Approaching Big Problems: Language, Self and Society (ENG 110)
Pre-requisite
None
Course description
What are some of the big problems and ideas that shape the way we engage with the world? In this course, we will learn about big problems related to language, society, and the self, as we delve into what it means to learn in ASU's English Department disciplines (Creative Writing, English Education, Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, Literature, and Writing, Rhetorics and Literacies).
Course Itinerary
Aug 22 Introductions
Wonder as Inquiry
Aug 27 WATCH: Robert Haas, “How Poetry Captivates”
Aug 29 READ: Selection of Poems
Sep 3 READ: Valerie Kaur, “Wonder”
Sep 5 READ: Roland Barthes, “Leaving the Movie Theater”
Sep 10 READ:selections from Sara Ahmed, The Promise of Happiness
6
Sep 12 READ: Dacher Keltner, “The Eight Wonders of Life”
Wonder and Fantasy
Sep 17 READ: Tom Gunning, “An Aesthetic of Astonishment: Early Film and the (In)Credulous
Spectator”
Sep 19 WATCH: Benh Zeitlin (Dir.), Beasts of the Southern Wild
Sep 24 WATCH: Benh Zeitlin (Dir.), Beasts of the Southern Wild
Sep 26 READ: Ted Chiang, “Story of Your Life”
Oct 1 WATCH: Black Mirror, “San Junipero” (Creator Charlie Brooker)
Oct 3 READ: Stephen King, “Why We Crave Horror Movies”
Sublime Wonder and Horror
Oct 8 READ: William Wordsworth, “Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey”; Bram
READ: Stoker, Dracula, Chapters 1 and 2
Oct 10 READ: Bram Stoker, Dracula, Chapters 3 and 4; TURN IN: Language Analysis (due by
midnight)
Oct 15 Fall Break; No Class
Oct 17 READ: Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Mexican Gothic, Chapters 1 though 5
Oct 22 READ: Mexican Gothic, Chapters 6 through 13
Oct 24 READ: Mexican Gothic, Chapters 14 through 19
Oct 29 READ: Mexican Gothic, Chapters 20 through 27
Oct 31 Final Project Workshop
Writing Wonder
Nov 5 Final Project Asynchronous Brainstorming; Election Day
Nov 7 READ: Jimmy Butts, “What is Strangely Rhetorical”
Nov 12 READ: Laurence Ross, “Wonder Where You’re Going”
Nov 14 Preparation for Peer Review
Nov 19 Peer Review
Nov 21 Peer Review
Nov 26 Writing Workshop
Nov 28 Thanksgiving; No Class
7
Dec 3 Conclusions; TURN IN: Final Project (due by midnight)
Dec 5 Future / Wonder
School Country
United States
School state
Arizona
School city
Tempe
High school
ASU Prep-Poly
ASU Prep. Acad-Casa Grande
ASU Preparatory Academy
ASU Preparatory Academy/Phoenix
ASU Universal Learner Course