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Course Description

Summary

The Scriptorium, a “place for writing,” is a class for writers interested in improving their critical essay-writing skills. We will read to write and write to read. Much of our time will be occupied with writing and revising—essai means “trial” or “attempt”—as we work to create new habits and productive strategies for analytical writing. As we write in various essay structures with the aim of developing a persuasive, well-supported thesis statement, we will also revise collaboratively, improve our research and citation skills, and study grammar and style. We will strive for clarity, concision, and expressiveness as we read and respond to a range of historical and contemporary texts.

This Scriptorium focuses on found families. Found families, also called chosen families, refer to forms of kinship and closeness that go beyond one’s immediate biological relations. Because found families highlight non-traditional ways of building community and overcoming shared difficulties, they have become an increasingly important and visible aspect of marginalized communities. This course will focus on found families in a variety of contexts, including queer literature and culture, neurodiversity, feminism, and migration. Our readings and media may include primary works by Leslie Feinberg, Audre Lorde, Gloria Anzaldúa, Stephanie Burt, Casey Plett, Ash Kreis, Hayao Miyazaki, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Rebecca Sugar; and critical works by Eve Sedgwick, Elizabeth Freeman, Judith Butler, Jack Halberstam, Cárol Mejía, and Kath Weston.