First-Year Writing Seminar: The Critic’s Senses

Catalog description

This reading and writing intensive class is designed for any student who is curious about what it is to practice criticism – that is, to thoughtfully appraise fine art, music, film, television, pop culture, and other subjects. Taking critic Margo Jefferson’s analogy that every writer has their own particular critical “nervous system” – a constellation of influences, aspirations, biases and triggers that operate in all of their work – students in this course will develop their own such system. In this class, students will construct their own critic's nervous system through writing essays, reviews, and a weekly media diary; they will write both as individuals and together with their peers. Students deeply consider the media they engage with every day through reading, discussion, and writing weekly prompts. Critical thinking is essential for participating thoughtfully in society, and criticism, when done well, can be a model and prompt for this kind of immersive, rigorous engagement with the world. Criticism is about paying attention to one’s own senses just as much as it’s about judging and analyzing other people’s work. Using examples provided by critics writing across different themes, including sex, death, and technology, students will cultivate habits that help them to become intimately familiar with their own personal and writerly sensibilities. Most of all, the course will encourage them to apply what they’ve learned in smart, fun, and original pieces of writing.