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.

With the rapid advance of large language models and other forms of artificial intelligence, AI has very much entered the broader public consciousness of late, with all sorts of attendant excitement and anxiety. We wonder how AI might affect our lives: will it be a welcome tool, a fascinating but over-hyped evolution of technology, a threat to our livelihoods, a redefining moment in the history of humanity? Or perhaps all of the above and more? What is the place of human intelligence and agency in the face of the proliferation of AI? Or, put another way, what will life be like for human beings—for us—in a world of AI, and what should we be doing about it? In this class, we will examine more specific versions of these questions, though we will do them in a way that is perhaps different than what you might expect for a class like this. You will work on your critical reading, critical writing, and basic research skills (as indicated by the general title of all CW R4B courses—Reading, Composition, and Research) but which specific readings we will do as a class, and which specific questions you will seek to answer in your research, reading, and writing, will not be entirely set out by the instructor (me) before the class begins. Instead, once we come together as a group, we will collaborate as a class on determining what most of the readings will be, and what questions we will ask, as you each discover what issues within this broad field of artificial intelligence and its effects on human life are both important to you and worthy of study.

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