What does it mean to be in-between? This course explores the concept of “borderlands” – not just as geographical spaces, but as sites of cultural, linguistic, and intellectual negotiation. Through reading, discussion, and writing, students investigate how writers and thinkers navigate multiple identities and disciplines, and in turn, develop their own academic voices.
We begin by considering texts that explore the connection between language and identity. Students write personal essays reflecting on their own experiences with language – whether through translation, code-switching, or linguistic hybridity – while practicing narrative structure and revision. Next, we examine how writers use formal strategies to construct and reflect cultural hybridity. Reading stories, poems and short novels that challenge disciplinary, generic and cultural conventions, students write a short, analytical essay discussing what happens when boundaries are crossed. In the final unit, students draw from a selection of sources to conduct a research project on a chosen ‘borderland,’ a topic that explores the complexities of cultural, linguistic, or disciplinary in-betweenness. Students learn how to construct well-supported arguments, integrate secondary sources, and refine their work through revision.
This is a Writing Center-supported seminar, meaning that students will receive individualized support from the instructor and will work closely with experienced Writing Center tutors who have been assigned to the course.
We begin by considering texts that explore the connection between language and identity. Students write personal essays reflecting on their own experiences with language – whether through translation, code-switching, or linguistic hybridity – while practicing narrative structure and revision. Next, we examine how writers use formal strategies to construct and reflect cultural hybridity. Reading stories, poems and short novels that challenge disciplinary, generic and cultural conventions, students write a short, analytical essay discussing what happens when boundaries are crossed. In the final unit, students draw from a selection of sources to conduct a research project on a chosen ‘borderland,’ a topic that explores the complexities of cultural, linguistic, or disciplinary in-betweenness. Students learn how to construct well-supported arguments, integrate secondary sources, and refine their work through revision.
This is a Writing Center-supported seminar, meaning that students will receive individualized support from the instructor and will work closely with experienced Writing Center tutors who have been assigned to the course.
- Teacher: Indie Halstead