Learning English through Speaking and Writing

This course offers an introduction to films produced in the Middle East. It uses films to understand the culture and history of the region, analyze it, and write about it.

This seminar is designed for students, especially those in the social sciences, who want to improve their writing. Classes will focus on how to write an argumentative or persuasive essay, as contrasted with a "narrative essay." Our main focus will be on "academic" or professional writing, in which the author poses a significant question and sets out to answer it, presenting evidence and drawing on relevant literature on the issue. Students will write four or five essays during the course. We will also examine persuasive writing directed to a larger, non-professional audience, including those addressed to citizens generally. Students will be asked to respond critically to these essays, and may choose to write a paper that engages with the argument of one or more of these essays.September 23 - end November, Monday and Wednesday 16.15 - 17.30

Students will read Khaled Hosseini’s novel 1000 Splendid Suns both as literary exemplar and as the subject of postcolonial critique. We will pay particular attention to the dual point of view in the novel; to Hosseini’s perspective as a member of the Afghan diaspora; and to the fluid interpretations of history embedded in novels tied to controversial events. By the end of class, students will have written two stories of their own, one from a perspective close to their own, and one from a perspective close to their mother’s. Students who are taking this class for academic credit through OSUN will also be working on critical theory and approaches to Hosseini’s book in the context of gender studies and postcolonial studies. Those students will be writing a 10 – 12 page critical paper in addition to the creative work. For all students, workshops and group presentations are an essential part of this course.