(Offered as ENGL 251 and FAMS 251) From the ubiquity of selfies to the drama of true crime, the practice of documenting reality is endlessly fascinating and influential. This course explores the tradition of documentary filmmaking—an art form that has sparked debates, shaped industries, and transformed worldviews since the dawn of cinema. Famously described by filmmaker John Grierson as “the creative treatment of actuality,” documentaries challenge us to ask: What does it mean to capture reality? Can film not only reflect the world but also change it?

(Offered as ENGL 210 and AAPI 210) This survey course introduces students to foundational and recent literatures by Asian American authors. Through examination of canonical anthologies such as Aiiieeeee: An Anthology of Asian American Writers, reading lists of Asian American writers, and polemic responses to genre-bending works such as Maxine Hong Kingston’s Woman Warrior, this course will engage with the major texts and debates in Asian American literary studies. Throughout the semester, we will ask: What is the canon of Asian American literature?

(Offered as ENGL 180 and FAMS 110) A first course in reading films and writing about them. A varied selection of films for study and criticism, partly to illustrate the main elements of film language and partly to pose challenging texts for reading and writing. Frequent short papers. Two class meetings and one screening per week.

Limited to 25 students. Twelve seats reserved for first-year students. Open to first-year and sophomore students. Fall semester. Professor Guilford.

How to handle overenrollment: Preference will be given to first-year students.

(Offered as ENGL 120 and EDST 120) This Intensive Writing course functions primarily as an introduction to academic writing. It also considers from many perspectives what it means to read and write and learn and teach both for ourselves and for others. As part of the work of this course, in addition to the usual class hours, students will serve as weekly tutors and classroom assistants in adult basic education centers in nearby towns.

(Offered as ENGL 117 and EUST 117) [Before 1800] Knights, monsters, quests, and true love: these are the things we associate with King Arthur and tales of his court. Why has Arthurian literature proved so enchanting to centuries of poets, novelists, and recently, filmmakers? In this introductory English course, we will read and watch Arthurian legends from Chaucer to Monty Python, examining the ways in which they have been represented in different eras. Beginning with the historical foundations of the King Arthur legend, we will examine how it blossomed and took form in later eras.

This course functions as an introduction to academic writing at Amherst College. As an intensive
writing course, the main topic of the course is writing itself. In this class, students will examine
the way that journalists present the written word in print and digital spaces to inform, analyze,
and present opinions–as we do the same in our own writing. We will pay close attention to the
way that reporter teams explicitly and implicitly build arguments, use evidence, organize texts,

This course functions as an introduction to academic writing at Amherst College. As an intensive
writing course, the main topic of the course is writing itself. In this class, students will examine
the way that journalists present the written word in print and digital spaces to inform, analyze,
and present opinions–as we do the same in our own writing. We will pay close attention to the
way that reporter teams explicitly and implicitly build arguments, use evidence, organize texts,

EDST 306/HIST 306/AMST 306: 

(Offered as EDST 258 and AMST 258.) All too often, when we think of education we think of the grammar of schooling—desks, the classroom, a teacher lecturing—but some of the most exciting and creative educational work is happening in museum spaces. Museums are educational institutions in that they seek to preserve and disseminate knowledge, culture, aesthetics, and scientific insight. Museums are innovators in expanding the modes of conveying information beyond reading and writing—the written text. They have worked hard to be sites of experiential learning for students of all ages.

The United States is in an unprecedented period of rising inequality. This course begins by examining the history of inequality in the U.S. since the start of the twentieth century. It then uses cutting-edge and detailed national data to document and explore the current state of inequality and intergenerational mobility in the U.S. We consider inequality by various metrics, such as race, gender, and geography, and in various outcomes, such as income, wealth, health, educational attainment, and incarceration.