English 113 - Writing Human Rights

This course explores human rights rhetoric through readings of a range of non-fiction briefs, academic articles, and reportage, alongside fictional works. It asks students, through critical writing, to come to terms with our responsibilities as global citizens for upholding a culture of dignity in our world. Together, we will examine the way that authors use the written word to push readers to empathize with others, reflect on the past, learn about injustices, and imagine new realities–as we do the same in our own writing. We will pay close attention to the way that writers build arguments, use evidence, organize texts, and edit their own work, with an eye on developing strategies for using these skills in class assignments, and transferring them to other classes as well. Through writing projects that analyze, challenge, and extend authors’ arguments about the universality of human rights and the pursuit of social and racial justice, we will evaluate the ways that words fuel and mitigate conflict–in both productive and destructive ways.

Preference given to first-year Amherst College students. Limited to 12 students. Fall semester. Lecturer Reardon.