First-Year Writing

All students must meet their first-year writing requirement sometime in their first year. Students have three main choices for fulfilling their FYW requirement:

English 185: Writing & Inquiry in the Liberal Arts. Students will engage with writing across a range of disciplines, genres, and purposes, as well as intensive practice in academic reading, writing, and research. If English is your primary language or if you feel you would learn best in an environment with both students for whom English is a primary language and an additional language, you should enroll in English 185 in your first or second semester at Oxford. Classes are capped at 16 students.

English 186: Writing & Inquiry in the Liberal Arts for Multilingual Students. Students will engage with writing across a range of disciplines, genres, and purposes, as well as intensive practice in academic reading, writing, and research. Designed for students for whom English is an additional language, students in this course will engage in the same intensive practice in academic reading, writing, and research as 185, but will do so with other multilingual students and under the guidance of a professor with expertise in teaching English language learners. This course also offers the opportunity to decode colloquial American English. English 186 is capped at 12 students and includes a dedicated undergraduate writing fellow. It is only offered in the fall semester.  

Exempting FYW. If you have a qualifying score on the appropriate AP or IB Higher Level exam, you are eligible to apply this score to exempt FYW, but you are not required to do so. Research indicates that most students benefit from intensive practice in academic reading, writing, and research practices with a writing professor in their first year of college and that it can be hard for students to make this up later if they exempt. You may therefore choose not to apply your score and to take a First-Year Writing course. Your AP/IB exam score will still be listed on your transcript, but without college credit.

In the summer before your entering year at Oxford, you should complete the First-Year Writing Directed Self-Placement (DSP) process, which is designed to give you guidance on whether to enroll in English 185, English 186, or apply any exemption credit you may have. We encourage you to also discuss the results of the DSP with your advisor and/or attend the optional First-Year Writing Placement session during orientation. You may also contact Dr. Gwendolynne Reid, Director of the Writing Program, to discuss your learning needs (gwendolynne.reid@emory.edu).

English 185: Writing & Inquiry in the Liberal Arts

Section 1:  No Theme/Student’s Choice
Instructor: Adriane Ivey

In this section of English 185, we will examine the connection between writing and inquiry across a range of disciplines, including disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Beyond core readings on writing, students will be free to pursue topics of their own choosing in their research, reading, and writing and will receive guided instruction on pursuing effective independent inquiry and writing on their chosen topics.

Sections 2 & 3: Visual Literacy Across the Disciplines
Instructor: Brad Hawley

In these sections of English 185, we will consider the ways in which academic writing is designed to meet the expectations of different academic fields within the broader disciplines of natural sciences, humanities, and education. With this multi-disciplinary approach to writing, we will look at multimodal texts such as comics and graphic novels to consider the importance of visual literacy and nonverbal communication. Thematically, the comics we will read address ethical concerns by answering the questions, "How should we live to have full, meaningful, and flourishing lives?" And "What virtues are important to have as a part of one's character?" Finally, in addition to studying academic writing, multimodal texts, and nonverbal communication, there will be an emphasis on oral communication as students will be expected to make claims and present evidence to support those claims in class at least once a week.

Sections 4, 5, & 6: Living Like a Writer
Instructor: Brittny Byrom

In this course, we'll embark on a journey to live like a writer. Using Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird as our guide, we'll explore the daily practices, challenges, and rewards of writing across disciplines. By examining how different fields approach topics—from analyzing historical documents to interpreting social trends—we'll learn to adapt our writing to various rhetorical situations and academic conversations. This "living like a writer" theme will unlock how writing is a fundamental tool for discovery and critical inquiry in every academic pursuit. We'll explore how to overcome writer's block, develop effective research strategies, and ultimately, craft compelling arguments across a variety of genres.

Sections 7 & 9: No Theme/Student’s Choice
Instructor: Jiwon Min

In these sections of English 185, we will examine the connection between writing and inquiry across a range of disciplines, including disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Beyond core readings on writing, students will be free to pursue topics of their own choosing in their research, reading, and writing and will receive guided instruction on pursuing effective independent inquiry and writing on their chosen topics.

Sections 8: Writing in an Age of Authenticity
Instructor: Joshua Brorby

Historically, the concepts of personal truth, self-discovery, and the “real me” are relatively new. Recounting these terms, some philosophers and critics have decried what they perceive as a shift away from collective cultural meaning toward bare individualism, while others like Charles Taylor have found in the “age of authenticity” powerful new means for understanding self, society, and politics. In our own lives, it is likely that we have all at one time or another set out, in ways big and small, to find ourselves. In this section, we will examine a variety of disciplinary approaches to theorizing the “modern condition” of the individual—from philosophy, history, literature, and the social sciences—to inquire after and analyze just what it might mean to be yourself. In addition to reading, discussing, and writing about texts by Charles Taylor, Hannah Arendt, Graham Greene, Martha Nussbaum, Ralph Ellison, and others, students will pursue a topic of their choosing for the final research and writing project.

Section 10:  No Theme/Student’s Choice
Instructor: Sarah Higinbotham

In this section of English 185, we will examine the connection between writing and inquiry across a range of disciplines, including disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Beyond core readings on writing, students will be free to pursue topics of their own choosing in their research, reading, and writing and will receive guided instruction on pursuing effective independent inquiry and writing on their chosen topics.

English 186: Writing & Inquiry in the Liberal Arts for Multilingual Students

Note: A directed self-placement (DSP) recommendation for ENG_OX 186 or "Either 185 or 186" is required prior to enrollment. The DSP can be located in the Emory Essentials Canvas Course. Students who enroll during registration or Add/Drop/Swap without a DSP placement recommendation for English 186 may have this course removed from their schedule.

Section 1: No Theme/Student's Choice
Instructor: Joseph Cheatle

In this section of English 186, we will examine the connection between writing and inquiry across a range of disciplines, including disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Beyond core readings on writing, students will be free to pursue topics of their own choosing in their research, reading, and writing. Designed for students for whom English is an additional language, students in this course will engage in the same intensive practice in academic reading, writing, and research as 185, but will do so with other multilingual students. This course also offers the opportunity to decode colloquial American English. English 186 is capped at 12 students and includes a dedicated undergraduate writing fellow.

Sections 2 & 3: Generative AI, the Anthropocene, and More
Instructor: Stacy Bell (McQuaide)

In these sections of first-year writing, we will examine arguments about climate change during the “new human epoch” of the Anthropocene, reading books that demonstrate how scholars can and should disagree in academic and public discourse. Throughout the semester, we will experiment with generative AI tools like ChatGPT and discuss the benefits, risks, and limits of these technologies for the writing process. You’ll write a capstone researched personal narrative, “autoethnography,” in which you apply the academic writing skills and rhetorical awareness developed throughout the semester. Designed for students for whom English is an additional language, students in this course will engage in the same intensive practice in academic reading, writing, and research as 185, but will do so with other multilingual students. This course also offers the opportunity to decode colloquial American English. English 186 is capped at 12 students and includes a dedicated undergraduate writing fellow.

English 185: Writing & Inquiry in the Liberal Arts

Section 2: Writing as Resistance
Instructor: Eric Solomon

“I write to record what others erase when I speak,” the poet-activist Gloria Anzaldúa writes. “I write because I would like to live forever,” poet Reginald Shepherd writes. Writing “must also bear witness,” performance artist Assotto Saint writes. “It is our duty to share [our] writings with others.” How have writers thought about their craft as an act of resistance and responsibility? To answer this question, we will examine the connection between writing, inquiry, testimony, and transgression across a range of disciplines, including disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Beyond shared readings of texts about writing from authors such as Anzaldúa, Shepherd, and Saint, students will develop meaningful writing projects in collaboration with peers and the instructor. Students will be free to propose research topics based upon their own experiences, passions, ethics, and future aspirations. They will receive guided instruction on pursuing effective independent inquiry and writing on their chosen topics.

Sections 3 & 5:  No Theme/Student’s Choice
Instructor: Olivia Hendricks

In these sections of English 185, we will examine the connection between writing and inquiry across a range of disciplines, including disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Beyond core readings on writing, students will be free to pursue topics of their own choosing in their research, reading, and writing and will receive guided instruction on pursuing effective independent inquiry and writing on their chosen topics.

Sections 4:  No Theme/Student’s Choice
Instructor: Adriane Ivey

In this section of English 185, we will examine the connection between writing and inquiry across a range of disciplines, including disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Beyond core readings on writing, students will be free to pursue topics of their own choosing in their research, reading, and writing and will receive guided instruction on pursuing effective independent inquiry and writing on their chosen topics.

Section 6: Human Rights and Human Dignity
Instructor: Sarah Higinbotham

In the last 220 years, the Supreme Court has invoked the word “dignity” in more than nine hundred opinions, including the landmark 2011 case mandating prison population reduction in California (Brown v Plata). The concept of dignity undergirds mandates to respect people’s legal personhood, their equality, their liberty, and their personal integrity. The way we understand human dignity informs social debates about justice and human rights: How do we punish people? How do we distribute goods and services? How do we treat those with limited political, cultural, or socioeconomic power? This course will examine how human dignity -- the fundamental and innate value of a person – is contested in political, legal, literary, and economic rhetoric. We will read across disciplines about human rights, food justice, housing justice, and criminal justice reform, including law review articles, literary texts (King Lear, Unflattening, and Kafka’s The Trial), sociological studies, and political ethics.

Sections 7: No Theme/Student’s Choice
Instructor: Brittny Byrom

In this section of English 185, we will examine the connection between writing and inquiry across a range of disciplines, including disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Beyond core readings on writing, students will be free to pursue topics of their own choosing in their research, reading, and writing and will receive guided instruction on pursuing effective independent inquiry and writing on their chosen topics.

Sections 8, 9, 10, & 11: Visual Literacy Across the Disciplines
Instructor: Brad Hawley 

In these sections of English 185, we will consider the ways in which academic writing is designed to meet the expectations of different academic fields within the broader disciplines of natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. Along with this multi-disciplinary approach to writing, we will look at multi-modal texts such as comics and graphic novels to consider the importance of visual expression in academic discourse. To achieve these goals, we will try to determine the roles played by visual communication and visual literacy in an academic environment.

Sections 12: Amusing Ourselves to Death
Instructor: Stacy Bell

If the theme for this course, Amusing Ourselves to Death, captured your attention, then you’ve just had a lesson in the importance of rhetorical appeals. What does effective communication look like across a range of media platforms? In this first-year writing class, you will bring communication scholar Neil Postman’s classic text into conversation with contemporary scholars and thinkers to explore how we use writing to communicate effectively in a world dominated by screen images designed to entertain. You will develop rhetorical awareness and build the skills you need to write and communicate effectively across academic disciplines. Your final researched writing project will invite you to examine how Postman’s theories can be applied to today’s print and digital landscapes.

Sections 14 & 15:  No Theme/Student’s Choice
Instructor: Nora Bonner

In these sections of English 185, we will examine the connection between writing and inquiry across a range of disciplines, including disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Beyond core readings on writing, students will be free to pursue topics of their own choosing in their research, reading, and writing and will receive guided instruction on pursuing effective independent inquiry and writing on their chosen topics.

English 186: Writing & Inquiry in the Liberal Arts for Multilingual Students

Note: A directed self-placement (DSP) recommendation for ENG_OX 186 is required prior to enrollment. The DSP can be located in the Emory Essentials Canvas Course. Students who enroll during registration or Add/Drop/Swap without a DSP placement recommendation for English 186 may have this course removed from their schedule.

Sections 1 & 6: No Theme/Student's Choice
Instructor: Olivia Hendricks

In these sections of English 186, we will examine the connection between writing and inquiry across a range of disciplines, including disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Beyond core readings on writing, students will be free to pursue topics of their own choosing in their research, reading, and writing. Designed for students for whom English is an additional language, students in this course will engage in the same intensive practice in academic reading, writing, and research as 185, but will do so with other multilingual students. This course also offers the opportunity to decode colloquial American English. English 186 is capped at 12 students and includes a dedicated undergraduate writing fellow.

Section 4 & 5: Amusing Ourselves to Death
Instructor: Stacy Bell

If the theme for this course, Amusing Ourselves to Death, captured your attention, then you’ve just had a lesson in the importance of rhetorical appeals. What does effective communication look like across a range of media platforms? In this first-year writing class, you will bring communication scholar Neil Postman’s classic text into conversation with contemporary scholars and thinkers to explore how we use writing to communicate effectively in a world dominated by screen images designed to entertain. You will develop rhetorical awareness and build the skills you need to write and communicate effectively across academic disciplines. Your final researched writing project will invite you to examine how Postman’s theories can be applied to today’s print and digital landscapes. Designed for students for whom English is an additional language, students in this course will engage in the same intensive practice in academic reading, writing, and research as 185, but will do so with other multilingual students. This course also offers the opportunity to decode colloquial American English. English 186 is capped at 12 students and includes a dedicated undergraduate writing fellow.

English 185: Writing & Inquiry in the Liberal Arts

Sections 1:  No Theme/Student’s Choice
Instructor: Leigh Elion

In this section of English 185, we will examine the connection between writing and inquiry across a range of disciplines, including disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Beyond core readings on writing, students will be free to pursue topics of their own choosing in their research, reading, and writing and will receive guided instruction on pursuing effective independent inquiry and writing on their chosen topics.

Sections 2 & 3: No Theme/Student’s Choice
Instructor: Steven Watts

In these sections of English 185, we will examine the connection between writing and inquiry across a range of disciplines, including disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Beyond core readings on writing, students will be free to pursue topics of their own choosing in their research, reading, and writing and will receive guided instruction on pursuing effective independent inquiry and writing on their chosen topics.

Sections 4 & 5:  No Theme/Student’s Choice
Instructor: Olivia Hendricks

In these sections of English 185, we will examine the connection between writing and inquiry across a range of disciplines, including disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Beyond core readings on writing, students will be free to pursue topics of their own choosing in their research, reading, and writing and will receive guided instruction on pursuing effective independent inquiry and writing on their chosen topics.

Section 6: Amusing Ourselves to Death
Instructor: Stacy Bell

If the theme for this course, Amusing Ourselves to Death, captured your attention, then you’ve just had a lesson in the importance of rhetorical appeals. What does effective communication look like across a range of media platforms? In this first-year writing class, you will bring communication scholar Neil Postman’s classic text into conversation with contemporary scholars and thinkers to explore how we use writing to communicate effectively in a world dominated by screen images designed to entertain. You will develop rhetorical awareness and build the skills you need to write and communicate effectively across academic disciplines. Your final researched writing project will invite you to examine how Postman’s theories can be applied to today’s print and digital landscapes.

Sections 7: Visual Literacy Across the Disciplines
Instructor: Brad Hawley 

In this section of English 185, we will consider the ways in which academic writing is designed to meet the expectations of different academic fields within the broader disciplines of natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. Along with this multi-disciplinary approach to writing, we will look at multi-modal texts such as comics and graphic novels to consider the importance of visual expression in academic discourse. To achieve these goals, we will try to determine the roles played by visual communication and visual literacy in an academic environment.

English 186: Writing & Inquiry in the Liberal Arts for Multilingual Students

Note: A directed self-placement (DSP) recommendation for ENG_OX 186 is required prior to enrollment. The DSP can be located in the Emory Essentials Canvas Course. Students who enroll during registration or Add/Drop/Swap without a DSP placement recommendation for English 186 may have this course removed from their schedule.

Sections 1: No Theme/Student's Choice
Instructor: Adriane Ivey

In this section of English 186, we will examine the connection between writing and inquiry across a range of disciplines, including disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Beyond core readings on writing, students will be free to pursue topics of their own choosing in their research, reading, and writing. Designed for students for whom English is an additional language, students in this course will engage in the same intensive practice in academic reading, writing, and research as 185, but will do so with other multilingual students. This course also offers the opportunity to decode colloquial American English. English 186 is capped at 12 students and includes a dedicated undergraduate writing fellow.

English 185: Writing & Inquiry in the Liberal Arts

Sections 1:  No Theme/Student’s Choice
Instructor: Adriane Ivey

In this section of English 185, we will examine the connection between writing and inquiry across a range of disciplines, including disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Beyond core readings on writing, students will be free to pursue topics of their own choosing in their research, reading, and writing and will receive guided instruction on pursuing effective independent inquiry and writing on their chosen topics.

Sections 2 & 3: Visual Literacy Across the Disciplines
Instructor: Brad Hawley 

In these sections of English 185, we will consider the ways in which academic writing is designed to meet the expectations of different academic fields within the broader disciplines of natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. Along with this multi-disciplinary approach to writing, we will look at multi-modal texts such as comics and graphic novels to consider the importance of visual expression in academic discourse. To achieve these goals, we will try to determine the roles played by visual communication and visual literacy in an academic environment.

Sections 4, 5, & 6: No Theme/Student’s Choice
Instructor: Steven Watts

In these sections of English 185, we will examine the connection between writing and inquiry across a range of disciplines, including disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Beyond core readings on writing, students will be free to pursue topics of their own choosing in their research, reading, and writing and will receive guided instruction on pursuing effective independent inquiry and writing on their chosen topics.

Sections 7, 8, & 9:  No Theme/Student’s Choice
Instructor: Olivia Hendricks

In these sections of English 185, we will examine the connection between writing and inquiry across a range of disciplines, including disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Beyond core readings on writing, students will be free to pursue topics of their own choosing in their research, reading, and writing and will receive guided instruction on pursuing effective independent inquiry and writing on their chosen topics.

English 186: Writing & Inquiry in the Liberal Arts for Multilingual Students

Note: For planning and equity, English 186 requires a permission code for registration. If you feel you would learn best with other multilingual and international students, email oxadvising@emory.edu before your registration appointment to request your unique code. Students must complete the Directed Self-Placement questionnaire before receiving a permission code.

Sections 1 & 2: No Theme/Student's Choice
Instructor: Gwendolynne Reid

In these sections of English 186, we will examine the connection between writing and inquiry across a range of disciplines, including disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Beyond core readings on writing, students will be free to pursue topics of their own choosing in their research, reading, and writing. Designed for students for whom English is an additional language, students in this course will engage in the same intensive practice in academic reading, writing, and research as 185, but will do so with other multilingual students. This course also offers the opportunity to decode colloquial American English. English 186 is capped at 12 students and includes a dedicated undergraduate writing fellow.

Sections 3 & 4: Amusing Ourselves to Death
Instructor: Stacy Bell

If the theme for this course, Amusing Ourselves to Death, captured your attention, then you’ve just had a lesson in the importance of rhetorical appeals. What does effective communication look like across a range of media platforms? In this first-year writing class, you will bring communication scholar Neil Postman’s classic text into conversation with contemporary scholars and thinkers to explore how we use writing to communicate effectively in a world dominated by screen images designed to entertain. You will develop rhetorical awareness and build the skills you need to write and communicate effectively across academic disciplines. Your final researched writing project will invite you to examine how Postman’s theories can be applied to today’s print and digital landscapes. Designed for students for whom English is an additional language, students in this course will engage in the same intensive practice in academic reading, writing, and research as 185, but will do so with other multilingual students. This course also offers the opportunity to decode colloquial American English. English 186 is capped at 12 students and includes a dedicated undergraduate writing fellow.

English 185: Writing & Inquiry in the Liberal Arts

Sections 1, 2, & 3: Visual Literacy Across the Disciplines
Instructor: Brad Hawley 

In these sections of English 185, we will consider the ways in which academic writing is designed to meet the expectations of different academic fields within the broader disciplines of natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. Along with this multi-disciplinary approach to writing, we will look at multi-modal texts such as comics and graphic novels to consider the importance of visual expression in academic discourse. To achieve these goals, we will try to determine the roles played by visual communication and visual literacy in an academic environment.

Sections 4, 5, & 6: Why iWrite: Identity and Intersectionality
Instructor: Eric Solomon 

In this section of English 185, we will pull from a range of readings on the theme of intersectionality across disciplines—including legal scholarship, sociological analysis, and work in new media studies, bioethics, and literary studies—in our exploration of intersectionality as a useful tool for understanding what, how, and why we write. Furthermore, we will enact novelist Margaret Atwood’s assertion that all “good writing takes place at the intersections, at what you might call knots, at places where the society is snarled or knotted up.” As we explore various snarled, knotted up intersections through class discussions and readings, we will compose responses designed to enter existing conversations on intersectionality, engage with a variety of academic discourse communities, and develop research methods and pathways of inquiry.

Sections 7, 8, & 9: No Theme/Student’s Choice
Instructor: Steven Watts

In these sections of English 185, we will examine the connection between writing and inquiry across a range of disciplines, including disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Beyond core readings on writing, students will be free to pursue topics of their own choosing in their research, reading, and writing and will receive guided instruction on pursuing effective independent inquiry and writing on their chosen topics.

Sections 10, 11, & 12:  No Theme/Student’s Choice
Instructor: Olivia Hendricks

In these sections of English 185, we will examine the connection between writing and inquiry across a range of disciplines, including disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Beyond core readings on writing, students will be free to pursue topics of their own choosing in their research, reading, and writing and will receive guided instruction on pursuing effective independent inquiry and writing on their chosen topics.

English 186: Writing & Inquiry in the Liberal Arts for Multilingual Students

Note: For planning and equity, English 186 requires a permission code for registration. If you feel you would learn best with other multilingual and international students, email oxadvising@emory.edu before your registration appointment to request your unique code.

Sections 1 & 2: No Theme/Student's Choice
Instructor: Gwendolynne Reid

In these sections of English 186, we will examine the connection between writing and inquiry across a range of disciplines, including disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Beyond core readings on writing, students will be free to pursue topics of their own choosing in their research, reading, and writing. Designed for students for whom English is an additional language, students in this course will engage in the same intensive practice in academic reading, writing, and research as 185, but will do so with other multilingual students. This course also offers the opportunity to decode colloquial American English. English 186 is capped at 12 students and includes a dedicated undergraduate writing fellow.

English 185: Writing & Inquiry in the Liberal Arts

Section 1: Resisting the Attention Economy
Instructor: Stacy Bell

In this sections of English 185, we will examine the connection between writing and inquiry across a range of disciplines, including disciplines in the humanities, and social sciences. The theme of "resisting the attention economy" will provide the framework for the course: our readings, including How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell and Stand out of Our Light by James Williams, will examine the evolving commodification of human consciousness through the use of screen media. Extrapolating from this theme, students will be free to pursue topics of their own choosing for their final researched writing project.

Section 2: No Theme/Student’s Choice
Instructor: Leigh Elion

In this section of English 185, we will examine the connection between writing and inquiry across a range of disciplines, including disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Beyond core readings on writing, students will be free to pursue topics of their own choosing in their research, reading, and writing and will receive guided instruction on pursuing effective independent inquiry and writing on their chosen topics.

Sections 3: No Theme/Student’s Choice
Instructor: Brad Hawley 

In these sections of English 185, we will examine the connection between writing and inquiry across a range of disciplines, including disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Beyond core readings on writing, students will be free to pursue topics of their own choosing in their research, reading, and writing and will receive guided instruction on pursuing effective independent inquiry and writing on their chosen topics.

Sections 4 & 5: Human Rights and Human Dignity
Instructor: Sarah Higinbotham

In the last 220 years, the Supreme Court has invoked the word “dignity” in more than nine hundred opinions, including the landmark 2011 case mandating prison population reduction in California (Brown v Plata). The concept of dignity undergirds mandates to respect people’s legal personhood, their equality, their liberty, and their personal integrity. The way we understand human dignity informs social debates about justice and human rights: How do we punish people? How do we distribute goods and services? How do we treat those with limited political, cultural, or socioeconomic power? This course will examine how human dignity -- the fundamental and innate value of a person – is contested in political, legal, literary, and economic rhetoric. We will read across disciplines about human rights, food justice, housing justice, and criminal justice reform, including law review articles, literary texts (King Lear, Unflattening, and Kafka’s The Trial), sociological studies, and political ethics.

Sections 6 & 9: No Theme/Student’s Choice
Instructor: Adriane Ivey

In these sections of English 185, we will examine the connection between writing and inquiry across a range of disciplines, including disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Beyond core readings on writing, students will be free to pursue topics of their own choosing in their research, reading, and writing and will receive guided instruction on pursuing effective independent inquiry and writing on their chosen topics.

Sections 7, 8, & 12: Why iWrite: Identity and Intersectionality
Instructor: Eric Solomon 

In this section of English 185, we will pull from a range of readings on the theme of intersectionality across disciplines—including legal scholarship, sociological analysis, and work in new media studies, bioethics, and literary studies—in our exploration of intersectionality as a useful tool for understanding what, how, and why we write. Furthermore, we will enact novelist Margaret Atwood’s assertion that all “good writing takes place at the intersections, at what you might call knots, at places where the society is snarled or knotted up.” As we explore various snarled, knotted up intersections through class discussions and readings, we will compose responses designed to enter existing conversations on intersectionality, engage with a variety of academic discourse communities, and develop research methods and pathways of inquiry.

Sections 10 & 11: No Theme/Student’s Choice
Instructor: Steven Watts

In this section of English 185, we will examine the connection between writing and inquiry across a range of disciplines, including disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Beyond core readings on writing, students will be free to pursue topics of their own choosing in their research, reading, and writing and will receive guided instruction on pursuing effective independent inquiry and writing on their chosen topics.

English 186: Writing & Inquiry in the Liberal Arts for Multilingual Students

Designed for students for whom English is an additional language, students in sections of 186 will engage in the same intensive practice in academic reading, writing, and research as 185, but will do so with other multilingual students and under the guidance of a professor with expertise in teaching English language learners. This course also offers the opportunity to decode colloquial American English. English 186 is capped at 12 students and includes a dedicated undergraduate writing fellow. It is only offered in the fall semester.

Sections 1 & 2: Resisting the Attention Economy
Instructor: Stacy Bell

In these sections of English 186, we will examine the connection between writing and inquiry across a range of disciplines, including disciplines in the humanities, and social sciences. The theme of "resisting the attention economy" will provide the framework for the course: our readings, including How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell and Stand out of Our Light by James Williams, will examine the evolving commodification of human consciousness through the use of screen media. Extrapolating from this theme, students will be free to pursue topics of their own choosing for their final researched writing project.

Section 3: No Theme/Student’s Choice
Instructor: Steven Watts

In this section of English 186, we will examine the connection between writing and inquiry across a range of disciplines, including disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Beyond core readings on writing, students will be free to pursue topics of their own choosing in their research, reading, and writing and will receive guided instruction on pursuing effective independent inquiry and writing on their chosen topics.

Section 4: No Theme/Student’s Choice
Instructor: Gwendolynne Reid

In this section of English 186, we will examine the connection between writing and inquiry across a range of disciplines, including disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Beyond core readings on writing, students will be free to pursue topics of their own choosing in their research, reading, and writing and will receive guided instruction on pursuing effective independent inquiry and writing on their chosen topics.

English 185: Writing & Inquiry in the Liberal Arts

Sections 1 & 2: How To Be An Anti-Racist
Instructor: Stacy Bell (Online)

If the theme for this course, How to Be an Antiracist, captured your attention, then you’ve just had an important lesson in the importance of rhetorical appeals. In this first-year writing class, we will use Ibram X. Kendi’s best-selling book as a core text to explore anti-racism as a concept and a practice. We will bring Kendi’s arguments into conversation with other scholars, mainstream voices, and popular representations of race in films and other visual media. Your final researched writing project will invite you to examine how anti-racism can be studied within and applied to a range of disciplines.

Sections 3 & 4: Visual Literacy Across the Disciplines
Instructor: Brad Hawley (In Person)

In these sections of English 185, we will consider the ways in which academic writing is designed to meet the expectations of different academic fields within the broader disciplines of natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. Along with this multi-disciplinary approach to writing, we will look at multi-modal texts such as comics and graphic novels to consider the importance of visual expression in academic discourse. To achieve these goals, we will try to determine the roles played by visual communication and visual literacy in an academic environment.

Section 5: No Theme/Student’s Choice
Instructor: Christine Loflin (Online)

In this section of English 185, we will examine the connection between writing and inquiry across a range of disciplines, including disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Beyond core readings on writing, students will be free to pursue topics of their own choosing in their research, reading, and writing.

Section 6: The Limits of Education
Instructor: Adriane Ivey (In Person)

My theme in this section is loosely centered on coming of age and education. We will read and discuss different theories of education (liberal arts, STEM, STEAM, Critical Pedagogy, etc.) both in fiction and non fiction, including discussion of how societies place value on different types of education and even on different disciplines. Some of our readings may include Booker T Washington, DuBois, John Henry Newman, Paulo Freire, along with some stories, like “The White Heron” and a novel, The Chosen.

Section 7: No Theme/Student’s Choice
Instructor: Leigh Elion (In Person)

In this section of English 185, we will examine the connection between writing and inquiry across a range of disciplines, including disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Beyond core readings on writing, students will be free to pursue topics of their own choosing in their research, reading, and writing.

Sections 8 & 9: Why iWrite: Identity and Intersectionality
Instructor: Eric Solomon (In Person)

In this section of English 185, we will pull from a range of readings on the theme of intersectionality across disciplines—including legal scholarship, sociological analysis, and work in new media studies, bioethics, and literary studies—in our exploration of intersectionality as a useful tool for understanding what, how, and why we write. Furthermore, we will enact novelist Margaret Atwood’s assertion that all “good writing takes place at the intersections, at what you might call knots, at places where the society is snarled or knotted up.” As we explore various snarled, knotted up intersections through class discussions and readings, we will compose responses designed to enter existing conversations on intersectionality, engage with a variety of academic discourse communities, and develop research methods and pathways of inquiry.

Sections 10 & 11: Human Rights and Human Dignity
Instructor: Sarah Higinbotham (In Person)

In the last 220 years, the Supreme Court has invoked the word “dignity” in more than nine hundred opinions, including the landmark 2011 case mandating prison population reduction in California (Brown v Plata). The concept of dignity undergirds mandates to respect people’s legal personhood, their equality, their liberty, and their personal integrity. The way we understand human dignity informs social debates about justice and human rights: How do we punish people? How do we distribute goods and services? How do we treat those with limited political, cultural, or socioeconomic power? This course will examine how human dignity -- the fundamental and innate value of a person – is contested in political, legal, literary, and economic rhetoric. We will read across disciplines about human rights, food justice, housing justice, and criminal justice reform, including law review articles, literary texts (King Lear, Unflattening, and Kafka’s The Trial), sociological studies, and political ethics.

English 185: Writing & Inquiry in the Liberal Arts

Sections 1 & 4: Why iWrite: Identity and Intersectionality
Instructor: Eric Solomon (In Person)

In this section of English 185, we will pull from a range of readings on the theme of intersectionality across disciplines—including legal scholarship, sociological analysis, and work in new media studies, bioethics, and literary studies—in our exploration of intersectionality as a useful tool for understanding what, how, and why we write. Furthermore, we will enact novelist Margaret Atwood’s assertion that all “good writing takes place at the intersections, at what you might call knots, at places where the society is snarled or knotted up.” As we explore various snarled, knotted up intersections through class discussions and readings, we will compose responses designed to enter existing conversations on intersectionality, engage with a variety of academic discourse communities, and develop research methods and pathways of inquiry.

Sections 2 & 3: Resisting the Attention Economy
Instructor: Stacy Bell (Online)

In these sections of English 185, we will examine the connection between writing and inquiry across a range of disciplines, including disciplines in the humanities, and social sciences. The theme of "resisting the attention economy" will provide the framework for the course: our readings [including Brave New World] will examine the evolving commodification of human consciousness through the use of screen media. Extrapolating from this theme, students will be free to pursue topics of their own choosing for their final researched writing project.

Section 7: Madness Across the Disciplines
Instructor: Adriane Ivey (Online)

The primary objective in this course is to help you build on your knowledge about writing, to be able to recognize and adapt to different rhetorical situations and the conventions of writing in different disciplines. Our theme, "madness," provides a framework for this learning about writing because through it, we will be able to look at the ways different disciplines approach similar issues. How is mental illness represented in Literature? How is "madness" defined in legal terms? By psychologists? In the medical field? How does writing about mental illness reflect different ways of inquiry in each of these fields? We'll explore how writing, in different disciplines and genres, is essential for discovery and for the search for answers to questions that matter.

Section 8: No Theme/Student’s Choice
Instructor: Christine Loflin (Online)

In this section of English 185, we will examine the connection between writing and inquiry across a range of disciplines, including disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Beyond core readings on writing, students will be free to pursue topics of their own choosing in their research, reading, and writing.

Sections 9, 10, & 11: Visual Literacy Across the Disciplines
Instructor: Brad Hawley (In Person)

In these sections of English 185, we will consider the ways in which academic writing is designed to meet the expectations of different academic fields within the broader disciplines of natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. Along with this multi-disciplinary approach to writing, we will look at multi-modal texts such as comics and graphic novels to consider the importance of visual expression in academic discourse. To achieve these goals, we will try to determine the roles played by visual communication and visual literacy in an academic environment.

English 186: Writing & Inquiry in the Liberal Arts for Multilingual Students

Section 1: Madness Across the Disciplines
Instructor: Adriane Ivey (Online)

The primary objective in this course is to help you build on your knowledge about writing, to be able to recognize and adapt to different rhetorical situations and the conventions of writing in different disciplines. Our theme, "madness," provides a framework for this learning about writing because through it, we will be able to look at the ways different disciplines approach similar issues. How is mental illness represented in Literature? How is "madness" defined in legal terms? By psychologists? In the medical field? How does writing about mental illness reflect different ways of inquiry in each of these fields? We'll explore how writing, in different disciplines and genres, is essential for discovery and for the search for answers to questions that matter. As a section designed for students for whom English is an additional language, students in this course will engage in the same intensive practice in academic reading, writing, and research as 185, but will do so with other multilingual students and will be able to put their learning about writing, genres, and disciplines in a global context. This course also offers the opportunity to decode colloquial American English. English 186 is capped at 12 students and includes a dedicated undergraduate writing fellow. It is only offered in the fall semester.

Sections 2 & 3: No Theme/Student’s Choice
Instructor: Gwendolynne Reid (Online)

In these sections of English 186, we will examine the connection between writing and inquiry across a range of disciplines, including disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Beyond core readings on writing, students will be free to pursue topics of their own choosing in their research, reading, and writing. Designed for students for whom English is an additional language, students in this course will engage in the same intensive practice in academic reading, writing, and research as 185, but will do so with other multilingual students and under the guidance of a professor with expertise in teaching English language learners. This course also offers the opportunity to decode colloquial American English. English 186 is capped at 12 students and includes a dedicated undergraduate writing fellow. It is only offered in the fall semester.

English 185: Writing & Inquiry in the Liberal Arts

Section 1: Madness Across the Disciplines
Instructor: Adriane Ivey

The primary objective in this course is to help you build on your knowledge about writing, to be able to recognize and adapt to different rhetorical situations and the conventions of writing in different disciplines. Our theme, "madness," provides a framework for this learning about writing because through it, we will be able to look at the ways different disciplines approach similar issues. How is mental illness represented in Literature? How is "madness" defined in legal terms? By psychologists? In the medical field? How does writing about mental illness reflect different ways of inquiry in each of these fields? We'll explore how writing, in different disciplines and genres, is essential for discovery and for the search for answers to questions that matter.

Section 2: Student’s Choice
Instructor: Christine Loflin

In this section of English 185, we will examine the connection between writing and inquiry across a range of disciplines, including disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Beyond core readings on writing, students will be free to pursue topics of their own choosing in their research, reading, and writing.

Section 3: Student’s Choice
Instructor: Leigh Elion

In this section of English 185, we will examine the connection between writing and inquiry across a range of disciplines, including disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Beyond core readings on writing, students will be free to pursue topics of their own choosing in their research, reading, and writing.

Section 4: Student’s Choice
Instructor: Gwendolynne Reid

In this section of English 185, we will examine the connection between writing and inquiry across a range of disciplines, including disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Beyond core readings on writing, students will be free to pursue topics of their own choosing in their research, reading, and writing.

Section 5: Why iWrite: Identity and Intersectionality
Instructor: Eric Solomon

In this section of English 185, we will pull from a range of readings on the theme of intersectionality across disciplines—including legal scholarship, sociological analysis, and work in new media studies, bioethics, and literary studies—in our exploration of intersectionality as a useful tool for understanding what, how, and why we write. Furthermore, we will enact novelist Margaret Atwood’s assertion that all “good writing takes place at the intersections, at what you might call knots, at places where the society is snarled or knotted up.” As we explore various snarled, knotted up intersections through class discussions and readings, we will compose responses designed to enter existing conversations on intersectionality, engage with a variety of academic discourse communities, and develop research methods and pathways of inquiry.

Sections 6 & 7: Student's Choice
Instructor: Brad Hawley

In these sections of English 185, we will examine the connection between writing and inquiry across a range of disciplines, including disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Beyond core readings on writing, students will be free to pursue topics of their own choosing in their research, reading, and writing.

English 185: Writing & Inquiry in the Liberal Arts

Section 1: Student’s Choice
Instructor: Christine Loflin

In this section of English 185, we will examine the connection between writing and inquiry across a range of disciplines, including disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Beyond core readings on writing, students will be free to pursue topics of their own choosing in their research, reading, and writing.

Section 2: Madness Across the Disciplines
Instructor: Adriane Ivey

The primary objective in this course is to help you build on your knowledge about writing, to be able to recognize and adapt to different rhetorical situations and the conventions of writing in different disciplines. Our theme, "madness," provides a framework for this learning about writing because through it, we will be able to look at the ways different disciplines approach similar issues. How is mental illness represented in Literature? How is "madness" defined in legal terms? By psychologists? In the medical field? How does writing about mental illness reflect different ways of inquiry in each of these fields? We'll explore how writing, in different disciplines and genres, is essential for discovery and for the search for answers to questions that matter.

Sections 3, 4, 6: Visual Literacy Across the Disciplines
Instructor: Brad Hawley

In this section of English 185, we will consider the ways in which academic writing is designed to meet the expectations of different academic fields within the broader disciplines of natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. Along with this multi-disciplinary approach to writing, we will look at multi-modal texts such as comics and graphic novels to consider the importance of visual expression in academic discourse. To achieve these goals, we will try to determine the roles played by visual communication and visual literacy in an academic environment.

Section 7: Why iWrite: Identity and Intersectionality
Instructor: Eric Solomon

In this section of English 185, we will pull from a range of readings on the theme of intersectionality across disciplines—including legal scholarship, sociological analysis, and work in new media studies, bioethics, and literary studies—in our exploration of intersectionality as a useful tool for understanding what, how, and why we write. Furthermore, we will enact novelist Margaret Atwood’s assertion that all “good writing takes place at the intersections, at what you might call knots, at places where the society is snarled or knotted up.” As we explore various snarled, knotted up intersections through class discussions and readings, we will compose responses designed to enter existing conversations on intersectionality, engage with a variety of academic discourse communities, and develop research methods and pathways of inquiry.

Section 8: Student’s Choice
Instructor: Leigh Elion

In this section of English 185, we will examine the connection between writing and inquiry across a range of disciplines, including disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Beyond core readings on writing, students will be free to pursue topics of their own choosing in their research, reading, and writing.

Section 9: Human Rights and Human Dignity
Instructor: Sarah Higinbotham

In the last 220 years, the Supreme Court has invoked the word “dignity” in more than nine hundred opinions, including the landmark 2011 case mandating prison population reduction in California (Brown v Plata). The concept of dignity undergirds mandates to respect people’s legal personhood, their equality, their liberty, and their personal integrity. The way we understand human dignity informs social debates about justice and human rights: How do we punish people? How do we distribute goods and services? How do we treat those with limited political, cultural, or socioeconomic power? This course will examine how human dignity -- the fundamental and innate value of a person – is contested in political, legal, literary, and economic rhetoric. We will read across disciplines about human rights, food justice, housing justice, and criminal justice reform, including law review articles, literary texts (King Lear, Unflattening, and Kafka’s The Trial), sociological studies, and political ethics.

English 186: Writing & Inquiry in the Liberal Arts for Multilingual Students

Sections 1, 2, 3: From “Build the Wall!” to #BlackLivesMatter: Big Topics in American Discourse
Instructor: Stacy Bell

In this section of English 186, we will read The Hate U Give, about the aftermath of a police shooting of an unarmed black teenager, and The Best We Could Do, an illustrated memoir about one immigrant family in the US. Using these core texts, we’ll examine the rhetorical implications of contemporary political discourse about what sociologists call “public issues,” and we’ll explore the ways scholars talk about these public issues across academic disciplines.

Sections 4, 5: Student’s Choice
Instructor: Gwendolynne Reid

In this section of English 186, we will examine the connection between writing and inquiry across a range of disciplines, including disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Beyond core readings on writing, students will be free to pursue topics of their own choosing in their research, reading, and writing.