11:15a-12:30p TR (25) 3 cr.
COAS INTENSIVE WRITING SECTION. OPEN TO HONORS STUDENTS ONLY. OBTAIN
AUTHORIZATION FROM
HONORS DIVISION, 324 N. JORDAN AVENUE.
To interpret is fundamentally a process of reading a work actively, be
it a poem, a short
story, a play, a novel, or--in a different medium--a film. The
primary purpose of this
course, then, is to make explicit what is involved in an activity we
all have engaged in,
probably more often than we realize, with a view to developing our
capacity for writing as a
way of reading, a form of interpretation. As a community of readers
and writers, we will
consider not only what interpretive invitations are extended through
the conventions of form
in the texts we read, but also what ways of reading we habitually
resort to, where such
habits come from, and what particular ways of reading allow us to see
or do (and what they
prevent us from seeing or doing). We will also explore what other
ways of reading and
writing are available to us, what they might allow us to see or do (or
prevent us from
seeing or doing). Because the course covers a range of textual media,
an important part of
our inquiry will be to consider how the different media orient and
predispose us as
audiences, how we can critically interact with them, and what room
there might be for us to
exercise our creative, inventive intelligence. Finally, we will
consider what's at stake in
certain kinds of interpretative practices, for us as individuals, as
members of varying
communities, as citizens.
Texts may include Sherman Alexie's The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist
Fight in Heaven,
Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber, Shakespeare's
Othello, and Paul Hunter's
Introduction to Poetry. There will also be film screenings of
Smoke Signals and
Othello productions. In addition to active participation in
discussions and other course
activities, students will collaborate on an inquiry project and
present their findings to
the class. Written assignments include 1-page weekly written
responses to readings, an
annotated bibliography to accompany the presentation, and three
essays.