COMPOSITION COURSES (COMP 100 + 200)

Course Approach

I’ll mention two assignments here that match the tenor and focus of the course; first, I don’t have any formal training in composition besides having an MA in English lit, which then because of my professional vector, took me more into Communication studies to continue working in PR.

This is an important distinction as I re-worked CMP syllabi given to me by faculty who regularly teach at the Brandywine conference to orient more around sustainability–I get to incorporate that in modules (typically around CSR or Ethics) in PR courses, and planned on having the content be the expertise backbone here. My idea for a ‘Solarpunk’ writing assignment came from the conference and students discussing Dr. Shaw’s punk class, which they had interest in. The essay had students imagine a world where climate issues get solved, and the future is open, safe, and hospitable.

Second assignment I want to reference is the film we watched in class. I had planned on screening First Reformed, which students in the first iteration of the class despised due to its very bleak nature (beautifully shot film, though!). The second iteration of the course agreed to switch to screening The Wild Robot, a cheery-family adventure about a shipwrecked robot assistant who learns to converse with animals on the island she is trapped on. Students engaged and were able to displace fears about the future onto more immediate crises like AI, corporations, and others for the assignment.

This accomplished my goal of writing, but writing across modes and in different mediums. Essays (on place, memory) reflect the interior mind of the student, and examining their own consciousness; A compare/contrast essay on The Wild Robot allows them to build critique across mediums (writing, film); The Solarpunk Essay allows them to flex their creative muscles in a creative writing piece; and a final essay allows them to put these different