100- and 200-level |
300-399 |
400-499 |
A complete up to date listing of English Department course descriptions can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.lsa.umich.edu/english/.
For all English classes, registered students must be present at each of the first two meetings to claim their places. Any student who does not meet this requirement may be dropped from the course. NOTE: If you must miss a class due to religious observances, contact the instructor or leave a message for the instructor with the department (764-6330).
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125. College Writing. ECB writing assessment. (4). (Introductory Composition).
No one ever finishes learning to write, so this course focuses
on helping students further develop their unique potentials as
writers, readers, and thinkers. By analyzing texts from a variety
of academic disciplines, students will come to understand the
conventions writers follow to present their ideas effectively
to their chosen audiences. What rhetorical strategies are common
in different disciplines – and why? How and when might we use those strategies in our own writing? For instance, what writing
strategies would we call upon for a lab report, and would we use
any of those strategies for a philosophical speculation, a history
exam, a love letter? Throughout the term, students will work to
identify the writing skills they most need to develop, and they'll
invent and refine a personal style of expression that can be adapted
to different audiences and purposes. Course requirements include
at least 40 pages of writing, including at least 20 pages of revised, polished prose. Section descriptions can be found on the department's
Web page or in 3020 Angell Hall.
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Section 004 – Writing and Thinking about Language. We all constantly use our knowledge of language to communicate, and do so rather automatically. In this course we will step back and take a closer look at what language is by reading, writing, talking, and thinking about it. Our course materials consist of readings and movies on the following topics: Animal communication vs. human language; child language acquisition; language and the mind; American Sign Language; language vs. dialect; African American Vernacular English/Ebonics; sexist language; and/or any language-related topics students would like to cover. Students will write short 1-2 page peer-reviewed response papers to the readings/movies, as well as 20-30 pages of graded polished prose. At the end of the term students will hand in a portfolio with all of their written work. This portfolio together with classroom involvement (active participation and peer critiques) will determine the final grade. (Toebosch)
Section 007 – The View from Here. Throughout your university experience you will be asked to read thousands of pages and write hundreds of assignments. You may often feel overwhelmed and underprepared. Enter, this course, with the goal to assist you in becoming, in the words of the author of our class text, not only strong readers but strong writers as well. Certainly, reading and writing entail unavoidable costs in blood, sweat, and tears. But there are also ways of minimizing those costs. Those ways are what I hope you will discover this semester as we look at writing as a critical venture within a reading and writing community. By the term's end you will have processed four 4-8 page papers, produced a journal of your responses to class readings, and participated in discussions engaging those readings. But most of all, through your written and oral responses in a writer's workshop, you will have assisted each other in finding the voices that work for you and the ways to express those voices effectively. Welcome Aboard! (Flores)
Sections 012 and 073 – Writing and Modern Critical Thought. This course will introduce students both to the art of expository writing and to some of the main currents of modern critical thought in philosophy and the social sciences. Readings will consist almost exclusively of short works by some of the most controversial authors of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Europe, such as Jeremy Bentham, Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche, Sigmund Freud, and Max Weber. The course will aim in part to give students a good basic understanding of each author's project and of its historical significance. At the same time, the investigation of these projects will be used as a springboard for learning to write in a clear, critical, and informed manner about societies and cultures, whether in a European past, an American present, or a post-modern and post-colonial future. Course requirements will include 3-4 formal essays, totaling 20-30 pages, as well as a number of more informal (but nonetheless important) assignments, such as several brief 1-2 page papers reacting to the readings; written and oral critiques of the writings of other students; and active participation in small and large group workshops sessions. (McEnnerney)
Section 019. We discover ourselves through thinking, and discover our thought by writing. The goals of this course are three – to develop critical reading, complex thinking, and good writing. Each of these is a process, so time spent on each will also mean time spent re-reading, re-thinking, and revising, working with peers to question, challenge, and support one another as writers. Throughout, we'll be considering the ways that we communicate – how do the choices we make as writers help us enter a discussion, make a point, and convince an audience? Plan on doing a lot of writing – graded and ungraded, with assignments of varying length and focus, as you try out different voices and styles. (Lavetter-Keidan)
Sections 020 and 035 - The City and Society. This course will consider urban culture by examining music, films, and a variety of readings about city life. We'll begin with stories defining your hometown, and consider how those relate to urban/suburban values expressed through movies such as Do the Right Thing and My New Gun. We'll study scholarly and popular readings to better analyze the source of urban tensions. Musical influences such as George Clinton, the Velvet Underground, and Puff Daddy will help us see how artists are celebrating their environments, while at the same time questioning the status quo. We'll participate in group discussions, critique the writing of other students, and revise papers before turning in the final drafts. Expect to write a total of 20-30 pages of revised, graded prose by the end of the term. (Aitken)
Section 021 – Expository Writing and the Environment. In this course you will be asked to write four revised, polished arguments or expository essays ranging in length from 5-10 pages, and while they must involve argumentation, these assignments do not specify a topic. In addition to these essays, you will be asked to write peer reviews or critiques and several response papers on the assigned readings. Although the theme of the course is the environment, we will spend the majority of class discussing argumentation: What is an argument? What makes an argument work well? By analyzing mostly non-fiction texts that are loosely based on or related to the environment and by analyzing the work of your own peers, we will discuss the conventions writers follow and do not follow in order to argue a thesis and present their ideas effectively. (Moses)
Section 022. How does a lover persuade the beloved of his or her affections? How do advertisements get us to desire a product? How does a television show like The Simpsons use humor to make a political statement? In this course, we'll investigate the various means of getting a point across, and the ideologies implicit and explicit in a number of different kinds of "texts," which may include the seduction poem, the scientific essay, the situation comedy, the "humanitarian narrative," the satire and the propaganda film. Our in-class discussions and debates will comprise a major part of the course. Our focus above all, however, will be on your own ability to construct a convincing argument, in the form of an analytical essay. Throughout the semester you'll have the opporunity both to experiment with a number of different styles of argumentation, and to hone your critical skills through the process of writing and revision. Course requirements will include active class participation, several short and two longer essays, and a take-home final. (Ryan)
Section 023 – The Anthropology of Sports. Through readings, videos, television, and fieldwork exercises we will consider sports from an anthropological perspective. Specifically we will: investigate the function of sports, both professional and amateur, in various cultures; explore their unification and/or devisive nature; explore issues of class, ethnicity, and gender; discuss the issue of cultural relativism as it relates to sports throughout the world; and investigate anthropologically some of the issues facing the sports world today. Students will write 1-2 page peer-reviewed reading response papers each week. Formal papers will vary in length, with a total of 20-30 pages of revised, polished prose assigned which will receive instructor and peer comments, but will not be given letter grades. Letter grades will be assigned to portfolios due at mid-term and at the end of the semester. Final grades will be assigned based on the quality of the portfolios, class participation, and writing improvement throughout the semester. (Mayfield)
Sections 029, 032, and 077. This course is designed to help you improve your writing. The basic text of this course is your own writing, specifically the essay you submit for class discussion. We shall read articles from The Michigan Daily, or freewrite in our journals to see if we can generate topics for essays, or discuss interesting issues from our lives. We shall also spend time discussing issues of grammar relevant to our own writing. However, the lion's share of our time will be devoted to class discussions of student essays. Many students enrolling in 125 dread the prospect. Believe it or not, depending on your attitude, you can learn an enormous amount from me and have a good time in the process. (If you don't believe me, ask some of my former students. I always have great fun and so, too, will you.) If you decide to enroll in my section, be prepared to loosen up, have some fun, work hard, and learn some fascinating facts about our language and, hopefully about how you might improve your own writing. (Rubadeau)
Section 032. See Section 029. (Rubadeau)
Section 035 – The Ethics of Critical Reading and Writing. This composition course will focus on critical thinking, reading, and writing, with an emphasis on the ethics of written discourse. The course entails identifying and exploring ethical questions involving such topics as civil rights, the media, and the educational system. We will practice identifying multiple points of view on an issue; generating and developing our own perspectives and positions; articulating our thoughts in convincing sentences, paragraphs, and essays; and summarizing, documenting, and responding to others' texts responsibly. Peer revision groups will study numerous pieces of writing, some by professional writers, many by classmates. In the process, we will develop effective rhetorical techniques relating to purpose, audience, organization, voice, style, evidence, and academic conventions. Assignments will include four formal, revised essays of varying lengths (3-8 pages), peer critiques of each formal paper, several shorter exploratory papers, in-class exercises, and large and small group discussions. (O'Keefe)
Section 036. – Writing on Environmental Issues. In writing on environmental issues, students will improve their ability to write about complex issues, with articles and films on environmental topics providing the material for in-class discussions and writing assignments. Some of the issues covered will be global warming, pest control, and species introductions. Assignments will include five short essays, a longer research paper, a group project, plus numerous in-class writing exercises. The importance of revision is a major theme of this course, and several drafts will be required for each assignment and reviewed by both peers and the instructor. The ultimate goal of this course is to provide students with the tools needed to critically analyze their own writing and recognize good writing independently of teacher feedback. (Allison)
Section 040 – Engaging Our Processes and A World of Ideas. This section hopes to foster thought and discussion about the multiple ways in which we can read and write the world in which we live. To do this, students and instructor will work collaboratively in examining essays from our course text and related material (i.e. films, music, works of art) that offer differing perspectives on issues such as justice, culture, and poetics. As developing learner-writers, students will be expected to add to these discussions by writing on issues they deem relevant. This expectation operates from the belief that English 125 should assist students in developing reliable methods for generating ideas and composing written work. Therefore, class activities may include producing short reflection pieces examining individual approaches to reading and writing, collectively analyzing writing strategies such as evaluating evidence in an argumentative essay, and participating in workshop/peer review sessions. Since students will be asked to apply these strategies as they engage the broader subjects mentioned above, three (workshop) essays of varying lengths and 1-2 page in-class, reader-response assignments will comprise the writing for this section. The ultimate goal of this section is to provide students with practical experience in critical thinking, reading, and writing on the college level. (Christian)
Section 041 – Writing and Discovery. To think is to explore and to write is to discover. The process of writing offers an opportunity to think and learn about ourselves, our world, and our constantly changing relationship to it by practicing how to express our perceptions effectively. As you enter the very new world of Michigan to celebrate the independence and excitement of collegiate life, you will explore how your academic or personal experiences can help you determine the way you see the world. In this course, we will actively discuss and write about selected essays, music, art, and film to develop skills and techniques to help you successfully complete written assignments for college level humanities, social science, and science courses. We will spend a significant portion of the semester working together in class workshops to help one another learn to use these techniques which will make writing easier and more enjoyable. (Sutaria)
Section 042. How would an alien society evaluate our popular culture if given the chance? What would they think of the Nike Swoosh, of the Wu Tang Clan, of the Lilith Fair, or of a well-read copy of Huckleberry Finn? This course will improve both your analytical reading skills and your argumentative and persuasive writing skills by examining and analyzing the unnoticed popular culture that constantly surrounds us – our clothes, music, TV, books, films. We will be using email extensively in our responses to the assigned readings, and by the end of the semester you will be able to analyze your cereal box and will possess a portfolio of 20-30 pages of brilliant, well-polished, argumentative prose. (Frantz)
Section 044 – The Sexual Revolution and Contemporary American Culture. This course explores the post-WWII Sexual Revolution as an historical phenomenon that resonates in contemporary American culture. Readings, viewings, and class discussions will offer an introduction to sexuality studies and cultural criticism, while providing the foundation for a variety of practical and provocative writing experiences. Course materials will include scholarly and popular, print and audio-visual texts on a number of topics: Sexual regulation; sex activism; multiculturalism and sexualities; alternative sexualities; shifts in sexual attitudes and behaviors; reproductive issues; erotica; sexual harassment, assault, and rape; the commercialization of sex; sex symbols; sex scandals; and related campus and local community issues. Three revised essays (totaling 20-30 pages) will be required, as well as several brief, directed response papers. Each student will maintain a field notebook on a contemporary sexuality topic of his or her choice, in preparation for a culminating essay situating the issue in historical relation to the Sexual Revolution. (Pagni)
Section 045. Writing, as a means of expressing yourself, is a vital skill. To make yourself understood to others and as a means to better understand yourself, writing offers a self-reflective medium which requires patience, skill, and practice. This course will attempt to help you exercise and polish your writing techniques. We will be working from the anthology Ways of Reading, which covers numerous writing styles, after which we will discuss and reflect upon these readings and apply them by creating texts on a variety of formal and informal topics. There will be a requirement of three or four formal, polished essays, peer reviews of others' writings, and journal assignments. This class will also require active participation in discussion. The goal of this section will be to make the student comfortable with numerous styles and a variety of topics in their writing. (Gorman)
Section 049. How do you see the world around you? How do you communicate what you do, see and understand, both to others and yourself? This course is designed to develop critical writing and reading skills to help you convey to others what you see, how you see, and why you see the world around you in the way you do. This course stresses writing and reading as a method for critical and thoughtful thinking. We will concentrate on various forms of writing to help you to develop critical analytic and argumentative skills in the art of personal and professional persuasion, which will serve you throughout your college years and beyond. In this course you will be expected to write 20-30 pages of revised and polished prose, learning versatile skills in writing essays varying from 1-7. Other course requirements will include participation in class discussions and thoughtful peer critiques. (J.Y. Lee)
Section 050. Whether you become a philosopher or a physicist, a painter or a pediatrician, you will write: a speech, a professional paper, a letter to a gallery, a resume. The skill with which you dress your ideas in words will determine your success. Our focus in this class will be on honing your critical thinking and improving your rhetorical dexterity. To that end, you will write and revise three short (4-5 page) essays and one long (7-10 page) essay on a topic of your choice, be it the stock market or Marrakech, the joys of bullriding, or the question of animal welfare in rodeos. In addition, you will complete several shorter assignments, peer reviews, and a writing journal with responses to readings, explorations of your ideas, and reflections on your writing process. Readings will include works by Alice Walker, Adrienne Rich, and John Berger. (Cooley)
Section 053. The principle objective of this course is to introduce students to the basic writing skills necessary to do well in most university courses and, beyond that, in their careers. The course will establish a practice of writing based on the principle that good writing requires practice, revision, and the ability to communicate effectively in other mediums besides the written word. The opportunity to practice writing and re-vising will present itself chiefly in the production of four polished 4-6 page essays. The development of effective communication skills will be aided by group discussion of selected readings relating to contemporary cultural concerns. In addition to this, a good portion of the class will be devoted to discovering the ways in which electronic media and technology can facilitate writing, communication, and our understanding of the world. (Miserocchi)
Section 054. This course is designed to develop your abilities to write analytically by increasing your resources as a critical thinker and strengthening your skills as an analytical reader. Readings will cover a broad variety of topics, including popular culture, politics, and literature; student essays will also compose a crucial part of the class' reading. Coursework will include a variety of writing assignments: short analytical papers, research papers, and peer critiques, all with an emphasis on analysis. Because the most successful writing develops with successful revision, you will be given many opportunities to revise your papers. At the end of the term you will hand in a portfolio consisting of approximately twenty pages of revised, polished writing, representing your progress over the course of the term. Finally, because critical writing and critical thinking require discussion and debate, class time will largely be devoted to a lively exchange of ideas. (Matthews)
Section 056. Effective writing begins with one's own unique point-of-view. It's this ability to express our individual narratives, observations, analyses, to participate in the discourses of various disciplines, that makes writing so enjoyable. But, like any endeavor, writing clear and sophisticated prose takes work. It's my hope, though, that interesting and fun writing assignments will encourage and inspire students to believe in their abilities as writers. Students will have the opportunity in this course to learn to write more skillfully – to translate their unique voices and perceptions into written words, to put their thoughts and ideas down on paper in a logical fashion, to formulate complex and coherent arguments – via in-class writing assignments, freqent one-page response papers, and four 4 to 6 page papers. Students will workshop their essays (have them critiqued by their peers) as a step toward that essential process of revision. We will also discuss the essays and articles of a diverse group of published authors, especially the formal elements that make them so effective. (Hogan)
Section 057. Words are like trees: it is easy for a writer to get lost in them, particularly if he or she feels compelled to impress a reader. In this course we will attempt to maintain sight of the forest – the main idea and its logical development in the essay – but we will not abandon our attention to the individual tree – to the efficacy of the single word. Language is a medium: it is yours to choose, craft, discard, and extend. During the semester we will explore the ways in which other writers and artists have shaped their media in the service of their messages; a selection of essays, films, poetry, and visual artworks will form the basis of our group discussions and may provide inspiration for your essays. Class time will be devoted to collaborative activities (analysis, peer revision, workshops, presentations) and individual efforts (pre-writing, impromptu compositions). Producing 4-5 pieces of polished prose is one of our goals; another and perhaps more important goal is developing an appreciation of the rough edges that all good writing presupposes. (Carlson-Federhofer)
Section 067 – Art, Commerce, and Control: Ways of Looking at Popular Culture. This course offers a survey of "popular culture" (with both terms given their broadest possible dimensions) and will be in invitation to give close and careful readings of texts which we often consume uncritically: print and electronic media (including advertising and the Web), music and film. Students will provide much of the course content. Some of the questions we will ask ourselves include: Is it possible (or even desirable) to separate Art and Commerce? What do pop/rock music and fascism have in common? How much and in what ways does advertising affect us? Have you ever kept track of how much money you spend on pop culture? Grades will be based on a series of formal, written essays, group discussions, and presentations. Course Objectives: The course is designed to enhance and develop critical reading, writing, and thinking skills. Students will write four 5-7 page essays on topics related to the course discussions and content, but chosen by the students. We will try to see our media-saturated world in ways we may not have considered before. (S. Pollack)
Section 069 – Ancient Mexico Before Columbus. Students will explore the trajectories of cultural development in Mexico leading up to the period of European contact initiated by Columbus in 1492. Moving from the earliest hunter-gatherers to the great empire of the Aztecs, we will investigate the important cultural changes that led to the formation of the great civilizations of ancient Mexico. Some of the other groups that will be discussed in class include the Zapotecs, Olmecs, Maya, and Mixtecs. Students in the class are required to write three formal, revised essays of varying lengths (essay #1 = 5-6 pages; essay #2 = 10-12 pages; and essay #3 = 6-8 pages). Students are also required to write short, critical responses (1-2 pages) for each reading assignment. There will also be a series of in-class writing exercises and workshop sessions. At the end of the term each student will hand in a portfolio with all writing assignments from the term. (Glew)
Section 072 – Write Well. Get Read! The goal of this course is to help you join the academic conversation by learning how to write scholarly analyses in response to what you read. We shall therefore focus on how to read analytically, how to decipher rhetorical strategies in different texts, and how to draft, revise, and polish a piece of writing so that it engages the reader. We shall also become familiar with some of the library's resources so that we can incorporate criticism into our writing. Students will write 20-30 pages of polished prose, including weekly responses, and we shall spend lots of time drafting and revising writing. Writing isn't easy, and certainly not natural, but in this class we will face the difficulties together, and celebrate moments of victory. (Swabey)
Section 073. See Section 012.
Section 074. This class will ask how readers and writers use language to see themselves and to define the world around them. All writers imagine different kinds of audiences for their written words; we will explore ways of projecting ourselves into that imaginary discourse both as readers and writers. We will cover the fundamentals of effective college writing, with special attention to the thesis paragraph and the use of examples and evidence. We will analyze professional writers' style and the structure of their arguments. Throughout the semester students will write and revise drafts in order to develop a clear understanding of the writing process. (Young)
Section 076 – Books and Beyond: Writing and the Real World. In this course, you will become a versatile writer – you will acquire the tools to write about anything from novels to shopping malls. We will begin by examining the essay form and focus on how arguments are made. Then we will see how arguments are advanced - and often disguised – in narratives, poetry, and even films. We will take as our premise that culture is a text: the world in which we live can be read and translated into the essay form. With this in mind, as the term progresses, your essays will emerge out of your experiences in the real world. Interview your roommate; construct a family history. Write an essay on the culture of football games at the U of M. The possibilities are endless; I will require, though, that you write a lot and that you write often. Assignments will include four formal essays, critiques of your classmates' writing, and a final portfolio of your work. (Tischler)
Section 077. See Section 029. (Rubadeau)
Section 078. In what sense is language communal? How do we "translate" our own signature ways of thinking into the "dialects" of different discourse communities? How does a writer define and authorize the spaces between these "dialects" as he or she enters ongoing critical conversation? In this class we will investigate what happens to language in the process of "translation" between and across academic disciplines, genres, and styles. Possible readings include selections from Sir Philip Sidney, John Milton, Gloria Anzaldua, Adrienne Rich, Mary Louise Pratt, and Buchi Emecheta. By drafting and polishing four essays, as well as writing responses to readings and completing several shorter assignments, students will gain a sense of revision as another mode of "translation," one which enables them to develop fluency, flexibility, and greater grace in their writing. (Balla)
Section 080 – Writing in the Academic Disciplines. The goal of this course is to bring you into the academic conversation by helping you develop the reading and writing skills you will need at the university and beyond. For your writing topics, you will have the opportunity to choose from a range of issues that transcend the academic disciplines: "Technology and Civil Liberties," "Social Class and Inequality," and "History and the New Millennium" will be among the many topics you'll choose from. The course text provides many essays and other sources you may use for your writing, but you'll also be encouraged to bring in sources from research and from non-school reading, viewing, etc. While you'll have freedom to choose among topics and sources, you won't be writing alone. Count on having plenty of feedback – frequent peer conferences and student-instructor meetings – as you draft and revise your essays. (Kassner)
Section 081 – Clambake Noche. In Clambake Noche, we'll look at writing as a cool and interesting way of experiencing ourselves and the world. We'll see writing as a means to explore our own little islands and bring us together at the end of the day to talk with other "islanders" about their journeys. As we relate our travels, triumphs, travails, etc. I like to compare it to a nighttime beach clambake. In the process, we'll try to abandon the idea and practice of writing as a last-minute grind. To help out, we'll break the writing process down into four steps: brainstorming, blue-printing, composing, and revising. Among other things, and with the help of our reading, we'll also examine the form and flow of logical argumentation, race, class, and gender issues, and the machinations of the human mind and heart. We'll write four papers: a personal narrative, a behavioral/psychological analysis, a classification of people or things, and one that's up to you. (Gallagher)
Section 095. See Section 020. This section is restricted to students in the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program. Contact Virginia Reese in LS&A Academic Advising for an electronic override. (Aitken)
Section 096. This section is restricted to students in the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program.Contact Virginia
Reese in LS&A Academic Advising
for an electronic override. This class will ask how readers
and writers use language to see themselves and to define the world
around them. All writers imagine different kinds of audiences
for their written words; we will explore ways of projecting ourselves
into that imaginary discourse both as readers and writers. We
will cover the fundamentals of effective college writing, with
special attention to the thesis paragraph and the use of examples
and evidence. We will analyze professional writers' style and the structure of their arguments. Throughout the semester students
will write and revise drafts in order to develop a clear understanding
of the writing process. Your written work will conclude with a
substantial research project that builds on our previous work
with incorporating outside sources and points of view. (Young)
Check
Times, Location, and Availability
100- and 200-level |
300-399 |
400-499 |
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