Writing Sequence

The Writing sequence forms the foundation of a student’s writing career and shares important writing-intensive values with all other areas of Liberal Studies. Writing provides students with an important method for organizing and expressing their thoughts, and it helps them develop and enhance their critical, analytical, and interpretive skills. The two-semester Writing sequence advances the global emphasis of LS by engaging students in reading, analyzing, and interpreting works throughout the English-speaking world and, in translation, beyond it; in the classroom, instructors deal with the attendant issues of geography, political and social difference, and translation. Students also produce original work based on research and the incorporation of dialogue with other writers and thinkers.

Writing as Exploration expands and complicates students’ understanding of the essay in its varied forms and functions. The topic-based course offers occasions to practice essay writing in several modes, including personal, critical, academic, and journalistic. It also exposes students to writing, reading, and critical thinking skills necessary for interdisciplinary, undergraduate work as well as writing beyond academic contexts. Focused on collaborative learning and using a workshop format, Writing as Exploration helps students develop an appreciation for the use of writing as not merely a demonstration of knowledge and opinion, but more importantly, as a tool for thinking and exploration.

Writing as Critical Inquiry introduces students to advanced reading, writing, and critical thinking skills with an explicit emphasis on developing complex and nuanced skills of inquiry. The course also presents in-depth research skills necessary for academic work and writing beyond academic contexts. Drawing on global themes with an interdisciplinary approach, Writing as Critical Inquiry engages students in the complexities of analysis, reflection, and interpretation through individualized, research-based projects. The course encourages in-class participation, collaborative learning, and workshop presentations.