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.

At least two queries occupy the heart of a recent text that feminist philosopher Judith Butler began writing during the Covid-19 pandemic. The first question serves as the text’s title, What World is This? A second question – “Given this world, what makes for a livable life”? – follows from the first but also points to a kind of impulse that can be located across many examples of feminist theorizing and art making (Butler 27). That is, these questions highlight both ‘the world’ (its appearance and how we can know it or belong to it) as well as ‘life’ (how we can or ought to be able to do it, to persist in living) as still undecided terms, as spaces of contestation, especially for marginalized populations. Moreover, these questions implicitly recognize the possibility of a world which might be less than inhabitable, a life that might seem less than livable in the face of various forms of (racist, sexist, homo/transphobic) violence, poverty, or environmental destruction. As one kind of response, this course will focus on different (and sometimes conflicting) feminist frameworks for interpreting the world and literary and filmic examples of women that occupy and create spaces for living, breathing, loving, and holding onto their convictions in the face of all manner of constraints. Taking our cue from the overall theme, this course will also approach reading and writing as significant forms of agency – as practices for making oneself more intelligible, life more livable, and the world more inhabitable. As this class fulfills the university’s requirement for Reading and Composition, this is a writing-intensive course that will work toward developing an essential skill: the academic analytical essay. Throughout the semester, students will draw connections between literary and artistic works while participating through a range of modalities: regular discussion and reflection, collective note taking, writing workshop and peer review activities, small oral presentations, and formal essay writing.

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