English 106 and 108 are offered in a variety of syllabus themes that allow instructors some ability to customize the content of their courses while respecting our standardized student learning outcomes. This structure acknowledges the diversity of our instructors and offers them opportunities to teach up-to-date courses which match their research interests and abilities.
A few special sections of English 106 may use experimental themes which are being considered for more widespread use.
We currently have six themes:
- Academic Rhetorics – focused on situating students within the writing of the academy
- Digital Rhetorics – a theme with a particular focus on digital compositions and how they function in an increasingly complex and connected world
- Public and Cultural Rhetorics – a theme dedicated to the analysis of public and cultural discourses
- Rhetorics of Narrative – an exploration of how narrative drives communication and composition
- Rhetorics of Data Science – developed as a specialized theme for learning communities in partnership with engineering, but open for any instructor interested in focused on the rhetorics of information and big (or small) data
- Rhetorics of Science and Medicine – a focus on the natural sciences and/or health (perhaps ideal for some learning communities or for instructors interested in talking about sustainability issues from a scientific rather than cultural perspective)