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.

Homelessness, or the state of being without a home, is a phenomenon that seems to confront contemporary society at nearly every turn. Yet the thematic of homelessness spans literary narratives from across disparate historical time periods and geographic spaces. What can literature that centers homelessness or that is written by or in the name of the homeless teach us about that experience? What can homelessness as a form of consciousness teach us about literature or literary form? In this course, we will consider a broad range of texts that examine homelessness in its broadest sense: as a form of life without physical shelter, as statelessness, as vagrancy, as dispossession and displacement, or as chosen and unchosen forms of itinerant existence. We will also reflect critically upon the possible kinds of responses these texts articulate vis-à-vis homeless figures: as individual subjects in need of charity, as global populations to be managed, as bohemian or counter cultural challenges to normative ways of living, or as antagonists to nation-state formations. Finally, we will analyze the significant distinctions between and the stakes that uphold these varied expressions of homelessness. This class fulfills the university’s first semester requirement for Reading and Composition. As such, this is a writing-intensive course that focuses on building an essential skill: the argumentative academic essay. Assignments will focus on close reading and literary analysis. Over the course of the semester, we will work on developing persuasive and complex written arguments through drafting, peer review, and revision.

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