Honors Exposition and Argumentation

English 1000H
Section 02
Semester
Fall
Year
2020
Allison Wiltshire
Tuesday
Thursday
9:30am-10:45am
Middlebush 308
Course Description

This course modifies the typical English 1000 course to offer and in-depth study not only of how to write “well” but of who and what makes up the standards for that which is considered “good” and “proper” writing.

Starting with reflections on the writers, teachers, and pedagogical practices that have influenced our own literacy, my students and I will investigate the creation and continued promotion of academic writing conventions, and this investigation will lead into discussion and inquiry regarding citation and representation in academia. With supportive materials such as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s “The Danger of a Single Story” TED Talk and Anne Curzan’s “Say Who? Teaching and Questioning the Rules of Grammar,” students will be encouraged to question their own adherence to academic writing conventions and to experiment with unique, nonstandard writing styles. Additionally, the proposed assignments for this course will prompt students to consider the ethics and politics of citation and to conduct and publicly present their own research investigating underrepresented schools of thought and groups of people within their academic fields of interest.