ENG 105-0-20-SQ26 From the Page to the Screen: Black Adaptations
Have you ever read a book and immediately wondered if there is a film adaptation? Or have you ever watched a movie and realized after that it was based off of a book? Or, have you ever watched a movie adaptation that had completely different aims from your understanding of the literary work? This course will consider the process from text to film adaptations, specifically through an African American artistic tradition. Our goal is to place Black literature and Black cinema in conversation, as we will first read Nella Larsen’s Passing (1929), James Baldwin’s If Beale Street Could Talk (1974), and the Black Panther comic (1977), and then watch the film adaptations (2021, 2018, and 2018 respectively). We will explore questions such as what makes a book or a film “Black?” Should some texts/authors refuse a film adaptation? How does the literary and movie market influence Black cultural production? What are the distinct demands and expectations for African American artists in the 20th century versus the 21st century? Were Black authors a part of the adaptation process, and if so, how did their opinions influence the film as a whole?
ENG 105-8-20-SQ26 Bon Appetit! Mastering the Art of Composition
Get hungry! ENG 105-8 explores the art of composition through writing, reading, and talking about food. From reflecting on personal food memories to crafting arguments about how and why we eat what we do, this course will hone your writing skills in areas crucial to college level writing.
This seminar navigates Mars’ unique place in the human imaginary, from ancient associations with gods of war, death, and plague to the current billionaire-dominated space race. Especially since astronomer Percival Lowell’s late 19th century sighting of supposed “canals” as evidence of Martian engineering, Mars has served as the primary object in human fantasies about the colonization of other planets, whether utopian or dystopian, and has provided ripe fodder for allegories about hostile alien invasions. Interdisciplinary course materials including literature, film and marketing to astronomy and the history of science will provide ground to consider how human attitudes toward Mars reflect issues on Earth, especially given current escalations in the climate crisis. The course will conclude with a research-based essay that allows students to pursue the subject in relation to their own interests and major.
Design Thinking and Communication (DTC), is a required two-quarter course for all first-year students at McCormick. It is also available to any Northwestern undergraduate student interested in design. Every section is co-taught by an instructor from the Writing Program and an instructor from engineering. Part of the Engineering First® curriculum, the course immediately puts students to work on real design problems submitted by individuals, non-profits, entrepreneurs, and industry members. In DTC, all students design for real people and communicate to real audiences.
Across all industries, employers consistently rank written and oral communication in the top five skills that a new employee needs. However, employers also say that students overestimate their ability to communicate effectively in a workplace context. English 282 is designed to address that gap. The course is designed to help you think strategically about communication, make effective communication decisions, and produce writing and presentations that are well-organized, clear, and compelling. In addition, course assignments provide an opportunity to enhance your critical reading and thinking; your ability to communicate effectively about data; your understanding of visual communication; and your understanding of interpersonal communication. There will be no final exam. However, students must be present on the final day of class for team-based presentations.
ENG 282-0-21-SQ26 Writing and Speaking in Business
Across all industries, employers consistently rank written and oral communication in the top five skills that a new employee needs. However, employers also say that students overestimate their ability to communicate effectively in a workplace context. ENG 282 is designed to address that gap by helping students communicate efficiently, effectively, and ethically in business settings. To achieve the learning objectives established for all ENG282 sections, this section emphasizes applying business communication fundamentals to problem-solving tasks, such as delivering an individual business talk, designing and delivering business communication training materials, producing a persuasive proposal, conducting and presenting an evidence-driven case analysis, and developing an original business case with a corresponding recommendation report. This section involves teamwork. There will be no final exam. However, students must participate in team-based presentations during the final class period.
Across all industries, employers consistently rank written and oral communication in the top five skills that a new employee needs. However, employers also say that students overestimate their ability to communicate effectively in a workplace context. English 282 is designed to address that gap. The course is designed to help you think strategically about communication, make effective communication decisions, and produce writing and presentations that are well-organized, clear, and compelling. In addition, course assignments provide an opportunity to enhance your critical reading and thinking; your ability to communicate effectively about data; your understanding of visual communication; and your understanding of interpersonal communication. There will be no final exam. However, students must be present on the final day of class for team-based presentations.
ENG 282-0-23-SQ26 Writing and Speaking in Business
This section of ENG 282 is a service-learning section. We will be working with a Chicago-based food pantry, Nourishing Hope. While we will achieve the samelearning outcomes as other ENG 282 sections, we will do so by working with a partner, giving allour writing an actual audience and context. Working with Nourishing Hope, we will hear andanalyze needs of the organization, and the projects will be focused on meeting the needs of the organization through reports, recommendations, and portfolios. Students will be required to travel to volunteering locations in Chicago to complete up to 10 volunteer hours outside of class.
Across all industries, employers consistently rank written and oral communication in the top five skills that a new employee needs. However, employers also say that students overestimate their ability to communicate effectively in a workplace context. English 282 is designed to address that gap. The course is designed to help you think strategically about communication, make effective communication decisions, and produce writing and presentations that are well-organized, clear, and compelling. In addition, course assignments provide an opportunity to enhance your critical reading and thinking; your ability to communicate effectively about data; your understanding of visual communication; and your understanding of interpersonal communication. There will be no final exam. However, students must be present on the final day of class for team-based presentations.
This course examines legal writing and advocacy, focusing on strategy and reasoning techniques valuable for law-related careers, graduate studies, and a range of professional disciplines. Students will engage in an immersive exploration of a legal case from start to finish—conducting discovery, drafting motions, memos, and briefs, and participating in a mock trial. Designed for students at all levels, this course progressively builds expertise in legal writing and advocacy through hands-on experiential learning. The course also covers Bluebook citation mechanics and focused techniques for excelling on the LSAT, which are integrated into the curriculum in a way that develops analytical and logical reasoning skills. Taught by a former attorney and current Northwestern professor, this course satisfies the Advanced Expression requirement and serves as an elective for the Legal Studies minor. Open to all Northwestern students.
ENG 305-0-21-SQ26 Science, Medical, and Health Writing
This writing course will explore various genres used in the health professions and examine these genres with a rhetorical lens; rhetorical study—essentially, the study of persuasion—is a good means of illuminating and recasting problems in health and medicine (Segal, 2005). The course is organized in 4 modules: 1)Rhetoric of Health and Medicine, 2) Science Writing, 3) Medical Writing 4) Health Humanities
This seminar is designed to serve two purposes. First, it offers an introduction to current theories, practices, and controversies in the teaching of writing in American colleges and universities, placing these matters in the context of various definitions of literacy in American culture. And second, it prepares teaching assistants to teach English 105, Expository Writing, here at Northwestern.
