101. Writing

Required of all first-year students except those who have passed the Advanced Placement examination with a 4 or 5 or have passed the Wheaton exemption examination, which is given by invitation. The focus for the writing and reading varies from section to section, permitting students to follow special interests and explore new material. All sections introduce students to some college-level literacy practices. The topic for each of the sections will be announced before the date of course selections and sent to all entering students during the summer. Recent topics have included popular culture, London, multicultural lives, the environment and rebellion and authority.

At least one short paper each week or a longer paper biweekly is required. Focus is on understanding invention, composing, revising and editing processes and using them. Students are encouraged to engage in conferences outside of class with their professors and to seek the help of Wheaton's student writing tutors, who have completed a one-semester peer tutoring course that is jointly offered by the English and education departments.

You will be asked to do a lot of writing at Wheaton, and this course will help you to do it well. You will work with the instructor and your classmates on different kinds of writing assignments, and you'll become more comfortable with writing while you improve your skills. Most sections include both formal and informal writing, and you will confer with the instructor about individual drafts and, at times, read and respond to other students' writing in a workshop setting.

Fall Semester 2009

Section A01 Writing Beyond the Classroom

This section of first-year writing focuses on the rhetorical skills and strategies that you will need to participate in the many conversations taking place in your classrooms, on campus, and in the broader world beyond the classroom. We might begin with a brief work of fiction that lends itself to at least three possible interpretations, such as materialist, postcolonial and semiotics. You will learn about audience, among other rhetorical strategies, and the kinds of evidence you'll need to persuade the various interpretive communities to which you'll write. Students enrolled in this section of first-year writing should end the semester with a better understanding of what is considered "good writing" in academic environments and in the broader world.
(Deyonne Bryant)

Section A02 Writing about London

From Big Ben to the Tower of London and a quick pint at the pub: is this your idea of London? In this class, we will explore the history of modern London. We will read and write about a variety of literary and historical writings, as well as visual texts such as maps, paintings, television shows and films, in order to look behind the tourist's London. From the 18th century onward, the city was the metropolitan center of the British Empire, as reflected in the buildings, the layout of the city and its inhabitants. You will study topics such as the use of architecture to reflect England's idea of itself as an imperial nation, and the ways in which different neighborhoods, and even particular streets, come to symbolize the class and racial relations of the city. We will look at the diverse peoples who have lived in and left their mark on London: the ruling elites who governed England and designed the city; the working-class poor of the 19th century slums, including Irish and Jewish immigrants; and the South Asian and Caribbean immigrants of the later 20th century. As you learn about the differences between high school and college writing expectations, we will use formal and informal writing as a tool for learning, reflection, and communication. Expect to write a lot and read a lot, including the writing your student peers produce.
(Claire Buck)

Section A03 Writing about London

From Big Ben to the Tower of London and a quick pint at the pub: is this your idea of London? In this class, we will explore the history of modern London. We will read and write about a variety of literary and historical writings, as well as visual texts such as maps, paintings, television shows and films, in order to look behind the tourist's London. From the 18th century onward, the city was the metropolitan center of the British Empire, as reflected in the buildings, the layout of the city, and its inhabitants. You will study topics such as the use of architecture to reflect England's idea of itself as an imperial nation, and the ways in which different neighborhoods, and even particular streets, come to symbolize the class and racial relations of the city. We will look at the diverse peoples who have lived in and left their mark on London: the ruling elites who governed England and designed the city; the working-class poor of the 19th century slums, including Irish and Jewish immigrants; and the South Asian and Caribbean immigrants of the later 20th century. As you learn about the differences between high school and college writing expectations, we will use formal and informal writing as a tool for learning, reflection, and communication. Expect to write a lot and read a lot, including the writing your student peers produce.
(Claire Buck)

Section A04 Writing about Reality and Risk

Writing about Reality and Risk will focus on the ease with which we use the term "reality" and will seek to discover the many levels of its meaning by examining what is "real" in the essays, fiction, poetry, and occasional play that will constitute our weekly reading. These works will cover such authors as Emma Goldman, Joan Didion, Arthur Miller, Sophocles, Virginia Woolf, Auden, Blake, Flannery O'Connor, James Joyce and many others. The level of attention we apply to each reading will uncover the risk each author has taken to say something real; we, in turn, will come as close as we can to engaging in the reality each author presents, taking something of a risk ourselves by doing so. This course is writing and reading intensive and includes the keeping of an academic journal, active participation in class discussions and engagement with each other's written work through the ongoing process of peer review and workshops.
(Constance Campana)

Section A05 Writing about H.O.U.S.E. Music

To develop and apply strategies that writers use in producing effective writing, this section of English 101 will employ musical samples, a series of contemporary writings such as Anthony Thomas', The House the Kids Built, documentary films such as Paris Is Burning and related writings such as Phillip Brian Harper's The Subversive Edge: Paris Is Burning, Social Critique, and the Limits of Subjective Agency, which demonstrate why some groups in the United States and abroad believe that "It's All About House Music."

The essays students will examine are useful for studying the craft of written discourse because they demonstrate, for example, how writers conceptualize a project, examine cultural practices, contemplate audience, develop a claim into an argument, or manipulate structure to convey point of view. Early class discussions will grow out of our efforts to collectively define HOUSE music and use that definition as a framework for reading course texts. We will also evaluate and model essays to critically analyze course material, apply strategies and thoughtfully articulate our insights about what makes a piece of writing effective. Class assignments and activities for this section will include weekly readings; participating in/or leading class discussion; in-class journaling; peer feedback and editing sessions; short response papers; longer, peer-edited, prompt-driven papers.
(Shawn Christian)

Section A06 Writing about H.O.U.S.E. Music

Section A07 Writing about Chocolate, Dragons and Other Problems

The course will be conducted as a workshop, with students completing assignments tailored to their individual writing needs and conferring frequently with the instructor. Most assignments will be analytic essays of the sort expected in other college courses (e.g., comparison and contrast, deductive essay, book review and literary or quantitative analysis), yet some of the topics will allow for creativity (e.g., dragon fighting, eating chocolate, and personal experiences).
(Beverly Lyon Clark)

Section A08 Writing about Chocolate, Dragons and Other Problems

Section A09 Writing as Discovery

This section of English 101 will explore some of the many ways writing functions as a means of discovery--of who we are, what we think and know, and what we have to say to others. Within a workshop format, the challenges of writing effectively in college will be addressed through frequent one-to-one consultation with the instructor regarding individual students' work in progress. Assignments are designed to provide ample opportunity for independent and creative exploration while enabling students to gain confidence in a variety of writing modes, both formal and informal, by means of a process involving idea generation, drafting, revision and editing.
(Susan Dearing)

Section A10 Writing as Discovery

Section A11 Writing about Environmental Arguments

Nature. We worship it, battle it, defend it, preserve it, buy it, sell it, define it against our art, our enemies, ourselves. So what is it? And what are the current conversations surrounding it? How do various texts form and inform these conversations, and how do we enter the exchange? Finally, how do our own relationships, histories and experiences with nature and technology filter these arguments? Through reading, discussing, researching and writing about arguments suggested by authors as diverse as Ursula LeGuin and Robert Bullard, we will engage the kinds of critical reading and writing needed to participate in college life. Writing will unfold as a means of self-reflection, self-expression and communication with others. Peer reviews, collaborative writing, in-class workshops, and conferences with the professor will help you to hone and understand your literacy processes. The course culminates with the submission and presentation of an electronic final portfolio that will be due on the last day of classes.
(Lisa Lebduska)

Section A12 Writing about Los Angeles

Los Angeles: the City of Angels. How has a city burdened with such divine hope come to symbolize all that is most sinfully and hopelessly human about American culture? Why does it continue to attract those whose sense of the American dream is tinged with golden hues, those who read in the tale of Icarus not a cautionary narrative but rather an achievable desire? Is it the possible commodification of LA as the utopian realization of the American dream? In Los Angeles, Morrow Mayo has said: "Los Angeles, it should be understood, is not a mere city. On the contrary, it is, and has been since 1888, a commodity; something to be advertised and sold to the people of the United States like automobiles, cigarettes and mouth wash." This course will examine how writing about the city has both contributed to and critiqued the commodification of LA and the glorification of the Californian dream. How does writing continue to construct the metaphorical cityscape, while effectively arguing for a reconsideration of the LA story? We will attempt to uncover and map the pluralities of life in LA, from alienation to segregation, through a number of different discourses: detective fiction, essays, films, sociopolitical history, and drama. We will be reading work from writers such as Mike Davis, Joan Didion, Raymond Chandler, John Dunne, Anna Deavere Smith and others.
(James Patrick Byrne)

Section A13 Writing about Los Angeles

Section A14 Writing about Image and Reality

When we read something, we know words can mean lots of different things, but in such an objective genre as photography, is truth easily visible? Then we'll look at films by Antonioni, Herzog, and Zana Briski as we explore the power of images to define, not merely record reality. Readings include a play (Edward Albee), a novel (fiction contextualized in real events and images), selected essays and short stories.
(Sherry Mason)

Section A15 Writing about Image and Reality

When we speak of reality--reality TV, say, or narrative realism--whose reality do we mean? What does an accurate representation of reality look like, and is there such a thing as objective reality? Is lived experience harmonious (as reflected in naturalistic drama) or chaotic (where the narrative arc is less of a rainbow and more of a downward spiral)? We will analyze the ways various artists/writers/filmmakers explore and share their versions of reality. We'll discover common threads and asymmetries in our own perceptions as we look at constructions of meaning, truth in fiction and illusions behind certain truths. We'll start by exploring the line between fiction and nonfiction; fact and opinion; image and evidence.
When we read something, we know words can mean lots of different things, but in such an objective genre as photography, is truth easily visible? Then we'll look at films by Antonioni, Herzog, and Zana Briski as we explore the power of images to define, not merely record reality. Readings include a play (Edward Albee), a novel (fiction contextualized in real events and images), selected essays and short stories.
(Sherry Mason)

Section A16 Writing about Multicultural Lives

What do you think of when you hear the word "culture"? Race? Religion? Traditions? Language? Gender? What does it mean to be living among people who embody different aspects of culture? What does it mean to identify with more than one culture simultaneously? We'll look at some possible answers, along with the work of Louise Erdrich, Martin Espada, Barbara Kingsolver, Nelson Mandela and others. If you're really good, we'll spend a class or two with Will Smith. This course will have elements of traditional lecture and discussion along with workshop and small group work. We'll use the different aspects of culture as a framework to discuss the larger issues of writing in both formal and informal assignments. Each student will have frequent one-on-one consultations with the instructor. There will be an emphasis on process and revision while we develop the skills needed for college-level writing.
(Ruth Foley)

Section A17 Writing about Multicultural Lives

Spring Semester, 2010

Section B19 Writing Beyond the Classroom

Section B20 Writing about Reality and Risk

Section B21 Writing about Postmodernism

Exactly what is postmodernism? And are we still "in" it, or have we moved on? Can it be related to something as esoteric as quantum theory in physics? Or evolution and "intelligent design"? What are the "special" attributes of the postmodernist writer? How have their subjects and visions shifted from more traditional texts?

We will read a novel a week, and then discuss it in class, focusing on such authors as Thomas Pynchon, Toni Morrison, Don DeLillo, Joan Didion, Tim O'Brien, Edward Albee, Paul Auster, John Cheever and others. Students will lead discussions on each text that we wrestle with and will write a 5-page paper every two weeks. In terms of writing, we will focus on thesis-driven arguments, backed up by clear and logically organized evidence from the texts we discuss.

We will also attempt to shape and form our own definition of postmodernism and its effects on our consumer culture, imperialistic ambitions, and media-driven images. Quantum Theory plays a role in this postmodern age as well, and we will look into it in relation to the books we read.
(Samuel Coale)

Section B22 Writing about Crime and Injustice

The rhetoric of mystery, crime, or court narratives has become a dominant discourse in American culture. We will discuss conventions that cast characters as victims or transgressors and examine the assumptions within those conventions. Using this lens in a college writing class allows us to practice various methods of creating arguments and presenting textual evidence that demonstrates complexity and is able to sway readers. John M. Lannon's The Writing Process (10th edition) will be our primary text, but we will read the nightmarish Innocent Man by John Grisham and Walter Mosley's Devil in a Blue Dress. We will focus research around cultural practices that bring harm to others yet seem to resist reform. In defining and redefining crime we will question, research, and, through writing multiple drafts, perhaps even reach audiences beyond our classroom.

Class texts include films that will be shown outside of class on a weekday evening. If you can't make class viewing times, however, you may see the film on your own. Library viewing rooms make this option possible.
(Katherine Conway)

Section B23 Writing as Discovery

Section B24 Writing about the Journalistic Tradition

Powerful imagery, moving stories and unforgettable quotes all make for great journalism. But the craft of writing news and criticism for the popular press grows as much from a "readerly" approach to writing as it does from the other stand-bys of the craft: skilled observation, rigorous reporting and critical thinking. This course is about reading to write. We will revisit Civil War hospitals and battlefields with Walt Whitman; follow the muckraking paths of Ida Tarbell and Upton Sinclair; go to war with Edward Murrow, John Hersey and Neil Sheehan; and immerse ourselves in the counterculture with Hunter S. Thompson. With these pieces of writing as our companions and guides, we will learn to read deeply, excavating the reporting methodologies, expressive devices and storytelling techniques that have allowed great reporters to confront their objects of analysis. Through in class reading and writing workshops, this course will teach you to read like a writer and write like a critic.
(Talitha Espiritu)

Section B25 Writing about the Journalistic Tradition

Section B26 Writing about Los Angeles

This course will examine how writing about the city has both contributed to and critiqued the commodification of LA and the glorification of the Californian dream. How does writing continue to construct the metaphorical cityscape, while effectively arguing for a reconsideration of the LA story? We will attempt to uncover and map the pluralities of life in LA, from alienation to segregation, through a number of different discourses: detective fiction, essays, films, sociopolitical history, and drama. We will be reading work from writers such as Mike Davis, Joan Didion, Raymond Chandler, John Dunne, Anna Deavere Smith and others.
(James Patrick Byrne)

Section B27 Writing about Image and Reality

Section B28 Writing about Multicultural Lives

Section B29 Writing about Knowing and Not Knowing

We are going to explore and explode systems of knowledge building--and their surrounding myths--in a variety of contexts that challenge class and cultural assumptions about what is important to know. Authors ranging from Benjamin Franklin and Frederick Douglas to Jamaica Kincaid and Joan Didion have taken up this subject with wildly different ideas in mind. Together, we will engage a variety of writings, at least one film, a radical encyclopedia, and likely a play in production to begin to shape a critical approach to what we study and why. All of this will be taken up with the goal of creating a dynamic environment for your rhetorical writing to grow. Writing and rewriting will be our mantra, as well as peer critiques, intellectual rigor and stimulating conversation. Be prepared to share your brilliance, generosity and enthusiasm for the luxurious life of the mind and the responsibility that comes with it.
(Charlotte Meehan)