Theories of Writing

I took this class in the Fall of 2018, right after I first declared my writing minor. We examined how theories of writing have developed from ancient to modern times. We explored and discussed the ideas of Plato and Socrates, and placed their distrust and concerns with the genre in a contemporary context, in the process investigating how well their respective critiques endure. Equipped with these insights, we embarked on our own projects that examined the role that literacy played in the 21st century. I opted to focus my final paper on the severe lack of digital literacy amongst certain demographics in the United States and the repercussions of this.

Introduction to Creative Writing

This was the first non-common core writing class that I took at DU, during the fall quarter of 2016. The class involved us reading and discussing a variety of poetry from different authors, as well as working on and sharing one piece per week. We were routinely challenged to be vulnerable and embrace our artistic individuality with our work. The course also emphasized the importance of peer review and providing constructive feedback to our peers. We did so through a weekly 500-word "letter of critique" to a fellow member of our class. This was perhaps the class during my tenure in college where I felt the most involved and invested in my peers' work.

Writing Adventures

Writing Adventures was an online travel writing class that I took in the fall of 2018. During the class we were challenged in a variety of ways, encouraged to broaden our horizons by writing in a variety of genres--all connected through the common theme of traveling. An element of the class that I found particularly useful was the consistency and volume of writing that we did. Oftentimes in college classes you find yourself doing two or three large writing projects during a quarter, which sums to a fair amount of writing. But in this class the regularity with which we were required to put together pieces made for helpful practice.

Topics in Writing Theory

This was my second writing theory class, and one that focused on the delicate relationship between rhetoric and ethics. We traced discussion about this issue back to the Sophists of Ancient Athens, and then followed literature and conjecture on the subject all the way through to contemporary political persuasion on social media networks. Through this, we were exposed to a wide variety of texts and were challenged to discuss them critically in class. This work culminated with doing an analysis of a contemporary news story and the conflicting arguments surrounding it, before having to come up with our own rhetorical argument, whilst conforming to ethical guidelines.

Writing Design and Circulation

This was the capstone course for my Writing minor. Our primary objective was to build this portfolio, giving us a platform to showcase the work that we've done not only during the minor, but as a student at DU. Prior to building the portfolio, it was necessary that we stop and take time to reflect on the work that we'd already completed. We were given ample time and opportunity to reflect, deconstruct, and revise works that we'd previously done. As well as in-class projects that prompted us to consider all manner of elements that impact not only our writing, but also its presentation and circulation. I hope that this website captures the depth of knowledge that we were exposed to through this course.