Expository writing based on analysis of selected masterpieces of ancient and modern literature. R1A satisfies the first half of the Reading and Composition requirement, and R1B satisfies the second half.

What does it mean to confess? How does confession relate to the desire to make a narrative of one's life? The word ‘confession’ carries a religious significance in the christian tradition– to confess one's sins in order to be forgiven- but can also encompass a wide range of acknowledgement, admission, and self-expression and sharing. This kind of expression can relieve one’s conscience, be intended to teach others, and reveal much about a given culture, time period, and personality. In this course we will read a wide variety of materials that will allow us to interrogate the concept of confession. Some of these texts will include selections from Augustine of Hippo’s Confessions, Thomas De Quicy’s Confessions of an Opium Eater– an early example of memoir detailing an addiction, and Yukio Mishima’s Confessions of a Mask– a “novel” chronicling coming of age which draws deeply on the author’s own life. In the last section of the course we will turn to contemporary auto-fiction and auto-theory by authors such as Maggie Nelson and Ocean Vuong. As a class that partially fulfills the R&C requirement, this is a writing intensive course. Writing workshops will be integrated into class sessions to practice close reading, structuring arguments, and other key skills for effective college-level writing. Throughout the semester members of this course will develop their thinking on course topics through regular writing assignments, revisions, free-writing and in-class exercises and discussion.

Enrolled students must attend the first two weeks of class. If a student must miss a class OR cannot access the class's bcourses site, they must communicate with the instructor, or they may be subject to an instructor drop.

Requisites

• UC Entry Level Writing Requirement or UC Analytical Writing Placement Exam. 1A or equivalent is prerequisite to 1B.

Repeat Rules

Course is not repeatable for credit.

Requirements class fulfills