Training in writing expository prose. Instruction in expository writing in conjunction with reading literature. Satisfies the first half of the Reading and Composition requirement.

Do you remember the 90s? Does anyone remember the 90s? Despite enjoying a cultural revival today, the 1990s are difficult to remember because memory and history became obsolete. Maybe history died in the late twentieth century, as according to Nietzsche, God had died in the late nineteenth century. Perhaps, the so-called “end of history”was just a fad, a moment of culture destined to fade, like pets.com, yo-yos, and frosted tips. Or could it be that history, like the internet, was just coming online? Our class looks back on this period with a renewed faith in crisis and progress to ask: Why were the 90s like that? What became of this culture? What did that moment feel like, and are we still living in it today? To answer these questions, our class will look at a variety of cultural objects, from literature, to music, to TV and film, as well as a handful of scholarly essays of the era. As an R&C course, our major goals to improve students’ skills in writing and thinking clearly, researching and reading with purpose and focus. These skills should help us approach familiar 90s objects anew and unfamiliar objects with context and interest, and hopefully we will discover their broad applicability beyond our classroom. Students are expected to complete assignments on time, attend class meetings, and contribute to the conversation. Our emphasis will be on the processual nature of reading, writing, and critical thinking—from active reading to thesis formation and outlines, through rounds of drafting and revising. Students will also respond to each other’s work in peer-review exercises.

Requisites

• Satisfaction of the Entry Level Writing Requirement

Repeat Rules

Course is not repeatable for credit.

Requirements class fulfills