Writing Seminar II (111-DL-20)
Topic
The Pursuit of Happiness
Instructors
Leslie Fischer
555 Clark St., 240
With 35+ years of experience teaching English, Business Writing and Communication at Northwestern University and SPS, Fischer is an experienced mentor in writing, communication and team work. Experienced as both a student and teacher of online courses, she understands how students learn online and the particular challenges for adult students. Since 1998, Fischer has worked in Northwestern University's Writing Program, in a collaborative program with the McCormick School of Engineering and Segal Design Institute, Design Thinking and Communication. A life-long learner, she recently completed an MS in Information Design and Strategy at SPS. In addition to her work in higher education, she has significant professional experience as a career consultant, as a writer and trainer, and as an editor for publications. When she is not teaching, you'll find her hiking, cooking, going to the theatre or volunteering at the Butterfly House at the Chicago Botanic Garden.
Meeting Info
Online: TBA
Overview of class
From civil rights and black power movements to women's liberation and gay rights activism, Americans have participated in social movements to protest precarious conditions and achieve a more livable life. In this course, students will study documents from The Declaration of Independence to the signs carried in the #MarchForOurLives. Students will choose their own topics for the three writing assignments and two presentations. This course will introduce students to the study of social movements from a rhetorical perspective. It will explore ways that social media has transformed American political participation by democratizing access to information, disrupting old models of power distribution, and allowing for rapid, broad coalition building and immediate moments of multimodal protest.
In this course students will read arguments critically, and write arguments that are persuasive. Students will build upon what they already know about rhetoric, call upon productive ideas from what they are learning about the world, and bring it together to frame a discussion about current topics. Students will also build upon their ability to enter the context of academic research and argumentation.
The course is conducted completely online. It will be asynchronous; students can participate in discussions and complete assignments by working at their own pace, as long as deadlines are met. A technology fee will be added to tuition.
Additional Information: ENGLISH 111-DL is a writing requirement course for the Bachelor of Science degree programs in SPS.
Registration Requirements
This course is limited to School of Professional Studies students only. Undergraduate students in other schools at Northwestern are not permitted to enroll in this course.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
develop your conception of writing as an interaction between writer and reader.
analyze the audience's knowledge, assumptions, and disposition.
develop the ability to read and evaluate the writing of others with accuracy, understanding, and insight.
apply your understanding of the rhetorical situation to communicate persuasively.
develop strategies of effective research, analyzing, summarizing, paraphrasing, and arranging.
understand how genre is used as a persuasive tool.
refine your skill of persuasive writing using different argumentative strategies.
conduct a rhetorical analysis on a historical document.
demonstrate proficiency in using the conventions of academic research to document sources.
Class Materials (Required)
All of the required readings for this course can be accessed in the Course Reserves.
Class Attributes
Asynchronous:Remote class-no scheduled mtg time