English 113 - Introduction to Academic Writing: Writing Human Rights

This course functions as an introduction to academic writing at Amherst College. Writing Human Rights explores human rights rhetoric through readings of a range of non-fiction, 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. As an Intensive Writing course, the main topic of the course is writing itself. 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 and second-year Amherst College students who have been recommended for Intensive Writing through the placement process. Limited to 15 students. Spring 2025. Senior Lecturer Reardon. 

How to handle overenrollment: Students admitted in consultation with the Dean of Students’ office and/or their academic advisor.

Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: emphasis on written work, readings, and group work in the form of frequent peer review