ENGL 103: Topics in Writing and Rhetoric (Hendricks): Home

John LeMasney, "Ask a Librarian" May 25, 2010 via Library Garden, Creative Commons Attribution.

ENGL 103: Writing and Research: Literature and Culture

Dr. Jacquelyn Hendricks

This guide will help you do research on a popular media topic for Dr. Hendricks' ENGL 103 class.  Once you decide on a possible topic, click on the gray tabs near the top of this guide to learn more about the different sources of information that you will want to use as you research your topic

About ENGL 103

Movies, television, comic books, YouTube videos, music, etc. captivate our attention at every turn. They are what we use to entertain ourselves, to relax, to relieve boredom, or just to understand what everyone is buzzing about. But can they be objects of serious scholarship? In this course, you will discover that popular media can go much deeper than you might think. These forms of entertainment can help us gain an understanding of our current culture, and can offer insight into the human condition. Through research, collaboration, critical thinking, and writing, you will become pop culture scholars.

In this course, you will be learning how to write the type of academic discourse that professional scholars (i.e. your professors) create. You will focus on a single topic of your choice to research and write on throughout the class. We will discuss the importance of choosing the right topic, researching your topic, and evaluating your sources. You will learn to formulate an original argument on your topic, using it to do assignments that will go toward two course projects. First, we will be staging a virtual academic conference, in which you will be presenting a portion of your research to your classmates. Second, we will put together a class journal, entitled Pop Culture Intersections, that will feature everyone’s final research paper. All of the assignments and readings you will do for this class will allow you to develop your writing skills by improving your critical reading skills, your prose style, and your ability to formulate an argument.