? What does it mean to be different?   

·       What is the normative?  

·       What is the function of difference or otherness in society?

·       What are the socio-political ramifications of such binaries? 

·       What assumptions of otherness inform our treatment of “others”?  

·       How does the medical gaze inform our treatment of difference?  

WRI 101 [J]: Democracy in America
TR 12:15 - 1:30
Yesnowitz
Is American democracy healthy? If so, what are the determinants of democratic strength and resilience? If not, are there specific remedies that might address the present challenges that we face? To explore these contemporary questions, we will situate the American democratic experience within an historical and comparative perspective. Students in this seminar will consider how the nation has arrived at this especially precarious moment and closely scrutinize possible proposals for democratic reform. Topics to be examined in written assignments include: democratic norms and traditions, persistent inequalities in American life, the erosion of public trust and faith in institutions, and the prospects for multiracial democracy and civic renewal.

WRI 101 [K]: Justice and Piety
MWF 8:30 - 9:20
Shaw
The course offers students a chance to investigate a venerable question of political life: What is the relationship between political justice and religious faith? While most of us in twenty-first century liberal democracies assume that politics and religion have nothing in common-and that they should have nothing in common-political philosophers have long acknowledged their intimate and mutually implicative relationship.

We’ll explore this relationship by reading and discussing writings that span several genres (philosophy, epic poetry, historical narrative, rhetoric, and dramatic dialogue) by four ancient Greek authors: Homer, Thucydides, Sophocles, and Plato. We’ll attempt this task as well by writing often and in a variety of formats. In all assignments students will be encouraged to articulate and defend their own interpretations and points of view. 

WRI 101 [M]: Identity in Black America
TR 9:40 - 10:55
Salter
According to recent public opinion polling, a majority of Black Americans say that being Black is very important to how they see and think about themselves. But what does it mean to be Black? Who identifies as Black in America? How have Black identities changed over time? Does context matter? Through several major writing assignments, we will reflect on these questions and more. In this WRI course, we will draw upon a variety of disciplines (e.g., Psychology, Sociology, Africana Studies) to examine the complexities of Black identity in memoirs, films, empirical articles, and other sources. By the end of the semester, students will have considered the multiple ways different constructions of Black identity have powerfully shaped both individual and collective experiences.

WRI 101 [N]: Facebook Friends and Other Virtual Companions
MFW 11:30 - 12:20
Heggestad
The short-lived app Somebody allowed users to act as remote surrogates, offering hugs to long-distance partners by means of a stranger. Emerging AI social media influencers are followed by millions. Our phones accompany us everywhere we go, and when we return home, we’re often greeted by Alexas, Roombas, and other smart appliances. Worth noting, however, is that these digital companions aren’t entirely new. Before we had algorithms that learned our preferences, we were entertained by Neopets, Tamagotchis, Sims, and their kin. Sometimes, we form bonds through these technologies. At other times, we form bonds with them.  

Some, like Clifford Stoll, view these trends antagonistically. According to him, “It’s sad when people’s lives are so sterile that they search for real human companionship in digital entities.” Many others have entered the chat; politicians, activists, psychologists, educators, and parents have all weighed in on the role that technology should play in our lives and in our relationships. Then again, finding companionship with the non-human is nothing new-as we’ll explore in this course. Over the semester, we will examine a wide array of virtual companions, the roles they play in our lives, and the rhetoric surrounding their existence. Assignments will include three primary pieces of writing: a personal narrative, a research paper, and a multimodal project. 

WRI 101 [O]: Ain’t What it Used to Be
TR 1:40 - 2:55
Kaliski
In the midst of our polarized America, how can our national theatre advocate for a more nuanced understanding of our society? Theatre has excelled as a civic tool throughout human history, but in current times, we often forget about its potency, considering it instead as a niche storytelling form that struggles to compete with film and TV. On the contrary, theatre has a singular magnetism. With its unique ability to realize long conversations between intricately developed characters in live, communal gathering spaces, we could argue that theatre is the sharpest artistic answer to a country that struggles mightily to understand itself. 

This course will engage in close readings of four major plays from the past decade that articulate the disquieting uncertainty about future America and the fascinating, contradictory people who occupy it. For each of the plays, you will select one character, plot point, idea, or conceptual choice to unpack in a writing assignment, striving throughout the drafting process for deeper intellectual and emotional understanding of how the theatrical form nudges its audience toward more compassionate citizenry. The play selections will look expansively at identity, both with regards to the playwrights and their character creations, so that we may consider how contemporary theatre is capturing an abundance of lived experiences.  

WRI 101 [P]: Scroll to Screen
MWF 10:30 - 11:20
G. Snyder
Where do “sacred books” come from? How do they grow and change over time? How does their form-handwritten, then printed, and now digital-affect their meaning? These questions lie at the heart of the course, and we’ll explore them by looking at the Hebrew Bible, the Christian Bible, and the Qur’an. Along the way, we’ll create our own handwritten manuscript with papyrus and reed pens; we’ll set type and print documents in the letterpress shop in order to understand the printing revolution, and work with artifacts in the Rare Book Room. In the course of exploring the use of images in scripture, we’ll go to the Visual Arts Center and make woodblock prints.  Finally, we’ll consider what happens when scriptures are digitized and move into “the cloud.” How do these new digital forms influence the meaning, interpretation and authority of scripture?

The course features four writing projects, each of which passes through distinct stages that will prepare you for every paper you’ll write in college: finding and assimilating reliable sources, citing them; capturing your ideas, drafting, revising, and revising again. Along the way, we’ll form a collaborative community of writers and editors, learning how to comment helpfully on the work of others and to benefit from the comments of our fellow writers.

WRI 101 [Q]: Solitary Confinement Politics
TR 1:40 - 2:55pm
Garcia-Rojas
Currently, there are nearly 100,000 people being held in solitary confinement in prisons across the United States. This number does not take into account people who are being held in jails, juvenile halls, and immigration detention centers. Because there is no federal reporting system that tracks how many people are isolated at any given time, the number is an undercount based on statistics gathered from the Bureau of Justice nearly a decade ago. Incarcerated people who are confined to solitary are often placed there for months, if not decades. People of color are disproportionately represented in isolation units. Despite recognition of the negative psychological and physical consequences of forced isolation, it remains constitutional in the United States.

In this class, we will explore the politics of solitary confinement through a socio-legal lens and the questions this practice prompts: Why was solitary confinement first introduced in the United States, and what did it seek to accomplish? How has the public perception and practice of solitary confinement changed since it was first introduced? To what extent does the legacy of slavery and the convict lease system continue to shape incarceration practices and patterns in the U.S.? What are some of the strategies incarcerated people have developed to resist solitary confinement?

WRI 101 [R]: Claiming Disability
TR 9:40 - 10:55
Fox
In the United States today, amazing forces are being marshalled for social change. Yet disability too often remains an afterthought at best–or meets outright hostility at worst–when we speak about diversity, equity, and inclusion. There are many reasons for this: the long history of disability being regarded only as the province of doctors and other medical practitioners; resistance to understanding disability as a lived identity intersecting with race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class; the fact that disability has been used by majority communities against minority communities in order to justify oppression; and the ableism, both casual and overt, that generally pervades our society. COVID-19 has made thinking about disability all the more urgent: at pandemic’s start, all bodies were suddenly vulnerable and needed accommodations; the immunocompromised and unvaccinated remain vulnerable; and “long COVID” has brought a new community of disabled people into being. But of course, all bodies were always contingent, and the global pandemic simply made that more visible. And because all our bodies can be oppressed by ableist ideas, claiming disability as an identity, a creative force, and a social justice movement matters for everyone.

More specifically, our course will be premised on exploring the following four big questions. Each will serve as the opportunity for you to write an intellectual argument of your own.

What does it mean to think about disability as an identity in 21st century America? Here, we’ll consider the history of disability as a community and activist movement.

How has disability representation shaped reality? We’ll consider how language and popular culture influence our ideas about disability.

How is disability a force for artistic creation and innovation? We will consider how disability as an embodied, relational, and social experience has creative potential for art and design.

How is the disability justice movement an essential part of social justice work? We examine how the principles of disability justice teach us the ways ableism snarls into and mutually constitutes other kinds of oppression.

The four essays you craft will all follow the same workflow: A week for discussing readings, a week for preparing a draft, a week of commenting on drafts, and a week for revision. By the end of this course, you will have learned multiple strategies for writing at the College level, regardless of discipline.

WRI 101 [S]: Building Stories
MWF 2:30 - 3:20
 

WRI 101 [T]: Building Stories
MWF 11:30 - 12:20 p.m.
Churchill
Architecture is not a passive structure we occupy; rather, it shapes our minds and imaginations, influencing what we do and how we do it. In this course, we’ll explore physical and virtual spaces, ranging from homes, prisons, and hospitals, to blogs, websites, and digital archives. We’ll also approach writing as a form of architecture, breaking out of the predictable 5-paragraph essay blueprint in order to reimagine essays as more enticing dwelling spaces for your readers to inhabit. The course itself will inhabit the digital realm: the course hub will be a website; you will learn to write for web publication; and you will design a WordPress site on your own Davidson Domain to showcase your work throughout your career at Davidson. No previous technological training needed, but creativity, critical thinking, and a collaborative spirit are required. 

WRI 101 [U]: In Search of Europe and Europeans
MWF 1:30 - 2:20 p.m.
Henry

What is Europe? At first, this seems like an obvious question, but a glance at the international section of a newspaper proves otherwise. Unresolved tensions about the boundaries of Europe lurk behind headlines about Brexit-related food shortages in the United Kingdom, tensions between the United States and its European NATO partners or acts of violence by neofascist movements claiming to defend Europe against “invasion” by immigrants. In fact, as we will explore in this course, the exact definitions of “Europe” and “European” have been a matter of controversy and debate for centuries. The ancient Greek writer Herodotus argued that there was no good reason why “three distinct names [Asia, Europe and Africa] … should ever have been given to what is really a single landmass.” Yet more than two thousand years later, Europe remains very much alive, not only as a geographic descriptor but also as a cultural ideal and a political project.

Throughout the semester, we’ll look at how a diverse assortment of written and visual sources have represented Europe and Europeans. We’ll hear from people around the world: artists, writers, politicians, activists, athletes, pirates, and more. Participants will hone their writings skills through a combination of traditional essays and shorter, more informal assignments.

Spring 2023 Sections

WRI 101 [A]: Religion in the Public Square
MWF 9:30 - 10:20

WRI 101 [B]: Religion in the Public Square
TR 10:30 - 11:20

WRI 101 [C]: Religion in the Public Square
MWF 1:30 - 2:20
Blum
The ideal of democracy is a society in which well-informed citizens who disagree with each other engage in free and reasoned debate, guided by the shared aim of cultivating a flourishing society. The role of religion in this ideal has always been a contentious topic, and in recent years it has reemerged as a matter of dispute. This class poses the question: what role should religion play in public discourse? The class will draw on a variety of perspectives that speak to fundamental questions about the rights, freedoms, and responsibilities that citizens have, and the role that religion plays in those challenging questions. Students will write three major papers, in addition to a number of smaller, lower-stakes writing assignments.  

WRI 101 [D]: Bad Art
MWF 9:30 - 10:20

WRI 101 [E]: Bad Art
MWF 10:30 - 11:20
Rippeon
This writing course examines “bad art”: cultural productions that raise questions about censorship and freedom of expression, the ethics of representation, kitsch and camp, and good art made by bad people.  We will consider a variety of cultural forms, including literary texts (poems, fiction); music, television and film; and the visual arts.  We will work to develop criteria for engaging with these forms; to develop these criteria, we will read critical theory, popular journalism, and literary and art criticism.  We will also occasionally make use of the College’s art collection, and our own practices of cultural consumption.  Student writing will include shorter, low-stakes assignments, informal presentations, and a series of essays (four) executed through a sequence of individual and group-oriented activities (e.g. conferences, peer-review, drafting and revision). 

WRI 101 [F]: Irrationality
MWF 12:30 - 1:20
Griffith
Human beings often behave and think in ways that seem irrational. We do things we know we shouldn’t (e.g., we procrastinate, or smoke, or stay up too late). We engage in various kinds of self-deception. We fail to align our beliefs with our best evidence. Although these behaviors are everywhere, philosophers throughout the centuries have wondered how they are possible. They have also puzzled over how best to describe or explain them. For example, how could someone really know that it is bad for her to do something and then go ahead and intentionally do it? What is going on when this happens? How can a person lie to himself, given that being able to lie requires knowing the truth?

In this course we will think, discuss, and write about these sorts of questions and what philosophers (and others) have had to say about them. Other questions we might consider are: What factors play a role in generating irrationality? Can irrationality be avoided? Is irrationality ever a good thing?

In four major projects, each involving several weeks of critical reading, drafting, and revision, students will respond to these complex and important questions.

WRI 101 [G]: Wisdom and Tech Across Time
TR 12:15 - 1:30
Kabala
Is technology good or bad-or does it depend? This question haunts our smart-phone driven world of social media and innovation. It is not new, however: the question has also concerned generations of thinkers and spiritual masters going back thousands of years. This course invites students to confront the wisdom of technology by grounding ourselves in such ancient and medieval traditions. We will read, discuss, and write about Platonic dialogues, Ovidian poetry, as well as Old Testament books and apocrypha. We will then trace their lessons in the modern day through contemporary fiction and filmmaking.

WRI 101 [H]: Genealogy of Food
TR 3:05 - 4:20
Stremlau
What do our cherished family recipes teach us about the human experience? If we use our family’s beloved, ceremonial, holiday, or sacred dishes as a lens of historical analysis, what can we learn about our ancestors’ experiences over time and how those shape our own in the present? This class is a social history that centers our mouths and stomachs, dining room tables, elders’ kitchens, and recipes passed down through generations. We will read exemplary family histories that center food and food histories that emphasize family. Students will combine genealogical, oral history, and social history methods to research and write about the origin and evolution of a favorite dish, analyze it within a broad historical context, and connect their dish to their family’s story. Students will do this through four major writing assignments that include research, drafting, and revision.

WRI 101 [I]: Democracy in America
TR 12:15 - 1:30
WRI 101 [J]: Democracy in America
TR 1:40 - 2:55
Yesnowitz
Is American democracy healthy? If so, what are the determinants of democratic strength and resilience? If not, are there specific remedies that might address the present challenges that we face? To explore these contemporary questions, we will situate the American democratic experience within an historical and comparative perspective. Students in this seminar will consider how the nation has arrived at this especially precarious moment and closely scrutinize possible proposals for democratic reform. Topics to be examined in written assignments include: democratic norms and traditions, persistent inequalities in American life, the erosion of public trust and faith in institutions, and the prospects for multiracial democracy and civic renewal.
 

WRI 101 [K]: Ain’t What It Used to Be
TR 1:40 - 2:55
Kaliski
In the midst of our polarized America, how can our national theatre advocate for a more nuanced understanding of our society? Theatre has excelled as a civic tool throughout human history, but in current times, we often forget about its potency, considering it instead as a niche storytelling form that struggles to compete with film and TV. On the contrary, theatre has a singular magnetism. With its unique ability to realize long conversations between intricately developed characters in live, communal gathering spaces, we could argue that theatre is the sharpest artistic answer to a country that struggles mightily to understand itself. 

This course will engage in close readings of four major plays from the past decade that articulate the disquieting uncertainty about future America and the fascinating, contradictory people who occupy it. For each of the plays, you will select one character, plot point, idea, or conceptual choice to unpack in a writing assignment, striving throughout the drafting process for deeper intellectual and emotional understanding of how the theatrical form nudges its audience toward more compassionate citizenry. The play selections will look expansively at identity, both with regards to the playwrights and their character creations, so that we may consider how contemporary theatre is capturing an abundance of lived experiences.  

WRI 101 [L]: Fake News, Real Science
TR 8:15 - 9:30
M. Campbell
We are inundated with information from multiple sources, but how can scientific data help us make sense of the world? Students will become a local expert on one “controversial” topic and write about this topic using data to formulate logical arguments. Students will be guided in methods for drafting and revising their work which will be critiqued by classmates. Course work includes multiple brief, low-stakes written assignments, as well as consistent engagement with course readings through regular participation in class discussion. Six minor and one major written projects are required, each of which involves detailed analysis of texts, while also challenging students to articulate and defend their own positions based on data.

WRI 101 [M]: Problems in Museum Studies
MW 2:30 - 3:45
Corso-Esquivel
Artgoing publics traditionally revere museums as secular temples for aesthetic appreciation and repositories to safeguard cultural heritage. But are these assumptions-which have their roots in the Enlightenment-reasonable? In this course, we will interrogate the positivist origins of the art museum. We will consider how museums have long participated in highly interested projects of nation-building and cultural imperialism. We will ask how the artistic representation of gender, race, and class has yielded collections structured by exclusion. Since museums are drastically rethinking their organizations, these problematics function as springboards to identify theoretical opportunities in curatorial and museum studies. Using Problem-Based Learning (PBL), we will work on three problem cases, each dealing with one of the following ethico-political themes: looking, collecting, and showing. We will use writing as a primary mode to learn, and we will produce several types of writing in traditional and new media formats, written collaboratively and individually. Our projects will address how museums today might navigate the critical problems in displaying art and visual culture intentionally designed or institutionally appropriated for public consumption.

WRI 101 [N]: Facebook Friends
MWF 11:30 - 12:20
Heggestad
The short-lived app Somebody allowed users to act as remote surrogates, offering hugs to long-distance partners by means of a stranger. Emerging AI social media influencers are followed by millions. Our phones accompany us everywhere we go, and when we return home, we’re often greeted by Alexas, Roombas, and other smart appliances. Worth noting, however, is that these digital companions aren’t entirely new. Before we had algorithms that learned our preferences, we were entertained by Neopets, Tamagotchis, Sims, and their kin. Sometimes, we form bonds through these technologies. At other times, we form bonds with them.  

Some, like Clifford Stoll, view these trends antagonistically. According to him, “It’s sad when people’s lives are so sterile that they search for real human companionship in digital entities.” Many others have entered the chat; politicians, activists, psychologists, educators, and parents have all weighed in on the role that technology should play in our lives and in our relationships. Then again, finding companionship with the non-human is nothing new-as we’ll explore in this course. Over the semester, we will examine a wide array of virtual companions, the roles they play in our lives, and the rhetoric surrounding their existence. Assignments will include three primary pieces of writing: a personal narrative, a research paper, and a multimodal project. 

WRI 101 [O]: The Linguist’s Dilemma
TR 1:40 - 2:55
Fernandez
Since Aristotle, philosophers, theologians, and scientists alike have assumed that language is a uniquely human trait. When Descartes famously declared je pense, don je suis (I think, therefore I am), he suggested that only humans applied, as only they were believed to possess the tool through which humans demonstrate their ability to think-language. Centuries later, in the 1960s, the father of modern linguistics, Noam Chomsky, advanced this assumption by centering his research on the notion of Universal Grammar (UG), which holds that only humans are genetically endowed with the cognitive capacity for language. Animals, in contrast, were thought to possess neither the physiological nor the cognitive capacity for language.

In recent decades, this linguistic orthodoxy has been challenged by the bourgeoning field of animal studies. Research on creatures as different as bees to whales have offered evidence of rich communicative repertoires, complicating assumptions about the nature of language and prompting some not only to reconsider what it means to be human but also to consider new ways of engaging with non-human species. As it considers this central problem of contemporary linguistics-the nature of language, its evolution, and whether it is unique to humans-this first-year writing course will give students an opportunity to hone their skills as intellectual writers: to become yet more practiced at close and critical reading of others’ public and scholarly arguments, to fashion independent positions in response to those arguments, and to craft prose that both evokes their own signature style and reaches powerfully to interested readers. 

WRI 101 [P]: The Past in Scrapbooks to Statues
MWF 9:30 - 10:20
S. Campbell
We celebrate the past in many ways, in baby books that document first teeth, steps and words, in yearbooks that commemorate school years, in eulogies that memorialize loved ones, and in statues that signify historical importance.  Scrapbooking or creating a digital photo album about a recent trip may seem straightforward. Yet, actions of remembrance also generate controversy.  For example, a recent obituary published about a family pet in a local newspaper inspired an irate letter to the editor.  Meanwhile, countries have enacted memory laws, which mandate state-approved interpretations of crucial historical events and promote certain narratives about the past, and debates rage about how the past should be remembered, which we have witnessed through struggles over historical monuments.

In this WRI course, we will reflect on the past and explore key questions: how do we record our own pasts?  What is at stake when we engage in these activities, as individuals and as cultures?  Through several major projects, we will reflect on examples of personal commemoration, conduct archival research on college scrapbooking, explore historical monuments in the town of Davidson, and research current debates on historical control and commemoration.

WRI 101 (Q): Mindfulness: Writing in the Present Moment  
TR 8:15 - 9:30
Bhandari
This course approaches writing from a contemplative pedagogy perspective. Integrating tools from mindfulness and meditation practices into in-class and take-home writing assignments, students will learn to write for a variety of contexts and audiences. The goals of the writing strategy are to foster intrinsic motivation for the writing process, derive creative inspiration, and discover the joy in the creative process of writing.

 Mindfulness and contemplative exercises help to bring us fully into the present moment, from where we can communicate with clarity and passion. The same underlying skills that help us engage in dialogue with other scholars can also aid us in writing captivating blogposts that communicate scholarly ideas to a general audience. Mindfulness teaches us that being present in the moment fundamentally transforms our experiential reality and transmutes the quality of our focus. In this course, we will try to channel the qualities of mindful presence and focus to the process of writing. The three major assignments in this course will engage contemplative practices and mindfulness research; these assignments include writing scholarly analysis, writing for public engagement, and writing with a creative component. Readings in this course will present perspectives on mindfulness from multiple disciplinary approaches including (but not limited to) Sociology, Religious Studies and Literature.

 As a part of the class, we will take a fieldtrip to the Kadampa Meditation Center in Charlotte. The “Davidson Mindfulness” student group on campus will also be invited to visit our class, so you can learn about ways you can engage contemplative practices outside of class within the Davidson community. 

WRI 101 [R]: Who Killed Jesus?
MWF 9:30 - 10:20
Krentz
Who killed Jesus? For many centuries, the words of Matthew 27:25 (“His blood be upon us and upon our children!”) were used to justify the characterization of the Jews as Christ-killers. After the Holocaust, the Second Vatican Council rejected the idea that the Jewish people can be held responsible for Jesus’s death. Yet anti-Semitism persists. Perhaps each of us bears some responsibility for exploring why Jesus was executed.

This course will have four major scaffolded writing projects, as well as shorter writing opportunities. As with any skill, you get better at writing by practicing. I love the line attributed to a professional golfer (usually Ben Hogan or Gary Player), “Golf is a game of luck. The harder I practice, the luckier I get.”

WRI 101 [S]: In Search of Europe and Europeans
TR 8:15 - 9:30
L. Henry
What is Europe? At first, this seems like an obvious question, but a glance at the international section of a newspaper proves otherwise. Unresolved tensions about the boundaries of Europe lurk behind headlines about Brexit-related food shortages in the United Kingdom, tensions between the United States and its European NATO partners or acts of violence by neofascist movements claiming to defend Europe against “invasion” by immigrants. In fact, as we will explore in this course, the exact definitions of “Europe” and “European” have been a matter of controversy and debate for centuries. The ancient Greek writer Herodotus argued that there was no good reason why “three distinct names [Asia, Europe and Africa] … should ever have been given to what is really a single landmass.” Yet more than two thousand years later, Europe remains very much alive, not only as a geographic descriptor but also as a cultural ideal and a political project.

Throughout the semester, we’ll look at how a diverse assortment of written and visual sources have represented Europe and Europeans. We’ll hear from people around the world: artists, writers, politicians, activists, athletes, pirates, and more. Participants will hone their writings skills through a combination of traditional essays and shorter, more informal assignments.

WRI 101 [T]: Nuclear Science, Technology, and Policy
MWF 12:30 - 1:20
A. Kuchera
The discovery of the atomic nucleus in the early 1900s quickly led to history-changing technologies around the world. While some applications provide societal benefits, others have the power to cause mass destruction. A science with potential to advance and yet destroy civilizations needs global cooperation to understand the pros and cons of the technologies involved. In this course we will discuss the scientific principles behind the nucleus of the atom for a general audience and investigate how the properties can be harnessed for use in everyday life. From there we will discuss the risks and what role national and international policy should play in safeguarding the materials and regulations of nuclear science. This course has four major sections where students will reflect on what are the risks and rewards of: basic science, technological applications, environment, and governmental policy. No previous nuclear science or policy background in needed.

WRI 101 [U]: Who Owns the Past?
MWF 11:30 - 12:20
Krentz
Debates over cultural property have become more public and more acrimonious over the past thirty years. From Confederate monuments to the Parthenon marbles, from the 9,000-year-old skeleton found on the banks of the Columbia River near Kennewick, Washington, to the Bamiyan Buddha statues destroyed by the Taliban in Afghanistan, from the ancient amphora in the Carnegie Guest House to the Beaver Dam plantation owned by Davidson College, cultural property has become highly contested. Who owns it? Who is responsible for maintaining it? Who gets to decide?

In this course, students will explore a number of these controversies and practice writing informed arguments that take into account the various stakeholders, the relevant laws, and applicable codes of ethics.

WRI 101 [V]: Reproductive Justice: Birth Control, Bodyfeeding, and Beyond
TR 3:05 - 4:20
Ruhlen
The overturning of Roe v. Wade in June 2022 has everyone talking about abortion laws. Against this backdrop of individual vs. states’ rights rhetoric, we will broaden the problem to a reproductive justice framework, which SisterSong defines as the human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have children, not have children, and parent the children we have in safe and sustainable communities. Legal abortion, and even access to affordable abortion, is just a narrow slice of this vision.

Centering the experiences and priorities of indigenous women, women of color, and trans people, we will examine what reproductive justice says about health, choice, parenting, and education. Readings will range from scholarly articles to blog posts. With frequent short writing assignments and three larger projects, you will reflect on your own received notions of reproductive norms and research the larger cultural, economic, and environmental forces that shape and often impede people’s reproductive decisions.