ENG 101-009: Expository Writing (Fall 2011)

Content: This course is a writing intensive study of two contemporary and interrelated fields of inquiry: media studies and the science and history of the senses. We will begin by exploring essays and artifacts by media theorists, artists, literary critics, and cultural historians to assess the ways that media and the senses interact in shaping how we think, feel, and perceive ourselves and our environment. We will then move to a consideration of the various ways that different media engage the senses. How, for instance, does film engage our sense of sight or touch? Are these two senses discrete? How do digital media such as the Internet activate our senses differently than analog media such as painting or performance? While it is now commonly argued that we live in a media saturated environment, this course will be concerned with probing the histories of this environment, first by engaging in discussions and frequent written exercises about literature, film, music, and performance; and second by engaging in questions pertinent to our understanding of embodiment and the senses. Finally, because this course is meant to equip students with the skills needed for college-level writing, we will devote much of our time to writing and responding critically to the content at hand.

Particulars: Mandatory attendance; weekly blog posts; three analytical papers; and a final creative project combining visual, auditory, and text-based media.