This writing course focuses on the creation of complex, analytic, well-supported
arguments that matter in academic contexts. You will work closely with your peers and
instructor to develop your own written prose. Readings cover a variety of different
genres and academic disciplines.
In our class, we will read and write about the representation of U.S. slavery from 1831 to
the present. Recent films like Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln and Quentin Tarantino’s
Django have re-ignited critical debates about how our country’s slave past should or
should not be remembered. By looking at written texts, as well as photographs, multimodal
artwork, and film, we will uncover the arguments that writers and artists have
made about how we should remember slavery, and why. In thinking through the ways in
which slavery has been remembered (or forgotten) across different generations and
representational media, we will, by the end of the semester:
(1) sharpen our critical thinking skills
(2) learn what makes an argument persuasive
(3) write academic prose that is elegant, confident, and clear
Through close reading exercises, whole-class and small-group workshops, and studentled
presentations, we will pinpoint the most common challenges of academic writing, and
identify ways to address them. In addition to more informal writing tasks, each of you
will produce between 25-30 pages of polished academic prose in the body of three
essays, a midterm, and a final.
Required Texts (please buy the specified editions of each text)
Joseph Williams- Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace (6th edition-used copies
available on Amazon-ISBN-10: 0321024087)
Frederick Douglass-Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (Norton Critical Edition-
ISBN-10: 0393969665)
Kyle Baker-Nat Turner (ISBN-10: 0810972271)