Writing In The World Eng7

Prerequisites

• - RISING SENIORS, CORE

Course Description

• Stuyvesant seniors have one foot in the past and one foot in the future; the Writing in the World curriculum is meant to honor and reflect this unique crossroads. The course includes literature that expands upon the European and American traditions of sophomore and junior years, and writing assignments that prompt seniors to reflect upon their four years at Stuyvesant and to look towards college and beyond. During the semester, students will read major works of literature that enter into conversation with each other and with historical events. While some of the works studied may revisit the European and American canons of sophomore and junior year, syllabi will focus on works from beyond Europe and America, and much of the literature will move beyond the canon. For instance, a more traditional text like Jane Eyre may be paired with Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea, a postcolonial prequel to Bronte’s novel, or Patricia Park’s Re Jane, a Korean-American retelling of the story. Writing assignments are intended to consolidate and reinforce the skills that students have acquired over the previous three years, including research and citation, and to provide opportunities for taking stock of those years and contemplating what lies ahead. Students will write pieces that ask them to join the larger academic and cultural conversations of our time, from college-level academic writing to other forms that exist outside of academia. Seniors taking the class in the fall term will complete a personal/college essay as a first assignment; seniors taking the class in the spring will complete a comprehensive culminating assignment that prompts them to reflect on the semester and/or their years at Stuyvesant.