The Scriptorium: Found Families (WRI2165.01)

Alex Creighton

The Scriptorium, a “place for writing,” is a class for writers interested in improving their critical essay-writing skills. We will read to write and write to read. Much of our time will be occupied with writing and revising—essai means “trial” or “attempt”—as we work to create new habits and productive strategies for analytical writing. As we write in various essay structures with the aim of developing a persuasive, well-supported thesis statement, we will also revise collaboratively, improve our research and citation skills, and study grammar and style. We will strive for clarity, concision, and expressiveness as we read and respond to a range of historical and contemporary texts.

This Scriptorium focuses on found families. Found families, also called chosen families, refer to forms of kinship and closeness that go beyond one’s immediate biological relations. Because found families highlight non-traditional ways of building community and overcoming shared difficulties, they have become an increasingly important and visible aspect of marginalized communities. This course will focus on found families in a variety of contexts, including queer literature and culture, neurodiversity, feminism, and migration. Our readings and media may include primary works by Leslie Feinberg, Audre Lorde, Gloria Anzaldúa, Stephanie Burt, Casey Plett, Lianka Finck, Alison Bechdel, Ash Kreis, Hayao Miyazaki, Viet Thanh Nguyen, TJ Klune, Rebecca Sugar; and critical works by Eve Sedgwick, Elizabeth Freeman, Judith Butler, Jack Halberstam, Cárol Mejía, and Kath Weston.


Learning Outcomes:
Broadly speaking, this class will teach you how to engage with the discipline and practice of critical essay-writing. This breaks down into more specific learning outcomes, which are as follows:
* Found Families. You will read and analyze a range of texts connected to the theme of found and chosen families, focusing in particular on how such families often challenge dominant social and cultural norms.
* Writing and Revision. You will practice the skills that come with writing insightful essays, including analyzing texts, weaving analysis into an argument, writing thesis statements and topic sentences, and finding a compelling structure for your ideas. You will also practice grammar and revision skills that help you express those ideas with clarity and precision.
* Working with Critical Sources. You will learn to research online and in Crossett Library, read and annotate critical sources, and put sources in conversation with your own ideas and with other criticism.
* Collaboration. You will learn to be astute readers of and respondents to one another’s writing. You will participate in helping create a supportive and inclusive writing community where we all learn from each other.




Delivery Method: Fully in-person
Course Level: 2000-level
Credits: 4
M/Th 10:00AM - 11:50AM (Full-term)
Maximum Enrollment: 15
Course Frequency: Every 2-3 years

Categories: 2000 , All courses , Four Credit , Fully In-Person , Writing
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