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Expository Writing: Social and Ethical Issues in Print, Photography and Film >> Content Detail



Study Materials



Readings

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Readings are also listed by class session.

Wherever possible, the book citations below reflect the specific editions used in the course.



Texts


Amazon logo Watters, Ann, and Marjorie Ford, eds. Writing for Change: A Community Reader. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 1994. ISBN: 9780070686151.

Amazon logo Moser, Joyce, and Ann Watters, eds. Creating America: Reading and Writing Arguments. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2004. ISBN: 9780131443860.

Amazon logo Lunsford, Andrea A. Easy Writer: A Pocket Guide. 2nd ed. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's Press, 2002, 2005. ISBN: 9780312433093.



Additional Readings


Amazon logo Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid's Tale. New York, NY: Anchor; 1st Anchor Books edition, 1998. ISBN: 9780385490818. (Excerpts)

Amazon logo Carson, Rachel. Silent Spring. Mariner Books; 104 edition, 2002. ISBN: 9780618249060. (Excerpts)

Amazon logo Dickens, Charles. A Christmas Carol . New York, NY: Penguin Classics, 2003. ISBN: 9780140439052. (Excerpts)

Amazon logo Ehrenreich, Barbara. Nickel and Dimed: On (not) Getting by in America. New York, NY: Henry Holt Paperback, 2002. ISBN: 9780805063899. (Excerpts)

Amazon logo Friedan, Betty. The Feminine Mystique. New York, NY: Norton, 2001. ISBN: 9780393322576. (Excerpts)

Amazon logo Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. London, UK: New York, NY: Harper Perennial Modern Classics; Flamingo Modern Classics, 1998, 1994. ISBN: 9780060929879. (Excerpts)

Amazon logo Kaysen, Susanna. Girl, Interrupted. New York, NY: Vintage Books, 1994. ISBN: 9780679746041 (Excerpts)

Kozol, Jonathan. "Are the Homeless Crazy? " Harper's Magazine 277 (September 1988): 17-19.

Orwell, George. "Politics and the English Language." Selected Essays. Toronto, ON: Penguin Books Ltd., 1957. (Excerpts)

Amazon logo ———. 1984. New York, NY: The New American Library Inc., 1961. ISBN: 9780451524935. (Excerpts)

Amazon logo Sister Prejean, Helen. Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States. New York, NY: Vintage; 1st Vintage Books ed edition, 1994. ISBN: 9780679751311. (Excerpts)



Online Readings


Susan Sontag, On Photography (excerpt)

Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions

Girl, Interrupted (excerpt)

"The Ultimate Punishment: A Defense" - E. Van den Haag



Films


A Christmas Carol.

Rosenblum, Nina. America and Lewis Hine. 1985.

Hampton, Henry. Eyes on the Prize. 1987.

Mangold, James. Girl, Interrupted. 1999.

Killing Us Softly. 1999.

Robbins, Tim. Dead Man Walking. 1995.



Readings by Class Session



LEC #TOPICSREADINGS
Unit One: First Essay; Writing Focus: Personal Narrative
1Intro to the Class as a Writing Community

Writing about Social and Ethical Issues
2Reasons to Believe: The Roots of Ethical and Social Values

Introducing Personal Essays
In Writing for Change:

Edelman, Marion Wright. "A Family Legacy." pp. 24-30.
3Reasons to Believe and Act
4Developing and Sustaining Ethical and Social Values
The Personal Essay: Crafting Engaging and Effective Introductions
In Writing for Change:

Kennedy, John F. "Inaugural Address." pp. 89-92.

Buckley, William F. "A Call to Arms." pp. 125-133.

King, Martin Luther, Jr. "A Letter From Birmingham Jail." pp. 285-299.

Alexander, P. W. "Christmas At Home." pp. 100-103.

Taylor, Jeremy. "Service Learning: Education with a Purpose." pp. 193-199.

Film Clips: Eyes on the Prize.
5The Writer as Social Activist: A Literary Tradition
6Writing Workshop, Draft Essay 1; The Craft of Revision
Unit Two: Second Essay; Writing Focus: Investigative Essay/Comparative Analysis
7Representing Social Issues and Problems; Images
8Narratives of Poverty and HomelessnessDickens, Charles. A Christmas Carol. (Selection)

Kozol, Jonathan. "Are the Homeless Crazy?"

In Writing For Change:

Marin, Peter. "Helping and Hating the Homeless…." pp. 270-283.

Film Clip: A Christmas Carol
9The Writer as Witness, Participant and Investigator: Inside the World of Poverty and Low-wage LaborEhrenreich, Barbara. Nickel and Dimed: On Not Getting By in America. (Excerpt)

Film Clip: America and Lewis Hine.
10The Writer as Interpreter of Social Issues: The Value Of Comparative Analysis: Research Strategies
11Writers Engage With Media Culture and Beauty ImageryIn Writing For Change: (student essay)

Morgan, Amanda. "When Beauty Is the Beast." pp. 356-363.

Film: Killing Us Softly 3
12Writers Address Contemporary Debates: Race, Gender and Issues of Equality

Approaches to Comparative Analysis: Options in Introductions/Conclusions
In Writing For Change:

Takaki, Ronald. "Breaking Silences: Community of Memory." pp. 219-232.

Faludi, Susan. "Blame It on Feminism." pp. 238-250.
13Writers Confront Contemporary: Educational Inequality, Past and Present: Individual PortraitsIn Writing For Change:

Angelou, Maya. "Graduation." pp. 155-165.

Kozol, Jonathan. "Corla Hawkins." pp. 176-181.

Rose, Mike. "I Just Wanna Be Average." pp. 165-176.
14Writing Workshop, Draft, Essay 2
Unit Three: Third Essay; Writing Focus: Investigative/Advocacy Essay
15Writers as Investigators and Advocates: Modern Classics in the Literature of Social ChangeExcerpts from:

Friedan, Betty. The Feminine Mystique.

Carson, Rachel. Silent Spring.

Orwell, George. "Politics and the English Language."
16Reading Films CriticallyFilm: Girl, Interrupted.
17Writers Explore Contemporary Issues: Mental HealthKaysen, Susanna. Girl, Interrupted. (Excerpt)

In Writing for Change:

Thompson, Tracy. "The Wizard of Prozac." pp. 347-356.

Film: Mangold, James. Girl, Interrupted.
18Writers Define Contemporary Issues and Advocate Solutions: EducationIn Writing for Change:

Hirsch, E. D. "Cultural Literacy." pp. 188-193
19View Dead Man WalkingFilm: Dead Man Walking.
20Writers Debate Policy Issues: Capital Punishment

Incorporating Personal and Public Voices
Film: Robbins, Tim. Dead Man Walking
21Writers Debate Policy Issues: Capital Punishment

Incorporating Personal and Public Voices (cont.)
Film: Robbins, Tim. Dead Man Walking.
22Approaches To AdvocacyIn Writing For Change:

Randy Fitzgerald. "Owls Are Not Threatened, Jobs Are." pp. 419-423.

Hamilton, Cynthia. "Women, Home and Community: The Struggles in an Urban Environment." pp. 412-418.
23Writers as Visionaries: Fiction as a Laboratory for Utopian Ideas and Dystopian CritiquesIn Writing For Change:

Callenbach, Ernest. "Ecotopia." pp. 440-446.
24Writers as Visionaries: Fiction as a Laboratory for Utopian Ideas and Dystopian CritiquesExcerpts:

Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World.

Orwell, George. 1984.

Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid's Tale.
25Revision Strategies for Advocacy Essays
26Advanced Revision/Publication Workshop
27Advanced Revision/Publication Workshop (cont.)
28Presentations and Course Evaluation
29Last Class: Celebration

 








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