06 June 2015

WRTG 3030: Writing on Science Society

This blog contains all the course content for Joshua Ware's course WRTG 3030: Writing on Science and Society for the Program of Writing and Rhetoric at University of Colorado-Boulder during the Fall 2014 and Spring 2015 semesters.

As the course syllabus states:
WRTG 3030 explores the intersection of science and society as it pertains to composition. To this end, we will examine--both through writing and discussion--the manner in which science and society interact with one another. How do these concepts or entities, broadly speaking, inform one another? Conversely, how do they react or challenge one another? When answering these questions, we will want to pay attention both to the instances wherein science and society echo, overlap, or affirm each other, as well as those instances in which they seem to contradict, undercut, or negate one another. Through these investigations, it is my hope that we will be able to come to a realization of the complex relationship between the two through critical thought and an array of writing processes, practices, and projects. 
In order to accomplish these goals, we will compose a variety of documents and texts, employing multimodal strategies that demonstrate a sensitivity to genre and, therefore, context. A practical definition of multimodal is any visual element used to supplement a text in some purposeful way; examples of supplemental elements are audio, video, photographs, drawings, etc. To further clarify the first sentence of this paragraph, Knowing Words, the Program of Writing and Rhetoric's official guide book to First-Year Writing courses, defines genre as the manner in which we "group texts by their characteristics" and name them; as such, genre is "a category" of texts that have "structures that are instantly recognizable" and "tell the audience what is coming." Finally, much of our writing and revision (and all of our discussions) will be collaborative in nature, highlighting the communal nature of of both science and society. 
Please explore this website for more information.