ENGL 1103: The Climate Issue

Course Description

English 1103 is an advanced composition course and an intensive writing class designed to help students communicate clearly and concisely in academic settings and for a variety of audiences. You will learn to think critically, develop a sense of style, and manipulate language, images, and other media to explain and analyze different ideas. The primary goal of this class is to integrate reading, writing, research skills, and digital innovation to produce effective arguments. This course earns 3 credit hours. Passing grade for the course is a C.

Course Theme

In August 2022, the United States passed the Inflation Reduction Act, a landmark climate bill representing the U.S.’s most serious investment in fighting climate change to date. This legislation puts the U.S. on track to cut emissions by nearly half by the end of this decade–the goal set for all nations in the most recent IPCC report. Many people find this formal commitment reason to hope for a more sustainable future. Others remain wary, insisting that more drastic and immediate action is needed to avoid catastrophic warming. This course explores climate change as a “wicked” problem–one that is ongoing and difficult to solve in part because it entangles logic and reason with people’s belief systems and worldviews. We will examine the role of writing and literature in shaping people’s attitudes toward environmental issues as well as their responses. Ultimately, you will produce your own “issues,” or zines, as a way of connecting your experiences, points of reference, and concerns to a topic of global significance.

ENGL 1103 Syllabus Fall 2022