[A new semester is upon us, so this week I’ll preview texts I’m excited to teach in my Spring 2022 classes. Leading up to a weekend update on my book project in progress!]
Three genres of
student paper I’m excited to read in my two Writing II sections.
1)
Ad Analyses: My Writing
II syllabus starts with a short unit on advertisements, for a couple
reasons: it begins the semester with the skill of close reading specifics from one
text (of the students’ choosing), on which to my mind all other forms of
analysis are built; and it helps us start talking about the many images and
narratives which our 21st century world is always creating and
sending our way. Where and how students find their ads has evolved a great in
my years teaching this course, and it’s been exciting to see how YouTube ads
and online banner ads offer distinct analytical frames from TV commercials and
print ads. Can’t wait to see where these two classes start out!
2)
Personal Narratives: The class’s overall focus
is on writing 21st century identities, and it’s the second unit—which
includes two papers so is significantly longer than the first—where we really
begin to explore the multiple layers to that content. More exactly, it’s there where
the students generally start to write about their own identities (some do so as
part of the ad analysis, but it’s not required), as we read and discuss both personal
narratives and essays that engage with elements of 21st century
identities (especially around social media and technology). I use and enjoy
reading student personal narratives in a
few different classes, but these Writing II papers always offer
particularly great lenses into not just my students, but how they’re moving
through this moment and world of ours.
3)
Research Papers: First Year Writing II at
Fitchburg State concludes with a research analysis paper for all sections, as I
believe it should (now more than ever, skills of information
literacy alone couldn’t be more important). Every time I teach the course,
I struggle with one particular aspect of this culminating assignment: I’m 1000%
committed to giving students the freedom to choose and design their own topic;
but for many of them, that flexibility is hugely daunting and they’d greatly
prefer for me to assign a topic. I hear that, and am always willing to offer
suggestions (especially ones based on prior student work in the class), but I
remain absolutely committed to that openness, as in my experience it really
allows students to write papers that reflect—and analyze—their own interests
and identities very potently. Excited to read these two new batches come May!
Next preview
post tomorrow,
Ben
PS. What do you
think? Spring courses or other work you want to share?
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