| FYS I: The Art of Life Writing |
1001 (001) |
Aaron Greenberg |
Fri
12:15 PM - 3:00 PM
In Person
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|
Description
The art of life writing includes yet transcends the genres of (auto)biography, memoir, confession, diaries, journals, and social media posts. It is a way of life, a creative practice, a performative invitation of past, present, and future selves. As an essential skill of self-representation beyond the classroom, life writing is ideal for exploring the roles of memory, time, authority, and experience in creating individual and collective identities. This seminar will engage key figures across the span of life writing, including Frederick Douglass, who, regarding biographical details such as his age and parents, writes, ¿I know nothing; the means of knowing was withheld from me.¿ As we experiment with innovative tools for writing life in the 21st century, including voice-based composition, we¿ll consider the styles and effects of life writing, including its power to discover as well as create knowledge. Other texts may include St. Teresa¿s Life, Mary Karr¿s The Art of Memoir, Tara Westover¿s Educated, and Ben Franklin¿s Autobiography. Authors including Sidonie Smith, Julia Watson, Leigh Gilmore, and Ben Yagoda will provide critical context for our discussions. Students will create 15-20 pages of formal, revisable, and publishable writing across three short essays and two in-depth revisions. FYS I guides students through college-level writing, establishing foundations for FYS II and upper level Liberal Arts classes.
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Class Number
1356
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Credits
3
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Department
Liberal Arts
Location
MacLean 919
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| Reading Art |
1001 (001) |
Jennie Berner |
Mon
12:15 PM - 3:00 PM
In Person
|
|
Description
Reading Art is a seminar that orients students to college studies and emphasizes students' advancement of college-level critical reading and thinking skills. Students learn how to read and analyze artworks using the formal vocabulary of art and design, as well as how to read about art in art history textbooks, scholarly journals, and other sources. Students improve their ability to process, retain, and apply information by using active learning strategies and graphic organizers, including a schematic note-taking system. In addition to weekly readings and exercises, students complete an in-depth synthesis project on an artwork of their choosing. Regular museum visits complement class work.
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Class Number
1013
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Credits
3
|
Department
Liberal Arts
Location
Lakeview - 1428
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| FYS I:Hyphenated Identities |
1001 (002) |
Maryjane Lao Villamor |
Fri
12:15 PM - 3:00 PM
In Person
|
|
Description
FYS I breaks down the critical writing process to provide a guided experience in college-level writing, thereby forming the necessary foundations for FYS II and upper level Liberal Arts classes. The class will explore whether the concept of a hyphenated identity (a dual identity divided by ethnicity, race and culture) stands for otherness, opposition, inclusion, or all of the above. Essays by hyphenated writers, such as Ronald Takaki, Judith Ortiz Cofer, Amy Tan, and Audre Lorde, will act as points of departure as well as models of writing for our exploration of the myth of the United States as a cultural melting pot and whether we can reclaim the hyphenated identity as a source of pride and empowerment in today¿s political climate. Students build writing skills through 15-20 pages of formal, revisable writing (i.e. three multi-draft essays) in addition to homework exercises and in-class writings. Through thoughtfully crafted writing, can we begin to give voice to ethnic populations and create an open dialogue about race, displacement, migration, post-colonialism, post-imperialism, and representation?
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Class Number
1334
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Credits
3
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Department
Liberal Arts
Location
MacLean 112
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| Reading Art |
1001 (002) |
Sophie Goalson |
Wed
8:30 AM - 11:15 AM
In Person
|
|
Description
Reading Art is a seminar that orients students to college studies and emphasizes students' advancement of college-level critical reading and thinking skills. Students learn how to read and analyze artworks using the formal vocabulary of art and design, as well as how to read about art in art history textbooks, scholarly journals, and other sources. Students improve their ability to process, retain, and apply information by using active learning strategies and graphic organizers, including a schematic note-taking system. In addition to weekly readings and exercises, students complete an in-depth synthesis project on an artwork of their choosing. Regular museum visits complement class work.
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Class Number
1009
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Credits
3
|
Department
Liberal Arts
Location
Sharp 409
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| Reading Art |
1001 (003) |
Aiko Kojima Hibino |
Thurs
3:30 PM - 6:15 PM
In Person
|
|
Description
Reading Art is a seminar that orients students to college studies and emphasizes students' advancement of college-level critical reading and thinking skills. Students learn how to read and analyze artworks using the formal vocabulary of art and design, as well as how to read about art in art history textbooks, scholarly journals, and other sources. Students improve their ability to process, retain, and apply information by using active learning strategies and graphic organizers, including a schematic note-taking system. In addition to weekly readings and exercises, students complete an in-depth synthesis project on an artwork of their choosing. Regular museum visits complement class work.
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Class Number
1014
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Credits
3
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Department
Liberal Arts
Location
Lakeview - 203
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| FYS I: Contemporary World Issues |
1001 (004) |
Robert Kiely |
Wed
6:45 PM - 9:30 PM
In Person
|
|
Description
The First Year Seminar Program at SAIC gives students the opportunity to develop their analytical writing skills while studying compelling subject matter. Consequently, this course plays two roles. First and foremost, it serves as a writing studio, a forum in which students develop their capacity to construct effective written arguments. The course also explores contemporary world events in detail; the analysis of this material provides the grist for student writing in the course. Modern technology allows for the nearly instantaneous distribution of news and images around the world. As a result, people in the twenty-first century are bombarded with information about contemporary events. However, much of this information has a superficial character: a dizzying array of media, ever concerned with viewership, stresses drama and controversy over context and complexity. Further, the treatment of events often reflects the agenda of the medium providing that treatment. In this course, we will look at global issues in depth, with particular attention to historical context. We will also seek multiple perspectives as we wrestle with the intricacies of diplomacy and war; commerce and culture. Specific topics of study will proceed from what is happening in the world, and students will be required to explore a variety of different news sources as the basis for their writing. Written assignments will include 15-20 pages of formal work, including weekly journal entries and three short papers.
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Class Number
1335
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Credits
3
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Department
Liberal Arts
Location
Lakeview - 205
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| Reading Art |
1001 (004) |
Jennie Berner |
Thurs
12:15 PM - 3:00 PM
In Person
|
|
Description
Reading Art is a seminar that orients students to college studies and emphasizes students' advancement of college-level critical reading and thinking skills. Students learn how to read and analyze artworks using the formal vocabulary of art and design, as well as how to read about art in art history textbooks, scholarly journals, and other sources. Students improve their ability to process, retain, and apply information by using active learning strategies and graphic organizers, including a schematic note-taking system. In addition to weekly readings and exercises, students complete an in-depth synthesis project on an artwork of their choosing. Regular museum visits complement class work.
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Class Number
1010
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Credits
3
|
Department
Liberal Arts
Location
Sharp 706
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| FYS I: Writing About Music |
1001 (005) |
Emily C. Hoyler |
Thurs
8:30 AM - 11:15 AM
In Person
|
|
Description
Music is sometimes called the universal language, yet writers often seek to describe it in words. Music scholars, music critics, music fans, and musicians use words to describe music and to make claims about its merits. This course will explore various styles, techniques, and vocabularies for writing about musical sound and performance. The focus will be on reviews of live concerts, album releases, and film music. Students will develop critical thinking skills by evaluating the effectiveness of an author¿s argument. Students will practice making claims and presenting arguments that are successfully supported by writing style, sources, evidence, structure, and logic. Students will read various articles, essays, and chapters about music by historical and contemporary music scholars, critics, and journalists. Topics vary but may include film music, art music and modernism, music technology, and the recording industry, with a focus on music in the 20th and 21st centuries in the United States. In addition to in-class writing assignments, students will write an original research paper, broken down into several assignments/ drafts. Students should expect to write 15-20 double-spaced pages over the course of the term, including revisions based on instructor and peer feedback.
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Class Number
1376
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Credits
3
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Department
Liberal Arts
Location
Lakeview - 206
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| FYS I: Law as Story |
1001 (009) |
Frank Bonacci |
Mon
6:45 PM - 9:30 PM
In Person
|
|
Description
As citizens, our only contact with the legal system usually occurs when we have gone awry of the law. We see the legal system from the outside, and it¿s not pretty. We also know that the law protects our rights¿despite this knowledge, the legal system has a reputation of working for the rich while stepping on ¿the little guy.¿ And lawyers? Everybody hates lawyers. But at its heart, the law is two parties telling a story and submitting those stories to a third party who judges which one best fits the law. This course will begin with discussions and writing exercises based on stories and storytelling. Each week after that, we will read and discuss cases or stories related to the law and write about these stories, their role as ¿story,¿ and how they fit into the general standards and notions of what a story is. Papers will focus on the story¿s relation to the law, and the structural and rhetorical elements used in the stories, storytelling and academic discourse as a whole. They will also focus on effective ways to present opinions. Through the legal elements of the course, students will learn critical thinking skills by evaluating the case, the story, and the relationship between the two. They will discern how the case was put together, which elements of argument were used, and why. Students will read cases that are vital to U.S. history, are entertaining, or both. These will include Marbury v. Madison, Palsgraf, and others. Among other readings will be works by Jonathan Shapiro and Franz Kafka. In addition to in-class writing, students will write 15-20 pages of formal writing over the course of the term, using a process approach, including instructor and student feedback.
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Class Number
1339
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Credits
3
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Department
Liberal Arts
Location
MacLean 112
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| FYS I: Contemporary Shorts |
1001 (010) |
James Sieck |
Mon
6:45 PM - 9:30 PM
In Person
|
|
Description
In this first-year seminar course, we will explore a variety of contemporary short films, stories, and poetry to help us hone our ability to make meaning with complex works of art and to engage in critical, interpretive analysis of how and why each work was constructed. Using short films, short stories, and poems as our core texts gives us the unique opportunity to engage with a wide range of both storytellers and stories told. Meaning, expect to interact with a diverse landscape of authorial voice, thematic content, and narrative technique. All three of these forms are able to convey complex truths about the world we live in, and our discussions and classroom practices will give us the tools to create focused, nuanced interpretations of each piece and to make critical connections between themes and techniques. By the end of this course, students will have a more sophisticated grasp of the mechanics of film, narrative, and poetry. This is an inquiry and discussion based course, and we will learn to situate questions as the basis of our practice as readers, writers, and thinkers. In addition, FYSI guides students through college-level writing, establishing foundations for FYS II and upper level Liberal Arts classes. Students will write 15 to 20 pages of formal, revisable writing. Our writing workshops will focus on generating questions and language, collecting meaningful evidence, constructing sophisticated thesis statements, creating helpful outlines, and drafting our essays. Peer feedback; 1-1 teacher feedback; and in-class writing workshops will be key components of this course.
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Class Number
1357
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Credits
3
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Department
Liberal Arts
Location
MacLean 501
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| FYS I: Sound, Noise, Power |
1001 (011) |
Joshua Rios |
Tues
12:15 PM - 3:00 PM
In Person
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|
Description
This class examines cultural and political power in relation to ideas about sound and noise. What we hear, mis-hear, do not hear, cannot hear, or choose not to hear plays an important role in social life. Those that have power have the power to decide what counts as an acceptable sound or disturbing noise. These facts make sound and noise central to issues of social justice, political activism, and public space. Sound and noise are also vital to the creation of communities of celebration and dissent ¿ in the form of the noise strike, the protest chant, or the collective sing-along, for example. Social groups produce themselves through their listening practices and shared forms of sounding out. We will read and listen closely to scholars, artists, experimental musicians, and journalist like Jennifer Stoever (The Sonic Color Line), Kevin Beasley (A view of a landscape: A cotton gin motor), Gala Porras-Kim (Whistling and Language Transfiguration), Moor Mother (Irreversible Entanglements) and Gregory Tate (Flyboy in the Buttermilk). Additionally, we will learn from a variety of types of sources including Literature, Musicology, Art, Cultural Criticism, Music Journalism, and Poetry. Along with experimental writing assignments linking related topics, key terms, and ideas to personal and social experiences, students will produce 15-20 pages of organized writing broken into drafts and revisions.
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Class Number
1340
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Credits
3
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Department
Liberal Arts
Location
MacLean 818
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| FYS I: Pop Music and Power |
1001 (012) |
Claire Lobenfeld |
Tues
6:45 PM - 9:30 PM
In Person
|
|
Description
What can pop music uncover about power? In this writing-intensive course, we'll look at pop music through the lenses of artistry, politics, and history while developing college-level writing skills that build a foundation for FYS II and upper-level Liberal Arts courses. Artists up for discussion include Lizzo, Britney Spears, Jojo Siwa, Chappell Roan, SOPHIE, and, of course, Beyoncé and Taylor Swift. We'll read authors like Danyel Smith, Sasha Geffen, Julianne Escobedo Shepherd, Hanif Abdurraqib, and Rawiya Kamier and hear from the artists themselves through music, interviews, performances, and documentaries. Class time will be spent writing, revising, and developing skills in critical analysis and making a claim in service of 15-20 pages of multi-draft, formal writing. Throughout the semester, peer-reviewing and one-on-one instructor conferences support the process.
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Class Number
1385
|
Credits
3
|
Department
Liberal Arts
Location
MacLean 301
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| FYS I: Russian Short Stories |
1001 (013) |
Irina Ruvinsky |
Mon
8:30 AM - 11:15 AM
In Person
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|
Description
Russia as a young literary nation did not come of age until the period during which the novel dominated the literary scene. While it was the novel that made Russian literature legendary around the world, many Russian masters including Tolstoy, Chekhov, Turgenev and Bulgakov devoted themselves to the cultivation of the short story. The short story as a genre assumed a role in Russian literature that rivaled and perhaps even surpassed that of the novel. In this course we will explore the many cultural and social forces that led to the rise of the Russian short story as a style unique to Russian literature and its themes. FYS I is an intensive writing course that will include an in-depth introduction to critical thinking and persuasive writing strategies. Students can expect to submit three writing assignments that will range between 5-6 pages each that will be based on analytical and persuasive approaches to academic writing.
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Class Number
1378
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Credits
3
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Department
Liberal Arts
Location
Lakeview - 1428
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| FYS I: Curiosities |
1001 (014) |
Joanna Anos |
Wed
12:15 PM - 3:00 PM
In Person
|
|
Description
To have curiosity is to be inquisitive, to wonder and to want to know. To be a curiosity, on the other hand, is to be a novelty or rarity, something odd or unusual or strange. In this writing intensive course, students explore curiosities, practice wonder, and pursue questioning. Readings include verbal and visual texts: essays and articles, photographs and artifacts. Students write and revise several essays of modest length, including analyses of visual texts and their own ¿curated collection¿ of curiosities.
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Class Number
1341
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Credits
3
|
Department
Liberal Arts
Location
Sharp 409
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| FYS I: Edward Yang |
1001 (015) |
Annette Elliot-Hogg |
Wed
12:15 PM - 3:00 PM
In Person
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|
Description
Taiwanese director Edward Yang is a poet of film. His intimate epics exhibit a mastery of form characterized by meditative narrative rhythms, long takes, medium shots over close-ups, and a detached, static camera. In this class, we will formally analyze three films¿Taipei Story (1985), A Brighter Summer Day (1991) and Yi Yi (2000) to understand how cinematic techniques work together to create meaning in a film. We will also examine the films within the broader context of the Taiwanese New Wave. First Year Seminar I is an intensive writing course. In class, we will engage deeply with course materials in productive discussions that will foster critical thinking and inform student writing. In addition to weekly homework assignments and in-class writing, students can expect to compose and revise 15-20 pages of formal writing through a process approach to hone their argumentative skills and build their confidence in expressing their ideas clearly and effectively.
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Class Number
1379
|
Credits
3
|
Department
Liberal Arts
Location
MacLean 818
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| FYS I:The American Short Story |
1001 (016) |
Alexander W Jochaniewicz |
Tues
12:15 PM - 3:00 PM
In Person
|
|
Description
This class will examine the American short story and survey its origins and development over the past two hundred years. Our study of the American short story will begin with formal elements of fiction, including how writers use and innovate within traditional storytelling practices, and then we will widen our scope and consider historical and cultural contexts. This literature is challenging and controversial--and studying it will help refine our own thoughts and modes of expression, too. The reading list includes (among others) Nathaniel Hawthorne, Kate Chopin, Sarah Perkins Gilman, William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, James Baldwin, Alice Walker, Raymond Carver, Juhumpa Lahiri, Amy Tan, Sherman Alexie, and Z.Z. Packer. Individual interpretations will be emphasized, and a slow-and-close reading of both the literature and our own writing will be practiced. This class will also engage in the process of writing, including prewriting (inquiry and brainstorming), drafting, peer review, and revising. Written assignments will include personal reflection, analysis, and synthesis. FYS I develops college-level writing skills, prepares one for FYS II and upper level Liberal Arts courses, and allows one to improve expressing their ideas in writing.
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Class Number
1342
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Credits
3
|
Department
Liberal Arts
Location
Lakeview - 1427
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| FYS I: Surrealism and its Afterlives |
1001 (017) |
Stephen Williams |
Tues
3:30 PM - 6:15 PM
In Person
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|
Description
Surrealism is among the preeminent modes of twentieth century art. It is the product of a specific moment in history, and yet it has proved remarkably adaptable through time and across cultures, languages, media, and genres. This FYS I course introduces students to college-level writing, reading, and critical thinking skills using Surrealism and its legacy as a focal point, and prepares them for FYS II and upper level Liberal Arts courses. We will consider critical and creative writing, as well as some visual art, by figures such as André Breton, Phillippe Soupault, Leonora Carrington, Alice Rahon, Aimé Cesaire, Octavio Paz, Barbara Guest, Alejandra Pizarnik, and Bei Dao. Some topics we might investigate include Surrealism's relationship to the art that came before it; its conceptions of daily life, and individual and collective personhood; its engagement with contemporaneous developments in science and technology; and its relationship to issues of race, class, gender, and to historical events. Students should expect to compose (plan, draft, critique, and revise) 15-20 double-spaced pages of formal writing, in addition to regular in-class and out-of-class writing assignments.
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Class Number
1358
|
Credits
3
|
Department
Liberal Arts
Location
MacLean 818
|
| FYS I: Art and Ideas |
1001 (018) |
Robert Kiely |
Tues
3:30 PM - 6:15 PM
In Person
|
|
Description
The First Year Seminar program at SAIC gives students the opportunity to develop their analytical writing skills while studying compelling subject matter. Consequently, this course plays two roles. First and foremost, it serves as a writing studio, a forum in which students can develop their prose style and their ability to construct effective written arguments. The course also explores the relationship between artistic expression and the ideologies that characterize a given culture. Artists live in a specific cultural context. Their works reflect the influence of the dominant ideas of that culture, and often serve as a conscious commentary on those ideas. In this course, we will examine the impact of ideology upon art in a variety of world cultures, with an emphasis on cultural comparison.
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Class Number
1359
|
Credits
3
|
Department
Liberal Arts
Location
Lakeview - 1428
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| FYS I: Feelings |
1001 (019) |
Suzanne Scanlon |
Wed
8:30 AM - 11:15 AM
In Person
|
|
Description
This FYS I class explores the art of writing about feelings. Readings will include work by Jenny Odell, Jenny Zhang, Zadie Smith, and others. FYS I develops college-level writing skills and prepares one for FYS II and upper-level Liberal Arts courses. In our FYS I class, we will develop our critical reading, writing, and thinking skills by focusing on writing as a process. Students can expect to compose and revise 15-20 pages in multidraft formal writing assignments in addition to homework and in-class writing. Peer review and one-on-one writing conferences with the teacher should also be expected.
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Class Number
1360
|
Credits
3
|
Department
Liberal Arts
Location
Lakeview - 203
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| FYS I: Problems in Democracy |
1001 (020) |
Kieran Aarons |
Tues
12:15 PM - 3:00 PM
In Person
|
|
Description
This course will approach the art of critical thinking and writing through the study of social and political philosophy. Readings will confront us with a wide range of positions for and against democracy, from Ancient Athens to current-day social movements. Our focus will be on recognizing and assessing their core arguments, discussing them critically together, and translating our conclusions into persuasive academic-level essay writing. Is genuine democracy an impossible ideal, only suited to Gods? Can the state express the will of the people through the constitution, the vote, and other procedures of public discourse, or is democracy best conceived as an anarchic force that challenges all institutional authority? Are ¿the people¿ the sum of individuals, a common power, or a potentially-criminal mob? Taking a stance on such debates will allow us to refine the skills essential to good essay-writing: summary, analysis, citation, organization and logical flow, but also suspense, effective use of stories and examples, and mystery. These skills form the necessary foundations for FYS II and upper-level Liberal Arts classes. Students can expect to produce 15-20 pages of scaffolded, revisable, formal writing that includes two essays as well as preparatory homework assignments and in-class writings. In-class workshopping of student papers should also be expected.
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Class Number
1343
|
Credits
3
|
Department
Liberal Arts
Location
MacLean 919
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