WRI 101 - Course list for Writing in the Liberal Arts

Spring 2025 Sections

WRI 101 [A]: Untangling Hair
R 8:15 - 10:55
Cho
Shaving and covering head hair, freckled red haired Neandertals, Brazilian wax, Black women and hair, blond hair and IQ. Anthropology is a holistic study of the biological and behavioral aspects of humans from the past and present populations. Its inherent interdisciplinarity facilitates a rich and nuanced understanding of a specific topic such as hair. What is interdisciplinarity? How can transcending the disciplinary walls and the liberal arts better inform us? The class will use the anthropological lens on hair to reveal that 1) its unique distribution in our bodies is due to biological evolution, 2) hair color and hair type reflect environmental adaptations of our ancestors, 3) hair embodies social group identities such as gender and race, and 4) hair is imbued with all sorts of rituals, traditions, and meanings. Students will complete several writing projects that will examine and analyze hair from multiple academic disciplines. Students will discern information in academic or primary sources and popular media sources, provide an analysis of its content, structure the presentation of the analysis, and execute the writing through stages.

WRI 101 [B]: Atheism
MWF 9:30 - 10:20
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 [C]: Being Human
MWF 10:30 - 11:20
Wertheimer
Being Human:  For millennia, people have asked: What does it mean to be human?  This course excavates this bottomless question using tools borrowed from a wide variety of disciplines: Classics, religious studies, anthropology, biology, psychology, economics, Africana studies, comparative literature, history, and more.  Essays written by members of the Davidson College faculty dominate the reading list.  Authors of several of these essays will visit the class. 

WRI 101 [D]: Violence and Abrahamic Religions
MWF 1:30 - 2:20
Swenson-Lengyel
This class will explore ethical, theological, and historical/sociological questions regarding violence and peace in Abrahamic religious traditions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam). Over the course of the semester, we will read writings by theologians, ethicists, poets and novelists, historians, and sociologists of religion. The class will be organized into three main sections, aligned with these three approaches to the questions of peace and violence in religions. In the first section, we will ask: is violence ever justified ethically? Here we will examine religious ethical debates around pacifism and just war. In the second section, we will ask the theological question: how are we to understand the goodness of God in the face of worldly violence? In this section, we will engage post-holocaust theology, along with other work on evil, both literary and theological. And in the final section, we will ask: how should we understand the historical and contemporary phenomenon of ‘religious violence’? Here, we will examine case studies such as the rise of American Christian nationalism and the phenomenon of Islamic extra- and intra-state political violence to consider the historical and sociological linkages between religious commitments and violent political action. The three sections will each be accompanied by a writing project, all three of which will proceed through lower-stakes, scaffolded writing assignments, as well as peer discussion and revision. By the end of the course, you will have developed your skills as a careful reader, as an analyzer of diverse kinds of scholarship, and as an academic writer and communicator.

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.

In this course, we will seek answers to these questions by reading a variety of texts, watching podcasts and YouTube videos, and writing texts of different genres. The major assignments include literacy native, critical commentary, and digital portfolio. These assignments will showcase your writing development and how you have improved your writerly voice over the semester. By the end of this course, you will have a better understanding of what makes a unique voice, how to develop your own, and how to make your writing stand out.

Fall 2024 Sections

WRI 101 [A]: The Science of Happiness
MW 8:05 - 9:20
Sockol
What does it mean to be happy? Why do we value happiness? And how can individuals, groups, and institutions promote human flourishing and growth? In this writing seminar, we will focus on how these themes have been framed and investigated in the field of positive psychology - as empirical questions that can be answered through systematic observation of the world. You will learn about this research and develop your critical reading skills by engaging with a range of texts, including scientific articles, journalism, podcasts, and other forms of media. Along with our discussions of existing research, we will engage in experiential learning activities, exploring different “positive interventions” designed to promote happiness and well-being. You will develop your ability to write for different purposes and audiences through three major writing projects. For each project, we will go through a process of drafting, peer feedback, and substantive revision. 

WRI 101 [AA]: News as First Draft of History
TR 12:15 - 1:30 p.m.
Drew
News is sometimes called the first draft of history, and journalists are often primary witnesses to historic events, like elections, natural disasters, war, and great moments in art. But how does the speed and pressure of today’s news distort that first draft of history, and who gets to create news, how do they create it, and who gets to consume it and critique it? Drawing on a variety of journalistic and scholarly readings, this course will explore the news craft, narratives being drafted by journalists now, and the privilege of engaging in public discourse. The course features three major projects, each with drafting, peer critique, and strong revision.

WRI 101 [B]: #MeToo
TR 9:40 - 10:55 
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]: Critical Reading and Critical Writing
MWF 9:30 - 10:20
Gay
During this semester, students and the course instructor will work as a team to answer one complex question: What is critical thinking? In this quest, we will read a series of non-fiction texts intended to develop critical reading skills and write three major writing projects, each with drafting, critique, and revision, intended to develop critical writing skills.

WRI 101 [E]: Death
MWF 9:30 - 10:20
Blum
Death raises provocative questions about the human condition - questions about value, meaning, and the limits of our ability to understand the nature of our own existence. It is also something humans have great difficulty confronting; some even argue that it is impossible to truly understand death. So, while it raises profound questions about the character and importance of our lives, death is also something that hovers at the limits of our understanding. The course’s first unit asks whether we can comprehend death and, if so, how we should do so. The second unit raises the question of the value of death: in short, is death a good thing or a bad thing? Finally, in unit three, we will attempt to discern if death is meaningful and, if so, what that meaning is. Each unit consists of readings that address the unit’s topic and culminates in an essay on that topic that students will draft, critique, and revise.

WRI 101 [F]: From 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?

WRI 101 [G]: Death
MWF 10:30 - 11:20
Blum
Death raises provocative questions about the human condition - questions about value, meaning, and the limits of our ability to understand the nature of our own existence. It is also something humans have great difficulty confronting; some even argue that it is impossible to truly understand death. So, while it raises profound questions about the character and importance of our lives, death is also something that hovers at the limits of our understanding. The course’s first unit asks whether we can comprehend death and, if so, how we should do so. The second unit raises the question of the value of death: in short, is death a good thing or a bad thing? Finally, in unit three, we will attempt to discern if death is meaningful and, if so, what that meaning is. Each unit consists of readings that address the unit’s topic and culminates in an essay on that topic that students will draft, critique, and revise.

WRI 101 [H]: Genius
MWF 11:30-12:20
Robak
In this course, we will explore the idea of “genius” from its origins in the 1700s to its impact on our thinking today. We will interrogate assumptions about genius vis-à-vis intelligence, originality, giftedness, effort, achievement, and gender. Through engagement with a variety of historical and contemporary thinkers and artists, we will begin to understand how this idea continues to impact fields such as education, the performing arts, and science. Along the way, you’ll have the opportunity to refine your writing skills through three major projects, covering research strategies, attribution, thesis development, argument structuring, drafting, and revision. 

WRI 101 [I]: Mindfulness, Yoga, Qi
MWF 11:30 - 12:20
Pang
In today’s digital age, where Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, such as ChatGPT, are easily accessible, it is more important than ever to develop a unique voice to communicate effectively with readers. This course will help you explore what it means to have a unique voice in writing and how to develop it. For example, how can our cultural and linguistic backgrounds affect the way we express our voice in writing? How do our self-perceptions impact our discursive choices? How can we use rhetorical devices to develop our unique voice and make it heard in writing? How can we strengthen our voice by incorporating reliable sources?

In this course, we will seek answers to these questions by reading a variety of texts, watching podcasts and YouTube videos, and writing texts of different genres. The major assignments include literacy native, critical commentary, and digital portfolio. These assignments will showcase your writing development and how you have improved your writerly voice over the semester. By the end of this course, you will have a better understanding of what makes a unique voice, how to develop your own, and how to make your writing stand out.

WRI 101 [J]: Justice and Piety
WMF 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 [K]: Access to Justice
MWF 9:30 - 10:20
O’Geen
This course will examine how people with limited resources access and engage with the justice system - both criminal and civil - in the United States.  Taking a multidisciplinary approach that spans the social sciences, law, and history, we will investigate questions such as what makes a particular problem a “legal” problem? What barriers - including equal access to legal representation - might stand in the way of just dispute resolution?  How do political, legal, and social forces shape peoples’ experiences with the justice system?  Course readings will range from scholarly books to law review articles, empirical studies, and journalism.  Students will gain important practice locating and evaluating sources for use in their writing, with special attention placed on using sources with integrity.  During the course, students will complete three major projects, each with drafting, peer critique, and robust revision.

WRI 101 [L]: Voice, Identity, and Self
TR 9:40 - 10:55
He
Writing involves the intricate interplay of one’s voice, identity, and self-formation, crucial elements distinguishing humans from chatbots. This course delves into various topics, such as the role of language in shaping identity and how culture and society influence individual voices. It will also discuss ethical concerns regarding generative AI, authenticity, and self-representation in writing.

Through lively discussions and insightful readings, you’ll gain a nuanced understanding of how language molds our voices and shapes our perceptions of self. Additionally, you’ll have the opportunity to develop your own voice through writing assignments. Major assignments include a literacy narrative, a critical analysis, and a collaborative research report, which will comprise the final project, the digital portfolio.

By the end of the course, you’ll gain a deeper appreciation for the transformative influence of language, the complexities of identity, and the dynamic nature of voice. 

WRI 101 [M]: Arab Prisons and Cultural Production
TR 8:15 - 9:30
Bader-Eddin
Prisons, the cultural sphere, and their internal and external domination constitute a tripartite strategy utilized by Arab authoritarian regimes to assert control over public spaces, strengthen order, and consolidate their power through various forms of violence. This course undertakes an in-depth examination of the prison system within Arab culture and countries, scrutinizing specific instances of prison cultural practices, theories, methodologies, and literary and artistic works. Additionally, it delves into prisons as a manifestation of performative violence, aiming not only to subjugate prisoners but also to exert dominance over the social, political, cultural, and economic landscape surrounding the prison itself. While the course revolves around prisons, its primary focus is on studying how cultural production shapes perceptions and controls, demonstrated through diverse cultural products such as films, music, literature, and everyday language.

 Although the course is centered on Syria, it remains open to exploring broader Arab prisons through various case studies. These case studies not only enrich our understanding of the region but also deepen our comprehension of prison structures, domination, and the cultural production within this field. The course will address several critical questions, including: How do cultural actors produce art in repressive environments? What strategies can be employed to subvert authoritarian regimes? Can we effectively write about pain and interpret it? How can we approach academically and ethically such topics? Throughout the course, students will undertake three projects: writing a film critique, comparing two key articles on prisons in the MENA region, and crafting a final paper on prison cultural production. Each project will undergo three phases: drafting, peer critique, and revision.

WRI 101 [N]: Good Argument
MW 2:30 - 3:45
G. Bullock

We have been conditioned to think negatively about arguments, and in fact they are often messy, mean, and misinformed, especially in our current political climate. They also may be, paradoxically, the foundation of healthy communities and thriving democratic republics. In this course, we’ll explore this paradox and how we can distinguish between “good argument” and “bad argument,” building on insights from the fields of political science, philosophy, psychology, and rhetoric. We’ll examine the relationship between our norms of public discourse and efforts to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion, defend freedom of speech and expression, and build the public good. How can they both complement and undermine each other? 

Students will use a variety of writing styles - an interpretative analysis, a persuasive op-ed, and a research paper - to analyze the dynamics of good and bad argument in the context of recent college protests, the upcoming elections, and specific contemporary issues facing our society. Each project will undergo drafting, peer critique, and robust revision as students improve their writing skills. Throughout the course, students will not only discuss and write about the nature of good argument but also engage in it actively with one another, as they discuss the readings and topics on the syllabus. Finally, we will deliberate about two important practical questions - how might we encourage more good argument, and when, if ever, is it appropriate to engage in bad argument, or no argument at all? 

WRI 101 [O]:  The Linguists Dilema

TR 9:40 - 10:55
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]: World-Building
TR 1:40 - 2:55
Ingram
“World-building” refers to the construction of imaginary worlds, each with their own maps, languages, and histories. Think of worlds such as Tatooine and Wakanda and Panem; think creators such as J.R.R. Tolkien and Octavia Butler and Hayao Miyazaki.

In writing assignments and class discussions, the students of this section will analyze masterpieces of world-building, such as Thomas More’s Utopia, published in 1516, and the recipient of the 2022 Academy Award for Best Picture Everything Everywhere All at Once; they will examine the ever-evolving media for world-building (prose fiction, graphic novels, films, videogames); and they will reflect on the enduring desire to create alternatives to this imperfect world.  Finally and most importantly for WRI 101, new students will be introduced to the expectations of and possibilities for college-level writing, so that they may navigate-and even shape-the world where they have recently arrived, the world of higher education.

WRI 101 [Q]: Bathing and Culture
MWF 2:30 - 3:20pm
A. Smith
Nearly 2,000 years ago, a person in the Roman colony of Timgad (Algeria) felt it important to compose a graffito that expressed, “to bathe…is to live.” While regular bathing is important hygienically, in American society, it is a private act, done behind closed doors.  However, in antiquity and in modern societies around the world, bathing is a public and communal affair. Enjoyment is had, connections are made, and relaxation is vital - for those visiting the baths, of course. For those working in the baths, a different centrality of the bathing habit emerges. This course examines ancient bathing in Greek and Roman societies, using translations of ancient texts (primarily Vitruvius and Martial) and modern scholarship (Yegül, Fagan, and Trümper among others) to inform our understanding of this fundamental custom. Who were the people who patronized these establishments in antiquity and what elements of bathing characterized these ancient traditions? How were these baths built and by whom were they managed and maintained? How can modern customs of public bathing better inform us about the experiences of ancient people whose voices are virtually all but lost to us?

These primary questions will be explored in this writing course in the form of three major projects, with regular peer critique, drafting, and revision. These major projects will ask students to engage with the ancient evidence for bathing in Greek and Roman cultures, critically examine the ways in which archaeological evidence can and cannot be used to substantiate ancient literary sources, and compare their own personal experiences and modern bathing habits from global cultures to antiquity.  By the end of this course, students will have a better understanding of this essential custom of the ancient Mediterranean world and build the tools with which cross-cultural, temporal, and geographical analyses are made.

WRI 101 [R]: Friendship
TR 3:05 - 4:20
Ewington
Freshman year in college - a time to make new friends and build friendships that will last a lifetime! But what is friendship? The idea may seem self-evident but in fact the western tradition of friendship has evolved from the Ancients, with their focus on masculine civic virtue, to the Enlightenment, when women start claiming the mantle of friendship, and into the present-day, with Hollywood “bromances” and social media “friends.” At every stage, friendship engages questions of gender, socio-economic status, religion, ethics, sexuality, and public vs. private. In this course we will explore key literary “friendship” texts as a foundation for developing analytical, research, and writing skills to help you succeed at Davidson and beyond.

WRI 101 [S]: Imagining Africa
TR 12:15 - 1:30
Wiemers
How has the idea of Africa been produced, contested, and used as a political tool? In this introduction to writing in the liberal arts, we will engage with a series of historical actors-politicians, scholars, and activists-who have used the idea of Africa to build and destroy empires, to create and contest community, and to imagine a world that was different from the one they inhabited. In the late nineteenth century, the concept of Africa emerged as an instrument of imperial power. At the same time, it became the basis for a wide variety of projects for solidarity and liberation by people of African decent in and beyond the continent. Both of these imaginings of Africa have continued, in various forms, to the present. The course centers on a central set of questions: What are the implications of how we imagine and describe the world? How have the categories that governments, activists, and scholars used to describe “Africa” helped them shape and reshape the world? What kinds of politics, interactions, and knowledge were made possible by particular visions? What possibilities were foreclosed? As we work to develop facility with argumentative writing, we will also use these questions to become more critical about the terms of our own analysis.
In the class, you will produce four major writing assignments, each of which will be drafted, peer-reviewed, and revised. You will also complete a number of low-stakes, unrevised, analytical pieces, including reading reflections and brief film and media reviews. Students will spend significant time reading, commenting, and offering suggestions on each other’s writing.
Over the course of the first three essays, you will learn to engage critically with a wide variety of texts, including critiques of the category of African from V.Y. Mudimbe’s 1988 The Invention of Africa to Binyavanga Wainaina’s popular 2006 satire “How to Write About Africa,” as well as the works of scholars and activists who have used the idea of Africa as a platform for critique, community, and social change (including Amy Jacques Garvey, Julius Nyerere, W.E.B. DuBois, and others). We will put these texts in conversation with one another, and use them to analyze primary sources ranging from turn-of-the-twentieth-century West African newspapers to contemporary movies and music videos. In the final project, you will analyze a contemporary imagining of Africa from a popular media source of your choosing. 

WRI 101 [T]: Bad Art
MWF 12:30 - 1:20 p.m.
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 [U]: Bad Art
MWF 1:30 - 2:20 p.m.
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 [V]: Building Stories
MWF 10:30 - 11:20 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 interact. In this course, we will explore virtual and physical structures ranging from the architecture of AI, to houses, refugee camps, and prisons. We will approach writing as a form of architecture, breaking out of the rigid 5-paragraph essay blueprint to design and build more expansive stories. The course itself will inhabit the digital realm: the course hub will be a website, and you will create your own Davidson domain and publish your essays online. No previous technological training needed, but creativity, critical thinking, and a collaborative spirit are required.

WRI 101 [W]: The Philosophy of Sex
MWF 3:30 - 4:20 p.m.
Studtmann
There is significant and politically charged disagreement over many important questions concerning sex and its consequences. For instance, some have thought that homosexuality is morally impermissible, while others have thought that homosexuality is no more and no less morally problematic than heterosexuality.  Some think that abortions are morally permissible under any conditions, while others think that abortion is never morally permissible.  In this course, we approach several topics concerning sex and its consequences by reading essays written about them by prominent philosophers as well as important Supreme Court cases.  In addition to reading and discussing the assigned essays, we also discuss the many facets of writing.  This will include special attention to sentence structure, argument construction, essay structure the principles of good rhetoric and good reasoning.

WRI 101 [X]: Facebook Friends
MW 2:30 - 3:45 p.m.
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 [Y]: Climate Comm: Just Hot Air?
TR 1:40 - 2:55 p.m.
Chapman
In this class, we will use climate change as a theme to learn college writing. Climate change is often referred to as the biggest science communication failure of all time. We will explore why, how, and lessons learned. We will investigate climate change through the discussion of scientific articles, news articles, messaging for the public, case studies, and videos. Students will learn to write concisely and how to distinguish scientific facts from opinions. The class will build skills in concise scientific writing, critical analysis of texts and other communication methods, distinguishing fact from opinion, and locating and citing relevant sources depending on the demands of an assignment. Through regular drafting, peer critique and revision, students will grow as writers at the college level. There are three major writing projects: 1) analysis of climate messaging, 2) scientific literature review on a climate topic of your choice, and 3) collaborative project to communicate climate science effectively.

WRI 101 [Z]: Irrationality
MWF 1:30 - 2:20 p.m.
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 explain or describe 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? And beyond just explaining these behaviors, there are further questions about how we should evaluate them. Are irrational thoughts and behaviors always bad? Can or should we be held responsible for them?

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 will consider are: What do we even mean by “rational” and “irrational?” Are there different kinds of rationality? What is the relationship between emotion and rationality? Is emotion necessarily the opponent of reason? Are we able to avoid irrationality? Should we always aim to?

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