COOK FAMILY WRITING PROGRAM

Government corruption, public speaking, nuclear weapons, murder by a stranger—recent surveys demonstrate that Americans are more afraid, and have more things to be afraid of, than ever before. How did we come to be so afraid, and how can we understand the things that scare us? We experience fear when we identify a threat to our safety or wellbeing, but these threats don't just make themselves known by going bump in the night. Fear is learned, and more often than not, we learn fear through writing. We unwind from school by watching a scary movie, or start the day by reading the news, or try to ignore texts in class from an anxious roommate who keeps asking, "do u think we will die alone?". In other words, one of the main reasons that we experience fear is because, at some point, we encountered the work of a writer who has made the argument that we should be afraid.

The readings in this course will explore how Americans express fear as individuals and as a collective. Through class discussion, we will evaluate the techniques used by writers, journalists, and poets to communicate with different audiences, and we will engage with the texts that we read by making some arguments of our own.

The Great American Graphic Novel explores the representation of the multiple perspectives of the American experience and US history through popular graphic novels. The central question of this seminar is: How do graphic novels and comics illustrate American identity? Through a robust reading schedule (comics read fast, so we can read many of them!), we will encounter unique and varied views on the themes of religion, (dis)ability, immigration, race, ethnicity, sexuality, age, and citizenship, and how those ideas have changed conceptions of Americanness over time. Students will enhance their reading of examples of multiple subgenres of the form-superhero comics, graphic nonfiction, web comics, and all ages comics-with scholarly, journalistic, and popular culture criticism. This seminar transitions students into college-level inquiry and into being conscientious and ethical members of a learning community composed of diverse perspectives. Students will demonstrate their new knowledge about graphic novels and comics and American identity through drafting and revising journal entries, analytical papers, and creative assignments.

This seminar explores language as part of our everyday social experience. We'll consider such questions as: What's the difference between a language and a dialect? Why do some people think you have an accent while others think you don't? Has your own language changed since you came to Northwestern? What patterns govern the conversations we have, and how do we create social relationships, communities, and identities in those conversations? Why do some of us mix multiple languages? Is it, like, ok for me to, like, use like so much? What about um or ya know? Students will formulate and consider their own questions about language and social life in papers and presentations.

Ever since Pentheus's fatal decision to spy on the revels of Dionysus, audiences have had a guilty fascination with the spectacle of addiction—a fascination which crosses not only centuries but disciplines, captivating scientists, policymakers, philosophers, artists, and laypeople alike. This class will trace the evolution of literary representations of addiction across several centuries, from classical depictions of god-induced madness, through the Gothic narratives such as Stevenson\'s Jekyll and Hyde, temperance classics such as Ten Nights in a Barroom (whose impact has often been compared to that of Uncle Tom's Cabin), to the twentieth- and twenty-first century comedies and confessionals that make the bestseller lists today.
Through these readings and related critical texts, we will examine the ways that such literature provides a staging ground for public controversy and emerging theories about the artistic, cultural, ethical, and scientific significance and ramifications of addiction. Course readings/viewing will include works of fiction, journalism, and writings from the natural and social sciences as well as popular films. We will also consider practical topics such as how University library resources and experts can help students locate and evaluate key sources and develop authoritative arguments.

We live in a time when hostility toward immigrants has made many Americans forget that, as Barack Obama said, "We are and always will be a nation of immigrants. We were strangers once, too." This hostility has obscured the complex reality of the lives of immigrants. In this course, we will study fiction and poetry by immigrants and their children in order to understand that complex reality. We will explore such questions as: How do social attitudes and institutions impact the lives of immigrants as they seek to pursue the "American Dream"? What happens to the relationships between parents and children through the process of acculturation into American society? How do differences in national origin connect with other differences, particularly gender, race, ethnicity, and class?

What if boredom isn't the enemy we think it is? In our age of constant connectivity and endless stimulation, this college seminar challenges students to reconsider one of our most avoided experiences. Through an eclectic mix of readings, discussions, and hands-on experiments, we'll explore boredom as both cultural phenomenon and personal experience. Topics range from the mundane to the profound: waiting in line, social media scrolling, reality television, meditation traditions, the neuroscience of attention, "boring" art and literature, slow food movements, digital detox culture, and the creative potential of empty time.

In exploring these topics, you will engage with contemporary writers and thinkers alongside classic texts, but more importantly, you will conduct your own investigations—from deliberate disconnection experiments to mindful observation exercises. Through traditional academic writing, creative projects, and reflective practices, you will develop critical thinking skills while learning to sit with discomfort and discover what emerges in the spaces between stimulation. This seminar serves as both intellectual exploration and practical training in the lost art of being present, preparing students for deeper engagement with their academic and personal lives.

Embark on a captivating exploration of heroic journeys, including your own journey into Northwestern University. In this course, we'll examine bestselling novels and blockbuster movies. Through immersive discussions, written analyses, and interactive activities, we'll unravel the archetypal stages of the hero's journey - from the call to adventure to the ultimate showdown with destiny. More than an academic pursuit, this seminar is a call to adventure, an invitation to embark on your own heroic odyssey. In this course, you'll craft your own hero's journey narrative, exploring themes of courage, resilience, and personal growth as they apply to your journey into college. The hero's journey you create will become a time capsule - your professor will email it back to you in four years so you can relive the heroic journey you took during your first quarter at Northwestern.

This section of ENG 282 is a service-learning section. We will be working with Chicago Public Schools (CPS). While we will achieve the same learning outcomes as other ENG 282 sections, we will do so by working with a partner, giving all our writing an actual audience and context. The intent is that the final deliverables, a recommendation report and presentation, to Chicago Public Schools in their downtown boardroom will be useful and impactful.

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.

Across all industries, employers consistently rank written and oral communication in the top five skills that a new employee needs. This 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 available during the scheduled final exam time for team-based presentations on Zoom.

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 same learning outcomes as other ENG 282 sections, we will do so by working with a partner, giving all our writing an actual audience and context. Working with Nourishing Hope, we will hear and analyze 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. This 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 available during the scheduled final exam time for team-based presentations on Zoom.

Practical Rhetoric is a discussion-based course that explores the practical skills and pedagogical theories behind effective peer-to-peer tutoring in writing centers. The course is practical in that it is designed to prepare incoming tutors for their work at the Writing Place. This course also focuses heavily on both classic and current theories of the teaching of writing and of writing center-specific pedagogies. We will introduce you to classic works of writing center theory while also asking you to engage in more contemporary debates and studies in the field. Through a combination of reading about writing center pedagogies and practicing engaging with those methods in your work at the Writing Place, Practical Rhetoric seeks to prepare you to effectively coach writers at all stages of the writing process. In the spirit of the collaborative writing process that is at the heart of the Writing Place's mission, as writers this quarter, this course will ask you to regularly bring your own writing to class to workshop in a series of mock consultations and writing exercises with your classmates. You will reflect on your own positionality as a writer-- and consider what that positionality brings to your work at the Writing Place-- in a short writing assignment the first week of the quarter. You will continue to reflect on your learning in Practical Rhetoric and on your experiences working at the Writing Place in a series of weekly tutor journals. We will ask you to contribute to the work of writing center studies through your own research proposal, ideally on a topic or initiative that you can continue developing and perhaps even put into action in later quarters to improve and grow our services at the Writing Place. And at the end of the quarter, you'll bring everything you've learned together to articulate your personal tutoring philosophy.