Scriptorium: Barbie & Friends
Course Description
Summary
This Scriptorium, a “place for writing,” functions as a class for writers interested in improving their critical essay-writing skills. We will read to write and write to read. Much of our time will be occupied with writing and revising—essai means “trial” or “attempt”—as we work to create new habits and strategies for our analytical writing. We will write in various essay structures with the aim of developing a well-supported thesis; in addition, we will revise collaboratively, improve our research and citation skills, and study grammar and style. Our learning goals include practicing to write with complexity, imagination, and clarity, as we study model examples related to themes in the world of Barbie—the icon, the doll's history, the recent film by Greta Gerwig, Ken, her friends, her house, toys in general, collectors, fashion history, and cultural discourse on Barbie.
We will study Barbie (Greta Gerwig 2023) and readings may include stories by Ted Chiang, Jamaica Kincaid, Manuel Gonzales, Ursula Le Guin, Ovid, and Karen Russell; the novel We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson; essays by Roland Barthes, Walter Benjamin, John Berger, Ann duCille, Michel Foucault, Stuart Hall, bell hooks, M.G. Lord, and Sianne Ngai; and poetry by David Trinidad.
Learning Outcomes
- Improve your ability to read and analyze a variety of texts of literature and theory representing a range of voices and styles.
- Learn about and practice writing, grammar, revision, and research and citation skills by trying out new and productive habits.
- Write in various styles, including short critical readings and analysis, personal reflections, and longer, revised critical essays; in addition, develop a persuasive, well-supported thesis statement based upon evidence.
- Use various resources to do research in Crossett Library.
- Work collaboratively with your colleagues to revise and edit your writing, while creating a supportive writing community in our classroom.
- Meet with a Peer Writing Tutor to improve your drafts.
- Practice the five Capacities: create, inquire, research, engage, and communicate.