A lecture/seminar satisfying the second half of the Reading & Composition requirement, R4B offers structured and sustained practice in the processes used in reading, critical analysis, and writing. Students engage with thematically-related materials from a range of genres and media. In response, they craft short pieces leading to longer expository and/or argumentative essays. Students develop a research question, draft a research essay, gather, evaluate, and synthesize information from various sources. Elements of the research process--a proposal, an annotated bibliography, an abstract, a works cited list, etc.--are submitted with the final report in a research portfolio. Students write a minimum of 32 pages of prose.

Many of us spend hours upon hours every day at our computers and smart phones connecting to the world and to each other through the rapidly proliferating "apps" of technology, from the "old school" Web 1.0 of email to the ever-evolving world of social networking, e-commerce, and data collection. In these fractious times, what does the increased use of these tools mean for the ways we communicate with one another, the ways we read and write and learn, the ways we define what it means to be an individual, what it means to be human? And who has power in these spaces? Where does all of our data go, and how does it get used? In this course, you will engage with texts that consider these and other related questions; you will work on reading and writing skills by writing a series of essays about those texts (and those questions); and you'll learn the rudiments of academic research as you craft a research project centered on a subject of your own choosing that fits within our course theme. And who knows—maybe we'll answer some of those questions too. Book List: "The Machine Stops" (E.M. Forster); Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy (Cathy O'Neil); The Craft of Research, 4th edition (Booth, et al.); Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism (Safiya Noble); Digital course reader (via bCourses)

Enrollment is restricted to students who have satisfied the first half of the Reading and Composition requirement. This course satisfies the second half of the Reading and Composition requirement.

Requisites

• Previously passed an R_A course with a letter grade of C- or better. Previously passed an articulated R_A course with a letter grade of C- or better. Score a 4 on the Advanced Placement Exam in English Literature and Composition. Score a 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement Exam in English Language and Composition. Score of 5, 6, or 7 on the International Baccalaureate Higher Level Examination in English.

Repeat Rules

Course is not repeatable for credit.

Requirements class fulfills