Reading & Composition

In this course, we will look at how contemporary East Asian writers, filmmakers, theorists, and content producers work to expose the ecological toll of state-led development and to envisage alternative futures in the era of global capitalism. We will learn how to identify the critical capacity of literary and media practices—to mourn, to inscribe memory, to promise narrative justice in the midst of environmental injustice. We will also cultivate our critical sensitivity to detect moments in which mass media collude with state politics, and idyllic images of nature veil the polluting process of capitalist expansion.

As a Reading and Composition class, we will learn how to look closely, analyze critically, think comparatively, and write cogently. Students will be introduced to the process, pleasure, and purposes of academic writing. The goal of this course is to help students to find their own critical voice by empowering—rather than erasing—their diverse cultural, educational, and linguistic background. Non-native writers are especially welcomed.