We Don’t Need No Education: Higher Education and You
Course Description
In this sequence of Critical Thinking & Writing we will interrogate what college means—and has meant—to students, teachers, and institutions. Why do we attend college? What do we hope to learn or become? How have these ideas changed over time? More importantly, though, we will use questions as launching points for more specific questions about what college writing is and does. We will practice writing skills and strategies as we read and respond to the emerging conversation about college and college writing, and we will also dedicate a lot of attention to attending to our own writing and learning processes as college students. After all, who better to study in relation to college and college writing than you: college writers!
The first course of this sequence assigns critical reading, discussion, and writing with an emphasis on understanding complex texts and developing clear, effective sentences and logical, organized compositions. By the end of the course, students will understand how to create and support an arguable thesis. Knowledge and skills developed will include understanding of rhetoric and writing processes, especially revision, analysis of complex texts and rhetorical situations, and the ability to read critically rather than compliantly. Most importantly, perhaps, they will understand themselves better as college students and writers.
Major Assignments
Assignment One: Literacy Narrative
Assignment Two: Rhetorical Analysis of Educational Advertisement
Assignment Three: Synthesis and Argument
Assignment Four: Online Remediation and Reflection