This writing assignment asks students to (1) summarize an assigned/chosen reading and (2) reflect on ideas in the text that strike them as new and interesting.  The summary should provide the following information:

• Identify the reading's topic,
• Show how the reading uses its main claims/points to reach its conclusion(s), and
• Identify intended readers and the role that the reading's author hopes readers will play if they accept the conclusion(s).

This writing assignment asks students to reflect on ideas in a given body of literature that strike them as new and interesting. Students will choose two readings from the course pack, discuss how the information in the articles relates to each other, how they reinforce or call into question ideas or assertions, and how they suggest new ways of viewing the topic.:

This writing assignment asks students to (1) formulate an as-yet unresolved research problem on a chosen/assigned topic, (2) draw conclusions about the problem from their analysis of collected/given data, and (3) argue the contestable aspects of these conclusions. Students will need to focus their research problems so that they are able to fully explicate their arguments within the 1,000-word limit. Students should use both primary sources (sources of data to be analyzed to resolve the problem) and secondary sources (other studies used to show the research problem has not been raised but provide insights into how/if the problem might be resolved). The paper does not need to offer a final resolution, but it should advance the intended readers' understanding of the problem as described by the secondary sources.

This writing course considers the eternal question of what it is to be human in relation to the possibilities of transforming ourselves through genetic, neuro-cognitive or cybernetic technologies. How significantly would individuals, populations or the entire species have to be changed to warrant use of the term "posthuman" in describing them? How desirable would it be to transcend certain of our current limitations or to acquire wholly new capabilities? In small interactive classes, students will explore these questions through critical examination of viewpoints expressed in both scholarly literature and imaginative media, ultimately developing their own positions in written arguments.

Do you know where your last meal came from? Have you ever wondered how your dietary choices affect communities, species and landscapes worldwide? This interdisciplinary writing course examines some human and ecological impacts of contemporary food-related practices and interactions. Readings from different perspectives focus critical attention on industrial agriculture, factory farming, packaging/distribution networks and international trade agreements in relation to issues of hunger, obesity, food security and environmental sustainability. In small collaborative classes, you will examine the strategies used by individual authors to construct persuasive arguments and learn to incorporate these rhetorical skills into your own writing about food.

In this writing course students will read, debate, blog and write about prizes, ranging from the Nobel, to Asia's Biggest Loser, including students' personal favourites. Students will consider the role that prizes play in shaping taste, how prizes evolve to respond to different cultural and historical contexts, and what they reflect about modern culture. Students will enter into a debate about the meaning of prizes by analyzing popular and scholarly texts, visiting websites and watching films. In this small-class, interactive environment, the tutor will support students in honing reading and writing skills, while becoming sensitive to different rhetorical strategies.

Photography is a powerful force in contemporary society. Photographs can be found in advertisements, newspapers, photo albums, museums, archives, websites, and more. In this course, you will learn to think and write critically about such photographs. Are they objective copies or artistic transformations of the world? Is photography a democratic art, accessible to all, or is it an instrument of surveillance and social control? What other social purposes does photography serve?  We will address these questions and more by discussing the work of photography critics and by examining documentary, advertising, fashion, art, archival, and amateur photography.

How do pictures and videos wear the mask of truth? How are they used in newspapers, films, and websites to magnify credibility and persuasiveness? We will look at how images are arrayed with words in news sources to create a truth-effect. Unearthing the norms of objectivity that readers accept, we will ask how particular blogs and feeds become more credible than others. We will examine what happens to the truth-effect when images are digitized and manipulable. Lastly, we will analyze how they form persuasive arguments in documentaries that question the boundary between fact and faction.

In unit 1 students will compile an annotated bibliography to record and organize their sources in the early stages of the research process. The purpose of this assignment is to help students review existing literature on a given topic in order to determine a line of inquiry/research problem.

Drawing on the resources they have developed in the first unit, students will write a brief research proposal describing the topic and scope of their proposed research project

At this point in the semester, students have completed their annotated bibliography and literature review. Building from these previous assignments, they will now undertake their own research project. The research project will ask them to formulate a research problem based on the findings of their two previous assignments. For this unit, students will need to develop a thesis statement that they can support with their own, primary sources. They will use their analysis of these primary sources to converse with the ongoing academic discourse surrounding their top.