Teaching

1. First-Year Writing I (WRS105)

Fall 2022, University of Miami (WRS105-A2)

Fall 2023, University of Miami (WRS105-A4)

Course Description

WRS 105 will introduce you to the kinds of reading, writing and thinking that happen in the university community. A single course cannot teach you all that there is to know about such work, nor can it provide you with a set of formulas to follow so that you will forever be a “good writer.” Instead, you will be asked to read several essays and articles and to participate in dialogue with the authors and find the answers to the questions posed by them, extend their projects, or make use of their ideas for your own purposes. This course aims to engage you, then, in learning to learn, learning to think about what you are learning, and learning to express your ideas even as you figure out what those ideas might be. In this class, writing is not only an end product–something that you produce–but also an activity that allows you to think through a set of complicated issues, an activity that captures your mind at work even as it allows your mind to do its work. In this section of WRS 105, you will examine various approaches, styles, and techniques used by the writers and then will develop your own texts either by following their examples, expanding them, or testing them and, in this way, enter into a critical conversation with the writers and their texts. The writing assignments themsevles are designed to help you engage in critical questioning and metacognition, deploy more sophisticated rhetorical strategies, view texts as invitations for writing and thinking, and cite informally.

2. First-Year Writing II (WRS106-N3): “Monstrous Others and US”

Spring 2023, University of Miami

Course Description

What is “monster?” These horrifying but fascinating creatures have roamed around us, touching our fears and desires. Under the banner of normalcy, these monstrous beings are always symbolic of “others” who are excluded and denied from “our” society throughout history. From Morgan le Fay, the power-desiring witch in Arthurian romances to mentally disordered Joker in Todd Phillips film, they have been differentiated based on religion, race, class, and gender. However, these symbolic “others” often challenge the dominant forces of ostracizing, erasing, and repressing them by posing a question about who the monster actually is. In this section of WRS 106, students will read and analyze “monsters” from Medieval romances to contemporary literary and film texts and examine how they have been created, developed, and reiterated in those texts. Throughout the journey of exploring and writing about “monsters,” students will become more sophisticated readers and writers by focusing on textual analysis. Students will conduct close reading exercises, analyze primary and secondary texts, and explore how to apply texts to theoretical frameworks and how they engage in conversation with each other. Moreover, students will conduct academic research, learn how to build well-supported arguments, and continue to improve their writing through various writing-related activities.