These challenging courses are designed for students who want to experience university-level academics while building up their resumes for college applications. You can take one 3- or 4-credit course* during the College Prep Program.
*To satisfy visa requirements, international students receiving visa assistance from Georgetown will be enrolled in a second credit course. Please refer to the How to Apply page for additional details for International Students.
Please Note: Any requests to take a class that is not on this list must be submitted to our Program Director via email to highschool@georgetown.edu for review. See the FAQs page for more details. Please do not contact class instructors directly to request permission to enroll.
About College Prep Courses
College Prep offers a range of credit courses taken alongside current undergraduate students in various subjects.
Dates
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- Summer College 2:
Approved Course List
The courses listed below are the Approved Course List for College Prep students. The list of summer courses is updated in late December of each year. This list can be filtered by subject, session, day of the week, and time of day. Click the down arrow next to each course listing to see course details.
| Number | Course Name | Faculty | Time | Session | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARTS-1301-20 | Photo I: Digital |
Carr-Shaffer, Kelly |
PM | Summer College 2 | Click to read more about ARTS-1301-20 |
Photography plays a predominant role in how we explore and express ourselves, how we connect. Even after the pandemic, that will still be true. This class explores how the craft challenges, the cultural framework, and the photographer’s perspective are potential tools to help be better at making and understanding photographs. |
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| CHEM-1025-20 | Intro to Forensic Chemistry |
Itani, Mohammad |
PM | Summer College 2 | Click to read more about CHEM-1025-20 |
This course is designed for the non-science major students to stimulate their interest in the forensic chemistry and help them appreciate and understand the basic fundamental concepts of chemistry. In each chapter, chemical concepts related to a forensic topic are introduced in addition to a brief description of an analytical instrumentation or methodology used in crime investigation lab and a case study. The main purpose of this course is to deliver the chemistry concepts to students without going into great details. |
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| COSC-1010-20 | Intro to Comp Science: Python |
Buffum, Philip |
AM | Summer College 2 | Click to read more about COSC-1010-20 |
This course is intended for non-majors seeking an introduction to computer science and Python programming. The course covers the following topics: basic data types in Python, variables and constants, input and output, Python reserved words and built-in functions, operators, conditional control structures, repetition control structures, basic file operations, user-defined functions, value parameters, lists, scope rules, importing packages, elementary data processing and visualization, and elementary software engineering principles. |
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| ECON-1001-20 | Econ Principles Micro | PM | Summer College 2 | Click to read more about ECON-1001-20 | |
This course first develops simple graphical and mathematical models of decision-making by individual economic agents: consumers, workers, and businesses. We analyze interactions between these agents in product and factor markets using concepts of market demand, supply, and equilibrium. Finally, we demonstrate the efficiency of perfectly competitive markets, describe the conditions under which that efficiency arises, and examine market failures that occur when those conditions are not met. |
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| ECON-1002-20 | Econ Principles Macro | PM | Summer College 2 | Click to read more about ECON-1002-20 | |
This course provides an introduction to macroeconomics. The first part of the course explores how GDP, inflation, unemployment, and other macroeconomic aggregates are measured in practice. The second part develops analytical models of macroeconomic performance and growth in the long run. The third part focuses on short-run (business-cycle) fluctuations and fiscal and monetary policies. Fall and Spring. |
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| FMST-1181-20 | Intro to Filmmaking |
Bruno, Melissa |
PM | Summer College 2 | Click to read more about FMST-1181-20 |
FMST 181-20: This course explores introductory film production techniques and strategies. Students will learn video and audio recording, scriptwriting and non-linear editing using Adobe Premiere Pro software. Visual storytelling concepts and creative post-production editing will be emphasized. In-class exercises and short film projects will allow students to become comfortable working in various film production roles. Additionally, critiques and screenings of student and professional film work will provide students with an understanding of the narrative film genre. This course explores introductory film production techniques and strategies. Students will learn video and audio recording, scriptwriting and non-linear editing using Adobe Premiere Pro software. Visual storytelling concepts and creative post-production editing will be emphasized. In-class exercises and short film projects will allow students to become comfortable working in various film production roles. Additionally, critiques and screenings of student and professional film work will provide students with an understanding of the narrative film genre. Some seats in this course are reserved. |
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| FREN-1002-20 | Introductory French II |
Smorodinsky, Iris |
AM | Summer College 2 | Click to read more about FREN-1002-20 |
Introductory French II (FREN 002) is the continuation of Introductory French I (FREN 001) and is aimed at preparing students for the Intermediate French sequence. Students who enroll in this course have typically taken Introductory French I (FREN 001) or have placed into this course by means of the Department of French & Francophone Studies' online French Placement Exam. This course continues with the basics of French grammar and conversation through lectures, cultural readings, pronunciation drills, oral and written exercises, and conversational practice. Course materials include the Introductory French textbook, En Avant (Third Edition) as well as various French-language audio, visual, and written materials. |
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| FREN-1502-20 | Intermediate French II |
Erradi, Nezha |
AM | Summer College 2 | Click to read more about FREN-1502-20 |
Non-Intensive Intermediate French II (FREN 022) builds on Non-Intensive Intermediate French I (FREN 021) and its presentation of French and Francophone cultures through various themes, the study and practice of fundamental vocabulary to explore these themes, and essential grammatical structures. FREN 022 provides students with a solid foundation for pursuing further study of the language and culture at the Advanced level (FREN 101 or FREN 111). The prerequisite for this course is the successful completion of Intermediate French I (FREN 021) at Georgetown, a score of 56-65 on the French Placement or Confirmation Exam (see the departmental web page), or a recommendation from a Georgetown University French Department instructor. |
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| GOVT-1200-20 | The U.S. Political System |
Girod, Desh |
PM | Summer College 2 | Click to read more about GOVT-1200-20 |
Government 020 provides students with a broad understanding of the political system in the United States. It is one of the four introductory courses in the Department of Government. The goal of the class is to train students both as citizens and as scholars. As citizens, students will learn the shared history of U.S. politics and be able to think critically about how the system has succeeded and failed. As scholars, students will be introduced to the theoretical and analytical tools of political science as applied to American government. By the end of the semester students will 1) Be politically literate, knowing core historical and contemporary facts about the U.S. political system 2) Understand important theories about U.S. politics, including theories about the importance and functioning of political institutions, the roots of popular political preferences, and the functioning and consequences of elections. Some seats in this course are reserved. |
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| GOVT-1400-20 | Comparative Political Systems |
Langenbacher, Eric |
PM | Summer College 2 | Click to read more about GOVT-1400-20 |
This course offers a broad introduction to comparative politics, the subfield of political science concerned mainly with political ideas, institutions, and behavior within states. The course examines such themes as the origins and functions of states, formal institutions such as legislatures and executives, the variety and impact of electoral systems, the nature of democracy and autocracy, internal and external challenges to political order, and the impact of international and domestic factors on state performance. Discussions of theoretical and cross-regional issues will be accompanied by treatment of individual countries and contexts. This course counts for the Comparative Government distribution requirement. This course has been renumbered, effective Fall 2014. A student who earned credit for GOVT 121 Comparative Political Systems in a prior term should not enroll and cannot earn credit in this class. Some seats in this course are reserved. |
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| GOVT-1600-20 | International Relations |
Girod, Desh |
PM | Summer College 2 | Click to read more about GOVT-1600-20 |
This course provides an introduction to key theories, concepts, historical events, and contemporary issues in the study of international relations (IR). The course has six learning objectives: Students will come to understand (1) the fundamental concepts unique to the field of international relations; (2) the major theories of international conflict and cooperation, particularly realist, liberal, and constructivist theories; and (3) several watershed conflicts in the last century, including World War I, World War II, and the Cold War. Students will then apply this theoretical and empirical knowledge to make sense of salient contemporary issues in (4) international security (including nuclear weapons and proliferation, ethnic conflict, civil war, and terrorism), (5) political economy (including trade, finance, and globalization), and (6) global governance (including international law, human rights, humanitarian intervention, and the environment). In short, the course is meant to provide students with the tools to analyze contemporary international affairs and debates in a rigorous and sophisticated manner. |
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| GOVT-1800-20 | Elements of Political Theory |
Gibson, Andrew |
AM | Summer College 2 | Click to read more about GOVT-1800-20 |
Who should rule? This is, in many ways, the fundamental question of politics that has been animating political thought to this day. Should it be the few or the many? The most virtuous or the most calculating? Or should we decide who rules by lot? In the course of considering this fundamental question of politics, we will come upon others: Do you have to obey an unjust law? Where does the legitimacy of the modern state come from? Are we tied to one another through a social contract? Who is included in such a social contract, who is excluded? What would true emancipation require? In pursuing these thematic questions, we will proceed both conceptually and in chronological order from antiquity to modernity, emphasizing both philosophical and historical approaches to political theory. Throughout the course we will explore key concepts such as the social contract, sovereignty, violence, freedom, and equality; we will address the relation between politics and language; and investigate the foundations and meaning of the quest for freedom and equality. Finally, throughout the course we will link these discussions to larger questions of liberalism and democracy. The course will ask you to read difficult texts, but it does not presume any prior experience with political science, political theory, history, or philosophy. |
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| GOVT-2609-20 | Race in Internat'l Relations |
Girod, Desh |
AM | Summer College 2 | Click to read more about GOVT-2609-20 |
This course will examine how race and racism in global interactions play out. |
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| HIST-1099-20 | Women and Gender in MENA |
Bercito, Diogo |
PM | Summer College 2 | Click to read more about HIST-1099-20 |
HIST 1099 is one of the required core classes in History for students in the College of Arts & Sciences and the SFS. All sections fulfill the same role, though each instructor will develop a specific topic. Please see individual section description or online syllabi for more information. The general aim is to introduce students to various elements of historical work and thinking, within the context of looking at a particular historical period, event, or theme in some depth. Though lectures and discussion will focus on particular topics, there will also be labs with class exercises, assignments, and readings that will allow instructors and students to explore how historians identify, define, and employ primary sources of all types, how historians analyze those sources, how they formulate questions, how they engage with the work of prior historians, and how they aim to reconstruct various elements of the human experience in particular times and places. Please note that if you receive AP/IB placement or credit, you cannot take HIST 1099 for credit. HIST 1099 must be taken at GU and cannot be transferred. For centuries societies in Europe and the United States have looked at Middle Eastern women as voiceless objects of male oppression. These ideas are behind the French obsession with regulating the hijab and the United States’ arguments for invading the region as a means of liberating women. This course will challenge these hegemonic preconceptions by introducing students to the history of gender and sexuality in the Middle East. Readings and discussions will place the experiences of women in specific historical contexts and highlight the diversity of past women’s voices, lives, and actions. It will also explore the lives of queer men and women who, by the Middle Ages, were largely celebrated by Arabic and Persian poetry. The course starts at the birth of Islam in the seventh century and moves through the twentieth century, discussing continuities—and, most importantly, disruptions in regional conceptions of gender and sexuality. As a HIST 1099 course, “Women and Gender in the Middle East” aims to introduce students to the fundamentals of historical thinking and the discipline of history. This is done through a critical reading of primary documents. Students will take part in weekly lab activities, in which they will analyze sources like Quranic verses, women’s speeches, short stories, poems, photographs, and cartoons. They will learn to use them to base and support their arguments. This will include a careful reflection on the particularities of each document, in terms of who produced them, how, and to what intent. They will also investigate why that document, in particular, survived the centuries and reached us—and what it means that many others did not. Lab activities will serve as a ladder for students to write a history research paper. This course also aims to assist students in developing analytical skills. They will be encouraged to find ways to incorporate the conversations they have in class into their field of study and career. The course will insist, in particular, on the importance of critical writing in an age of artificial intelligence.HIST 1099 fulfills one of the Core requirements for COL and SFS students and must be taken at GU; it should ideally be taken in your first or second year. Please note that if you receive AP/IB placement or credit, you cannot take HIST 1099 for credit. Some seats in this course are reserved. |
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| HIST-1504-20 | Latin America II |
Cameron, Calla |
AM | Summer College 2 | Click to read more about HIST-1504-20 |
For College students, HIST 1504 fulfills the core requirement in History for a broad introductory survey; these students complete the requirement by taking HIST 1099. Using primary and secondary sources, this course explores the period from independence to the present. We begin with the independence movements against colonialism, and analyze the diverse roles of Creoles, priests, peasants, indigenous groups and enslaved people. Post independence, we will examine the dynamics of frontier societies, conflicts between conservatives and liberals, the phenomenon of caudillismo, and the challenges of foreign interventions. Turning to the twentieth century, the class will focus on case studies of nation-building, modernization, industrialization and the political and economic mobilization of the working classes in selected countries. We will also study the impact of the hegemonic role of the United States on Latin America. The course concludes by examining contemporary issues, including environmental protection, the participation of women, neoliberalism and globalization, criminal cartels, migration, and the flourishing of Hispanic culture. The overarching goal of this course is to provide students with a survey of Latin American history from the Independence Era through the early 2000s. Students should also expect to learn about analyzing primary and secondary sources, and synthesizing information from different media. We will also focus on how themes like gender, violence, justice, public health/disease, ethnicity and race, and international intervention change over time. History is the study of change over time, so understanding the roots of historical conflicts and movements will be key. The class will center around discussion of readings and other media. |
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| HIST-2806-20 | The US in the World to 1945 |
Click, Virginia |
AM | Summer College 2 | Click to read more about HIST-2806-20 |
Born in 1775 as a loose confederation of former British colonies on the periphery of the Atlantic World, the United States rose to a position of world superpower over the course of 170 years. How can we account for this remarkable development in world history? While we tend to take an exclusive look at the United States to understand its history, we cannot understand its evolution without understandings its complex and multilayered interactions with the rest of the world. In this course, we will explore how the United States’ security environment, government capabilities, economic interests, social changes, and cultural forces changed over time and, combined together, powerfully shaped the shifting course of U.S. foreign relations through 1945. We will also examine how the United States developed and exercised hard power, soft power, and economic power in achieving its key policy objectives. The key events covered in the course include: the American Revolution, the War of 1812, territorial expansion, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, the entry into the China market, and the two world wars. In examining these events, we will ask: What drove U.S. foreign policy? Why did the United States go to war? How did it make peace? Was the United States isolationist before 1945? If not, what was it? |
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| MARK-1101-20 | Principles of Marketing |
Easwar, Karthikeya |
AM | Summer College 2 | Click to read more about MARK-1101-20 |
A first course on tools and approaches for making marketing decisions. Marketing is viewed as a broad technology for influencing behavior, beyond functions like selling and advertising. Topics covered include consumer behavior, marketing research, and marketing planning, with emphasis on marketing mix decisions: product strategy, communications, pricing, and distribution. |
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| MATH-1001-20 | Pre-Calculus |
Mehmetaj, Erblin |
AM | Summer College 2 | Click to read more about MATH-1001-20 |
This course is intended as a preparation for MATH-1350: Calculus I. Topics include: algebraic operations, factoring, exponents and logarithms, polynomials, rational functions, trigonometric functions, inverse trigonometric functions, and the logarithmic and exponential functions. |
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| MATH-1350-20 | Calculus I |
Extejt, John |
AM | Summer College 2 | Click to read more about MATH-1350-20 |
Prerequisites: MATH 1001 or minimum score of 75 on the Calculus Readiness Assessment (CRA) Description: This course is an introduction to single variable calculus. It covers calculus of single variable functions, limits, continuity, derivatives, Mean Value Theorem, applications of the derivative, L’Hôpital’s Rule, antiderivatives, Riemann sums, the indefinite and definite integral, basic techniques of integration, and the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus. In this course, students review and extend their knowledge of the exponential, logarithmic, trigonometric and inverse trigonometric functions. |
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| MATH-1360-20 | Calculus II |
Extejt, John |
PM | Summer College 2 | Click to read more about MATH-1360-20 |
This is the second course in the Calculus sequence and is a continuation of MATH-1350. Topics include techniques of integration, applications of the definite integral, improper integrals, sequences and series including Taylor's theorem and power series, and polar and parametric curves. |
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| PERS-1010-20 | Persian for Arabic Speakers II |
Behzadi, Azin |
PM | Summer College 2 | Click to read more about PERS-1010-20 |
This course is the second part of a two-semester, non-intensive introduction to Persian for students who read and write Arabic with ease. Offered as an alternative to Intensive 1st Level Persian II (PERS 012), this course is ideal for students seeking to cover a similar amount of content in fewer credits, and counts equally towards the Persian minor. Conducted entirely in Persian with a heavy focus on communicative language skills, the class centers around various aspects of history, culture, and current events. Special reference will be made to the many ways in which students' knowledge of Arabic will facilitate the acquisition of Persian (through loanwords, expressions, certain grammatical structures, etc.), all while emphasizing those areas in which the two languages diverge, such as differences in pronunciation, separate writing conventions, and false cognates. Taking advantage of students' advanced literacy in Arabic script, the non-intensive Persian for Arabic Speakers sequence is intended to bring students to the intermediate level in only half the number of credits as Intensive 1st Level Persian I and II. |
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| PHIL-1100-20 | Intro to Ethics |
Spurling, Melanie |
PM | Summer College 2 | Click to read more about PHIL-1100-20 |
Philosophy 010 is a general introduction to philosophical ethics. Questions addressed include: What is the nature of morality? How do we know what is right and what is wrong? What sorts of moral obligations do we stand under? What are our duties to others and to ourselves? What is the nature of virtue and vice? How do we assess moral character? Readings are generally drawn from both traditional and contemporary philosophical authors. Reading lists and specific topics addressed vary from semester to semester and from instructor to instructor, as do required work and expectations. Please consult the syllabi posted online by individual instructors for more detail. Some seats in this course are reserved. |
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| PHIL-1500-20 | Intro to Philosophy |
Xu, Yifeng |
PM | Summer College 2 | Click to read more about PHIL-1500-20 |
An introduction to some of the central questions of philosophy through the writings of both traditional and contemporary authors. Questions addressed may include the relationship between mind and matter; between causation and free will; meaning, truth, and reality; knowledge, perception, belief, and thought. Topics and readings vary from semester to semester and instructor to instructor, as do the course requirements and expectations. Please consult the syllabi of the individual instructors for more detail. Some seats in this course are reserved. |
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| PSYC-1000-20 | General Psychology |
Pelham, Brett |
PM | Summer College 2 | Click to read more about PSYC-1000-20 |
This introductory course surveys the field and acquaints the student with the major areas of Psychology, including perception, memory, cognition, neuroscience, learning, motivation, emotion, personality, social behavior, development, and psychopathology. PSYC-001. GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY IS A PREREQUISITE FOR ALL OTHER PSYCHOLOGY COURSES. |
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| SOCI-1001-20 | Introduction to Sociology |
Pathania, Gaurav |
PM | Summer College 2 | Click to read more about SOCI-1001-20 |
Required course for Sociology majors and minors. Introduction to Sociology is the systematic study of human society, social life, and behavior. The purpose of this course is to offer an overview of the major concepts, theories, and methodologies of sociology that will enable you to think sociologically. We will examine important issues and institutions of contemporary society, including culture, socialization, stratification, social class, gender, race, ethnicity, education, religion, family, and social movements in order to develop an awareness of the connection between personal experiences and the larger society. Some seats are reserved. Some seats in this course are reserved. |
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| THEO-1000-20 | The Problem of God |
Ray, Jonathan |
PM | Summer College 2 | Click to read more about THEO-1000-20 |
The Problem of God introduces students to the study of religion and theology, broadly understood. Our aim in the course is not only to introduce students to different religious traditions and perspectives, but, as the title of the course suggests, to encourage critical reflection on some of the most challenging questions relating to religious commitment. In other words, the goal of the course is not only to help students learn about religious traditions, but to reflect critically on what it means to be a religious person, what it means to study religion and theology, and what the significance of religious belief is. It is one of two courses (along with IBL) that fulfill the first Theology course requirement at Georgetown, and the importance of promoting critical reflection on religious belief through this requirement has taken on new meaning in a post-9/11 world, in which religious literacy and understanding are more important than they have ever been. Mirroring the diversity of our faculty, the course is taught in a diverse number of ways, including a variety of different primary texts and focusing on a variety of significant questions relating to religion and theology. Georgetown graduates consistently report that The Problem of God was one of the most important courses that they took during their time at Georgetown. Some seats in this course are reserved. |
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| THEO-2707-20 | Religion and Cults in America |
Steenhuisen, Lauve |
AM | Summer College 2 | Click to read more about THEO-2707-20 |
This course will ONLY examine cults in America. Religious extremism is a reaction to the perceived chaos and loneliness of modern life, and understanding why people join and how people leave is crucial. This course will take a socio-psychological approach to understanding how cults in America originate, who is attracted to joining, and the legal issues cults generate. |
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| TPST-1122-20 | Intro to Acting. |
Marshall, Sarah |
AM | Summer College 2 | Click to read more about TPST-1122-20 |
This course introduces students to the fundamental principles of acting without working with a formal script. Through structured exercise and games, students study Concentration, Observation, Given Circumstances, and Stage Awareness. Students will create their own performance material, exploring the physical self, space/staging, working with props, and ensemble and interplay with fellow actors. The coursework is very physical and creative. The work is focused on understanding the art of acting through games, exercises, reading, discussions, and evaluations of one’s own work and the work of fellow classmates. No acting experience is required. Students must attend first class or lose their seat in the course. |
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| WRIT-1150-21 | Writing and Culture |
Bieda, Casey |
PM | Summer College 2 | Click to read more about WRIT-1150-21 |
Writing and Culture is an interactive seminar, enrolling no more than 15 students, that should be taken in the first year. The Writing and Culture Seminar helps students develop their ability to: 1) experiment with diverse strategies for planning, drafting, and revising writing; 2) adapt writing to respond to, engage, and persuade audiences; 3) employ rhetorical strategies for analyzing, designing, and communicating in writing and other forms of media; 4)engage in writing as a form of thinking, inquiry, and learning. "Margins & Monsters." With the popularity of science fiction in our contemporary culture, the actors of the “non-human” ,“cyborg”, or hybrids between have taken on many functions in our imaginations--mainly as symbols of our struggle to mediate perspectives beyond our own. Beyond Star Trek and Planet of the Apes, there are current conversations within environmentalism, conservation, and technological development (and many others) that ask us to critically consider broader ideas of identity, power, action, interaction, and dialogue. Our world continues to only grow bigger, and the more it expands, the more we learn how little we know about it. We strive to find the best and most effective ways to live and communicate with one another, and become active participants in our own culture. This course is about writing as a form of that participation, of asking questions, and as a method to engage with the perspectives of others-- especially those whose stories are new, forgotten, silenced, or different from our own. In this course, students will learn the importance of audience, narrative, perspective, form, authority, credibility, and intent in our everyday discourse—verbal, non-verbal, and written. Students will explore a wide variety of texts --from 1970’s science fiction films, to medieval French poetry---and through close rhetorical engagement and written inquiry, bring to light the impact of language in mediation between familiar and unfamiliar perspectives. By writing about our environment, our technology, our made-up monsters, and the other creatures we share space with, students will better understand the impact of their participation in the world they inhabit, a world shaped by their actions, their ideas, and their words. Students will be able to write more effectively and affectively, so our world might continue to turn in more wonderful, wider, and weirder ways. |
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