Expository Writing (105-0-20)
Topic
'What does the fox say?'
Instructors
Charlotte Woodruff Goddu
Meeting Info
Parkes Hall 213: Mon, Wed 12:30PM - 1:50PM
Overview of class
From the crafty protagonist of the medieval Romance of Reynard to Sonic the Hedgehog's bestie Tails, pop cultural foxes have delighted us for centuries. In this course, we'll zero in on this particular species to think about bigger questions: what makes an animal an animal and a human a human? Why do people like to read and write stories starring nonhuman characters? And what can we learn about real foxes from imaginary ones? During the quarter, we'll encounter a variety of fictional foxes in books and movies, including George Saunders's novella Fox 8, Wes Anderson's adaptation of Fantastic Mr. Fox, and the 1973 Disney animated film Robin Hood. And we'll think about animals more broadly (what it's like to be one, and how humans interact with and think about other species) through science writing, philosophy, and creative nonfiction, material that will help us analyze our primary sources. Using this array of texts, we'll think about why and how we use writing and imagination to understand experiences and perspectives radically different from our own. Through peer review and group discussions, we'll practice reading critically to identify a writer's objectives and to assess how well they're achieving them (this includes you!). Most of all, this class is intended to help you develop a personal writing process that's useful, practical, and even fun, with the hope that doing so will serve you not just in your other classes but in the rest of your life, too.
Class Materials (Required)
George Saunders, Fox 8 (ISBN: 1984818023)
Bernardo Zannoni, My Stupid Intentions (ISBN: 9781681377285)