First-Year Writing Seminar (101-8-25)

Topic

Love Songs

Instructors

Agam Balooni

Meeting Info

Shepard Hall Classroom B05: Tues, Thurs 9:30AM - 10:50AM

Overview of class

How do music and poetry express emotions that ordinary language cannot? And why do ecstatic, embarrassing, obsessive, pleasurable, painful, and unrequited experiences of love inspire so much art? In this class we will study expressions of erotic desire in a variety of poetic and musical genres from across the globe, from Beyoncé to Billie Eilish to ghazal singer Begum Akhtar to the Kamasutra. We will listen to and analyze American pop, blues ballads, Indian music, epic and romantic poetry, and contemporary writing about intimacy, longing, pleasure, and shame. The course will allow students to develop analytical writing skills, first by honing our skills of close reading and close listening, and then by arriving at refining claims and arguments through class discussions and short assignments. (No background in music required!) Students will complete a final, argument-based critical essay or creative piece developed in stages over the course of the quarter, beginning with a "Table of Contents" and short essay, a class presentation, and moving to a midterm essay before the final submission. By the end of the course, students will have a deeper understanding of how love and desire are shaped by culture, history, sound, and art—and why stories about love continue to matter so much to us.

Class Attributes

WCAS Writing Seminar

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Weinberg First Year Seminars are only available to first-year students.
Add Consent: Department Consent Required