College Seminar (101-7-20)
Topic
The Craft of Description
Instructors
Oladotun Babatope Ayobade
Meeting Info
University Library 3322: Tues, Thurs 9:30AM - 10:50AM
Overview of class
Skilled writers paint lively pictures with words, as do thinkers whose expert writing compels us to reimagine the world. Description is a practice of evoking the observable properties of a thing, event, text, or cultural phenomena for a reader that may not experience it firsthand. This course introduces students to the craft of thick description of cultural artefacts and happenings, and its application in a range of academic and creative pursuits at/beyond the university. Students will also learn to mobilize description as evidence in academic writing, theory making, and as a means for forging persuasive arguments about the world around them. Course activities include a combination of critical ethnography assignments; close reading of objects; events and ephemera; classroom readings; peer feedback; and, crucially, the patient art of revising. The craft of description should prepare students for a multitude of disciplines and intellectual curiosities.
Learning Objectives
1. Students will develop skills in descriptive analysis, through writing practice, presentation, and revision.
2. Students will practice different strategies for describing tangible and intangible cultural facts.
3. Students will explore the intersection of description and critique and their uses in academic writing.
4. Students will practice giving honest, immediate, and specific feedback that honors the integrity of their
classmates, the reading materials, and their own work.
Class Attributes
WCAS College Seminar