In this course, the second semester required writing course at Baruch, you will develop your ability to read, write, and think critically. One of the most important abilities you’ll develop over the course of your studies (and hopefully throughout your life) is the ability to discern how the way we think is shaped by language and other semiotic codes such as sound and images. This course will ask that you think critically about the arguments of others and in turn develop and communicate your own ideas and arguments.

The guiding questions and focus of the course are: How does persuasion happen? What are the sources of persuasion? How can rhetoric be used to divide and also to bring people together? How do rhetorical elements such as language, images, emotion, and logic work to shape our identity, our beliefs, and our everyday realities?

We will explore these questions by engaging with a variety of textual genres: web-based texts and videos, film, fiction and non-fiction, and academic articles. We will analyze how others use rhetoric to make arguments and then we will engage in a research project in which we explore how the questions we raise during part I of the course apply to your chosen topic. Finally, you will remix or remediate your research project into a creative, multimedia project.

This course is designed to be a gateway of exploration for further writing and research you will do in your courses at Baruch. I invite you to open your mind, be ready to engage with me and your classmates, and expand your thinking about what it means to be a good writer this semester.

Click to download our course syllabus or  Suggestions on Leading Class Discussion.