FS 013 PZ -Education, Literacies & Culture

Institution: Pitzer

Description: “A good education helps us make sense of the world and find our way in it,” argues Mike Rose in Why School? Yet what do we mean by a good education? What literacy practices are privileged? And how do race, class, geography, and gender influence access? In this writing seminar, we investigate the cultural and communicative practices that define literacy in different educational settings. We begin by analyzing the literacy autobiographies of public intellectuals like Ta-Nehisi Coates and Mike Rose, before composing our own narratives about the people, perspectives, and institutions that have shaped our sense of ourselves as writers. Next, we draw on research from sociology, writing studies, and linguistics to reassess problematic representations of literacy in education policies and popular culture. For the capstone project, students write op-eds on an issue in education or literacy that interests them. Possible topics may include standardized tests and the college admissions process, language and identity, or the emergence of new literacies in the digital age. [Instructor: Andrea Scott]

Prerequisite(s): None

First-Year seminars are not listed on the course schedule. Incoming students will be assigned to a first-year seminar and registered automatically.