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  • Consult the table below for an additional description of topics listed above.
  • Note that course topics that end in “Now”  are part of our Boston Now initiative, which involves experiential learning and outside-the-classroom fieldwork.

WR 120 Topics (Fall 2025)

Topic Description Class Instructor
American Comics This class explores the development of the American comics tradition. We first examine how superhero comics became a cultural force during the Golden and Silver ages of comics, and also how underground artists used comics to critique toxic social norms. We then read three celebrated graphic novels by artists associated with the underground who have garnered prizes and critical acclaim. Assignments will help you discover comics as a varied medium with a rich history; analyze comics form methodically and persuasively; and weigh in on some of the arguments that have dogged comics, such as its potential to harm readers. WR 120 McDonough
American Environmental History American Environmental History examines the exciting and complex relationships between nature and culture over the past 400 years of North American History. This interdisciplinary course draws on literature, history, ethics, and contemporary environmental challenges to assess the impact of the reciprocal relationship between people and the environment around them. WR 120 Fitts
American Manifesto From Benjamin Franklin to Beyoncé, Americans have struggled to define what it means to be an American and what makes American culture unique or exceptional. Taking a broad definition of the term manifesto, this interdisciplinary seminar examines the various ways artists have challenged us to re-imagine our nation and our collective identity. This seminar confronts the persistent mythology of the American dream and the possibility of social mobility that has been a hallmark of American culture and the promise of democracy in a nation that often has seen a gap between its expressed ideals and its social practice. WR 120 Hodin
American Short Fiction We examine the world through the lens of fiction and how stories reflect or direct society. WR 120 Shuckra
American Short Story How has the American short story genre evolved? What can short stories teach us about ourselves? WR 120 Steinberg
Anthropology Through SF We examine the interaction of the familiar and strange through science fiction films and texts. WR 120 Pasto
Art and Social Change We explore the ways in which art can transform societal constrictions into new opportunities. WR 120 Davidoff
Art/Science Intersections Art and science both employ iteration and inquiry to achieve a deeper understanding of a subject. Despite sharing similar processes and purposes, art and science are often presented as opposing disciplines. In this course, we challenge this perception by exploring the intersections of art and science. We compare the practices of art and science through time and across cultures by examining pieces across the visual, musical, and written arts that present topics in cosmological, geological, biological, and physical sciences. Through these different media, we discuss how artistic expression prompts engagement with scientific ideas, focusing on how art and science attempt to connect the individual with the surrounding world. We use our group discussions, individual reflections, and major assignments to engage with several existing claims about the interaction between art and science, forming our own arguments about how art and science support and advance one another. We welcome all levels of experience and interest with art and science. WR 120 Tigges
Asians Are People of Color Asians Are People of Color explores race relations and identity politics through different genres of learning and writing. Structural and interpersonal oppression will be explored through documentaries, the text Minor Feelings with Cathy Park Hong, and stand up comedy focused on Asian comedians.  You will produce two essays, a comedy sketch, and engage in many smaller writing process activities. WR 120 Rani
Attention, Please Why is it so hard to pay attention? How can we reclaim our focus in a society that is constantly distracting us—and what should we focus on? In this class, we start by studying sources of our distraction and their effects on us. We then reengage our attention toward works of art, the physical world, and our fellow humans. Exercises include practices in cultivating close attention, such as mindful movement, nature walks, and conversation. WR 120 Bozek
Attention, Please Why is it so hard to pay attention? How can we reclaim our focus in a society that is constantly distracting us—and what should we focus on? In this class, we start by studying sources of our distraction and their effects on us. We then reengage our attention toward works of art, the physical world, and our fellow humans. Exercises include practices in cultivating close attention, such as mindful movement, nature walks, and conversation. WR 120 Milanese
Bioethics and Identity This course explores the intersections of bioethics, race and gender. Such essential topics raise issues of discrimination, justice, oppression, critical race bioethics, and diverse feminist principles within the values, histories and practices of STEM fields. Who is included or excluded in accessing proper healthcare, along with the advancement of medical and biotechnology? Who or what is highlighted or erased? What are the lived experiences of women and minorities in STEM fields, both historically and today? We draw from social and biological sciences, public health, biotech, medicine and public policy to better examine and understand the racial and gender-specific concerns involved. WR 120 Lynch
Black Love Black artists have always been interested in what it means to love. We engage with a range of literature and media created by Black Americans from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century that engage with love as a form of radical resistance. By immersing ourselves in films like Brown Sugar (2002) and Judas and the Black Messiah (2021), music from artists like Michael Jackson and Jill Scott, and literature by writers like Frances Harper and Langston Hughes, we see how racial identity shapes the way love shows up in familial, romantic, and platonic relationships. WR 120 Ford
Books and Films of Modernism This course engages with writers living and working in Great Britain in the first half of the twentieth century and explores how those figures understood the similarities and differences between books and films. Why did Virginia Woolf run her own printing press, and what did she have to say about cinema? How has James Joyce been adapted for the screen? By asking these types of questions, we learn to write about a range of primary sources, including texts and objects. WR 120 Santaus
Boston Films Now How do we define a city? Boston’s many names attest to its complex identity: The City on a Hill, The Athens of America, The Hub, Beantown. In this course, we question the nature of the city we inhabit and ask how its portrayal in films helps us define and understand the “true” nature of Boston. We discuss and write about issues inclusing how films have depicted Boston’s Puritan past, Boston’s Civil War era, the busing riots of the 1970s, the ganglands of James “Whitey” Bulger, and the distinct neighborhoods that make up what has been described as one of the most segregated cities in America. As a Boston Now offering, this course connects you to events and activities in the city. Films include Friends of Eddie Coyle, Good Will Hunting, Lift, Mystic River, Gone Baby, Gone, The Town, Black Mass, Spotlight, Manchester by the Sea, The Departed,and Stronger. WR 120 Barents
Boston Jazz Now We explore jazz music, with a focus on Boston as a leading center for jazz in the US. Topics include the evolution and history of jazz; its spread to different regions of the country; its major genres or movements; great jazz musicians, bandleaders, and critics; connections between jazz and other musical genres; and the development of jazz in Boston, with special attention to Boston’s musicians, musical styles, schools, and clubs, both past and present. We attend live concerts in person at venues such as Berklee College of Music, the New England Conservatory, and BU’s College of Fine Arts. WR 120 Oller
Boston Neighborhoods Now We explore the neighborhoods of Boston, from Southie to Roxbury to Beacon Hill to Dorchester, and more. Through scholarly papers, social media, and journalism, we learn about how race and class have impacted the different city neighborhoods, in terms of redlining, gentrification, city government, education, and sports, and we write op-eds about current issues affecting Boston. As this is a “Boston Now” course, there are elements of experiential learning and required events, walking tours, and observations which take place off-campus around the city. WR 120 Michaud
Boston Sports Now Why are so many Bostonians so utterly obsessed with sports? How does the viewing public identify with teams, players, and places? What are the lasting impacts of sports on Boston’s cityscape? Considering Boston sports culture and social history, we reflect on our own engagement with sports and Boston sports venues, teams, media, monuments, and fans. Identifying and experiencing real and imagined neighborhoods and communities, we visit sites of contemporary and historical significance including Fenway Park and the Boston Marathon finish line, listen to sports talk radio, and watch live game telecasts. WR 120 White
Boston Waterfront Now Why do Bostonians continue to build on the waterfront, even as it floods? In this class, we explore how Bostonians reshaped the waterfront for centuries. We examine how residents, businessmen, and government officials argued over and defined the right to the tidelands. From making more waterfront land to building luxury condos, we trace how Bostonians turned the waterfront into profitable spaces. Site visits and historical maps reveal the waterfront’s layers, and we scrutinize for whom each layer and space was built. By analyzing how each choice and development project impacts us today, we also consider the waterfront’s future. WR 120 Kane
Boston Wildlife Now Wildlife in Boston? Even as you read this, wild animals hop, swim, scurry, fly, forage, and stalk prey not far from Fenway. By observing wildlife, how can we discern how dynamic, dangerous urban habitats reshape animal minds? How are Boston wild animals’ senses, communication, and use of natural and built structures similar to and different from other animals? To what extent do Boston species adapt their behavior to distinctive human activities at greenspaces like the Charles River Esplanade, Boston Common and Hall’s Pond? We explore scientific articles, creative nonfiction, maps, and adventure outside the classroom to meet Boston’s wildlife. WR 120 Schaaf
Boston’s Natural History Now This course explores Boston’s greener places, where we can read the evidence of its emergence from the hills and marshes of the past and witness the conversation it maintains between human inhabitants and nature. How do the built and natural environments interact? Does wilderness still exist within the cityscape? Along with addressing these questions, we engage with Boston’s landscape with outside-the-classroom adventures on campus and beyond. WR 120 Blyler
Business in US Culture This class explores the ways in which business and corporations have been represented in American culture and society from the Gilded Age to the present. WR 120 Benke
China in the World This course explores varied reactions to China’s expanded presence abroad. We look at China’s role in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia, contrasting with engagement by Western nations. Is China’s influence unique? Is the reaction to China’s growing presence unique? We build on recent works by Jonathan Hillman to examine imagined threats and imagined communities in investors’ engagement with locals. WR 120 Sklar
Classroom Wars What is the purpose of public education? To produce patriotic, productive citizens? To shape students into independent and informed thinkers? These questions have defined and shaped controversies in American public education since the nineteenth century. This course explores several controversies regarding public school curricula, including battles over teaching religion, sex education, Civil War history, and African American history. We examine the social, cultural, and political aspects that shaped the controversies, covering topics including historical memory, nationalism, and identity. We  engage with a variety of primary sources from each controversy and discuss changes in public education over time. WR 120 Barber
Commodifying Care This course examines the complex forces of classism, racism, and sexism that perpetuate the ongoing subjugation of domestic and care workers. In addition to physical and mental labor that is required, what forms of emotional labor are also expected from domestic and care workers? What are the individual and societal ramifications of this labor force being largely unregulated, underpaid, and unappreciated? By thinking about how domestic labor is imagined in literature, television, and film, we unpack paradigms of privilege and power and develop arguments about exploitation, agency, and the care economy. WR 120 Miller
Communicating Science Information changes and evolves as it is communicated to different audiences through different media. This course focuses on how scientific information is presented and interpreted by a general audience that does not have technical knowledge. By examining press releases, news articles, government guidelines, and social media, we explore how scientific information is disseminated to the public and uncover what it takes to be scientifically literate in a twenty-first-century world. Course texts include works by authors such as Michael Pollen and Mariam Nestle and a variety of traditional and multimodal sources, such as blogs, podcasts, and even pop songs. WR 120 Calandra
Conformity and Rebellion “Conformity” and “rebellion” are not static concepts; all cultures identify conformist or rebellious behaviors within their own ideologies. In this course, we examine questions of conformity and rebellion, examining how various communities imagine and confront social, scientific, and political boundaries, and we consider such questions as: What are the conditions of conformity? What circumstances generate rebellion? How do the definitions of each change with time or location? We explore the topic through psychological, literary, artistic, cultural, and other lenses and genres. WR 120 Hanselman
Contemporary Art in Boston In this course, we visit and examine contemporary artworks, museums, installations, and public works located in our city. We consider dialogue about contemporary art’s relationship with broader social and ethical concerns. We ask questions about art’s interrogation of power, access, and inclusion: who and what determines the works we see? How might art challenge messages from other forms of media? To what extent do artworks and institutions around us represent and engage local communities?  How might art call us to examine ourselves and our relationship to each other? Our projects consider intersections between art, social justice, reform, and advocacy. WR 120 Dalton
Contemporary Autobiography Our class addresses the flourishing of autobiography in the last ten years—its usage on TikTok, celebrity ghostwriting, autofiction, memoir, and traditional and experimental autobiography. We address questions such as: What are autobiographies for? What is the difference between fiction and autobiography? As part of the course, we use generative AI to experiment with how a computer may narrate a life. Our course includes a field trip at the Houghton Library at Harvard University and involves a discussion of how curators use documents to interpret writers’ lives. WR 120 Murphy
Ethical AI & Creativity This course focuses on the ethical dimensions of AI in content creation. We explore the historical context, technical foundations, and ethical considerations surrounding AI technologies. Through hands-on projects, we use a wide range of video production and AI tools to create digital content. The course emphasizes critical thinking and ethical analysis, examining the evolution and future implications of generative AI. We gain essential skills in AI literacy and ethical decision-making, preparing us to navigate the digital landscape responsibly. WR 120 Fassihi
Ethical Missteps/Public Health We examine medical and public health challenges from their origins to ongoing racial and gender disparities. WR 120 Smith
Ethics After Auschwitz In this course, we examine the problem of ethics after the Holocaust as it appears in literature, philosophy, theology, political thought, graphic novels, and film. We explore the innovative ways in which writers, thinkers, and artists create new approaches to ethics in spite of undeniable evidence of humanity’s propensity for brutality. We read texts by Elie Wiesel, Hannah Arendt, Emmanuel Levinas, Loung Ung, Paul Resusabagina, and others. Films will include The Act of Killing. WR 120 Anderson
Flash of Light: Flash Fiction Flash Fiction (short fiction less than 1000 words) is a popular genre of writing. The flash fiction genre pushes writers to write economically while conveying meaning. In this class, we work on examining flash fiction pieces in terms of craft and work on writing and presenting flash fiction in different formats. We are interested in reading creative work, discussing craft elements, and working on our own flash writing. WR 120 Shetty
Food and Cultural Identity The course examines how food culture is subject to identity, gender, environmental changes, acculturation, and the impact of social media. The culinary traditions and habits of a community or group will be discussed in terms of social identity WR 120 Drepanos
Garbage Culture Disgust, abjection, and environmental degradation—these are just some of the negative cultural associations attached to garbage. So, what do we do? Well, by and large, we ignore, repress, and hide it. In this course, we throw open the garbage can to investigate these and other ideas about waste, and how what we throw away shapes who we are and how we interact with the world around us. We read fiction, news articles and history books, watch feature films and documentaries, and follow objects from production to consumption to landfill. WR 120 Clee
Gender and Culture How do cultural beliefs shape our understanding of gender? How do authors and filmmakers explore gender equality in their works? In this course, we explore how gender norms are challenged and reinforced across different societies. We examine ideas like gender stereotypes, girl power, and queer representation to understand how gender operates in the world around us. Drawing from a range of texts, articles, and films, we also develop a deeper awareness of how writing connects to our personal experiences. WR 120 Fadhlina
Gender in Short Stories This course explores the role of women and men in short stories and how the writer’s observations, critique and voice provide diverse ways to question readers’ beliefs and understanding of different gender roles in society. We read stories written in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries by a diverse range of writers (such as Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Kate Chopin, Zora Neale Hurston, Nella Larsen, Willa Cather, Kate Chopin, and Sarah Orne Jewett, among others) and discuss their themes, commonalities, and differences. WR 120 Simpson
Ghosts and the Undead This class studies ghosts and the undead in fiction, film, and folkore. Readings and viewing include Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House, Jesmyn Ward’s Sing Unburied Sing, the films Beetlejuice, Night of the Living Dead and other works. WR 120 Hansen
Global Literature As with any art form, literature is as varied as the people who create it. In this course, we read works, largely in English translation, from around the globe. We learn to read like writers—getting inside the literature to consider how the authors made their art—and explore what kinds of artistic and thematic connections we might make “across borders.” We also do some creative writing of our own. WR 120 Mattingly
Global Tragic Drama Since its development in ancient Greece, tragic drama remains a vibrant cultural touchstone throughout the world. This course begins with an introduction to the classical tragedy of Sophocles, but then analyzes modern plays that put the tragic genre in conversation with other cultural traditions and regions (likely including India, Iraq, the Caribbean, and more). We study how theater attempts to understand and possibly ease human suffering, and also discuss dramatic representations of cultural hybridity and transnational identities, colonial and post-colonial conflicts, globalization and economic injustices, and related topics. WR 120 Meyer
Hollywood Contradicts Itself In 1915, Hollywood produced the white supremacist film The Birth of a Nation. A century later, Black Panther (2018). What motivated this supposedly radical change? How are these films different, artistically or politically? Are they similar? What do we mean by “Hollywood,” given its many artistic, technological, and institutional changes? Through diligent research we reveal the competing tensions that animate Hollywood: Art versus entertainment, inclusion v. exclusion, innovation v. stasis, conservative anxieties v. liberal affirmations, and the national v. the international. Other films inform our discussions. WR 120 Vanaria
I Want to Believe We closely study the mythologies and the research about Bigfoot and UFOs across disciplines, including religious, historical, anthropological, scientific, and cultural texts, as well as contemporary journalism in prominent publications. WR 120 Giraldi
Imagining Vietnam In this course, students write about the Vietnam War’s polarizing influence on American culture and vice versa. Including examples of literature, music, memorials and film, Imagining the Vietnam War charts how this devastating conflict challenged the way Americans viewed themselves. Beginning with America’s first involvement during the height of its power in the 1950s and continuing through to the present, students will trace diverse perspectives of the Vietnam War that considers women, soldiers, veterans, protestors and supporters. The class emphasizes popular culture and integrates reviews of films, songs, books and memorials as readings. In addition, students develop and present their own reviews of recent depictions and representations of Vietnam for the final project. WR 120 Blumenthal
Improvisation Now! This course looks at the role of improvisation in the creation of a variety of works of art. We have an early focus on “Zen and the Art of Improv Comedy,” looking at examples of both short-form and long-form improvisational comedy, including a live performance at Improv Asylum in Boston’s North End. We then look at other examples of improvised creations in other media, such as film, dance, music, visual art, and games. Texts include Free Play by Stephen Nachmanovitch and The Way of Zen by Alan Watts. WR 120 Barents
Intertwining Curious Minds Now Through field trips, we use Boston places to explore curiosity as a uniquely individual yet also collaborative adventure between humans and other species. How can different types of curiosity and approaches from diverse disciplines shape what we create on our own and with others? How do processes examined in psychology and neuroscience such as neural synchrony/coupling (the correlation of brain activity between people) shape curiosity in shared experiences and draw us into others’ stories? Come to class curious to see how sharing your distinctive interests and intertwining them with what fascinates your classmates can transform our collective curiosity. WR 120 Schaaf
Lincoln and His Legacies Many are taught from childhood the story of Abraham Lincoln: From log cabin origins to rail-splitting leader, Lincoln emancipated the slaves and saved the union during the American Civil War. To some, however, this heroic tale is more fairytale than fact. As the iconic American president, against whom all others are measured, how should Lincoln be remembered? Students consider Lincoln’s life, words, and deeds both before and during his presidency; then we examine Lincoln’s legacy as expressed in poems, memorials, films, and other cultural artifacts. Readings include Lincoln’s speeches and personal/political letters, and scholarly and creative expressions about Lincoln. WR 120 Shawn
Literary Gender & Sexuality In this course, we read diverse nineteenth-century texts to explore how contemporary debates about gender and sexuality are informed by beliefs that emerged over two hundred years ago. We also examine how Americans have always understood gender and sexuality alongside race, class, and other identities. With this knowledge, we seek to better understand why we view some bodies, desires, and experiences as normal, and why our culture erases or stigmatizes others. We also contemplate to what extent we have overcome the anxieties about gender and sexuality that people felt in the past, and to what extent they still persist today. WR 120 Barrett
Metaphor and Advertising A picture truly speaks a thousand words. This course delves into the powerful world of visual metaphor, exploring how images are used to persuade and influence consumer behavior. We analyze existing advertisements, breaking down their visual components and identifying the rhetorical strategies employed. By applying frameworks like Conceptual Metaphor Theory and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, we understand how advertisers use ethos, pathos, and logos to create compelling messages that promote consumerism. This course equips you with the tools to critically analyze and evaluate visual rhetoric in contemporary culture, while also considering key ethical dimensions. WR 120 O´Mara
Narratives of Race and Racism As Black Americans attempted to exercise basic rights of citizenship in the decades after the Civil War, white supremacists invented a “Lost Cause” historical narrative which valorized the supposed honorable motives of the Confederacy, claimed the war was not about slavery, and insisted that enslaved people were treated favorably. In this course, we study the ways in which narratives like these have operated and evolved throughout history to uphold white supremacy, and how anti-racist scholars, activists, and artists have challenged these accounts. Topics include the Civil Rights Movement, criminality, immigration, labor, pathways to citizenship, and indigenous identity. WR 120 Reyes
Nature Poetry According to poet Edward Hirsch, “The urge to describe the natural world—its various landscapes, its changing seasons, its surrounding phenomena—has been an inescapable part of the history of poetry.” In this seminar, we first consider how Romantic poets responded to rapidly increasing industrialization, and how they experienced the natural world as a place for spiritual rejuvenation. Later, we learn about the ways in modern and contemporary poets have been influenced by and differed from their Romantic precursors. Finally, students have the opportunity to write a personal essay about a natural place or an experience in the natural world that has shaped some aspect of their worldviews. WR 120 Tandon
Philosophy and Science Fiction In this class we utilize science fiction writings, movies, and other media to examine questions found in Philosophy. Topics such as consciousness, mind, AI, simulations, space and time, intelligence, aliens and UFOs, free will, cyborgs, ethical and political considerations, and the singularity, guide our investigations. We see how writers and thinkers have dealt with difficult and sometimes terrifying subjects within technology, from the ancient Greeks to Hollywood, and consider our own research and thinking on our dependence on modern technology, its impact on us, on those around us, and on the planet as well. WR 120 Morazzini
Philosophy, Horror, & Film In this course, we study disturbing stories and ask why they speak to us. Why are “rough” or immoral heroes so compelling? What makes “immoral” stories, where bad things happen to good people, so gripping? Throughout the course, we study controversial topics in the philosophy of art such as catharsis, censorship, the meaning of beauty, and the value of art both in our personal lives and in our society today. As we investigate these topics, we analyze influential horror films that represent diverse cultures and time periods. WR 120 Snyder
Plato’s Republic The Republic, by the Greek philosopher Plato, explores what it means to be human, whether some of our highest ideals exist, and how we can and perhaps should organize ourselves politically. It’s a beautiful work of art, a window onto an ancient city state that served as a model for the US, and a lens for examining our own psyches and societies. It’s a difficult, important book—the kind you should try to read in college. In addition to the Republic, readings include excerpts from other ancient Greek texts, contemporary scholarship, and popular media that engage with similar topics. WR 120 Prentice
Poets on Poetry Questions that guide this course include, broadly: How have poets engaged critically with their own and others’ work? How, then, has poetry as a form been defined and engaged with over time, from the Romantics to the Modernists, and on? Moreover, what is the relationship of poetic language to subjective experience and to objective reality? We develop our own literary critical style as well as an attunement to the beauty and possibility of language. WR 120 Gerardin
Power of Scientific Discovery How do scientists discover new treatments for disease? In our class, we explore the scientific reasoning that illuminates the etiology of a disease’s cause or the mechanism of action for a new therapy. We analyze the language of published papers like the those found in the journal Nature. In case studies, we examine the hurdles in Alzheimer’s drug development and the importance of questioning implicit assumptions like the amyloid hypothesis. Our projects explore a disease of particular interest to each student—to suggest new paths for the discovery of better therapies. WR 120 Stevens
Public Art Works of art in outdoor accessible spaces exist at the intersection of community, identity, and history. In the second half of the twentieth century, the creation of federal and state funding programs, like the National Endowment for the Arts, raised questions about who selects visual art for a community, who is included in that community, and who pays for the work’s creation and maintenance. We explore newspaper articles, exhibition reviews, and artist statements surrounding controversial publicly funded exhibitions and sculptures, including new monuments raised in the city of Boston. Discussions focus on historic works relating to the American Civil War and more recent American artists such as Maya Lin, Robert Mapplethorpe, Hank Willis Thomas, and Kara Walker. WR 120 Bewley
Queer Kinships, Odd Bonds How do we form meaningful connections beyond family and close friends? What happens when our relationships stretch past the familiar—beyond our neighborhoods, cities, or even species? In this seminar, we explore how people create bonds with humans and other species, particularly during times of environmental and social crisis. Drawing on films and critical texts, we examine the traditional, bloodline-based concept of kinship—a foundational and much-debated topic in anthropology—and consider alternative ways of belonging. Join us as we rethink what it means to connect in a fragile world and explore how unexpected relationships shape our communities and futures. WR 120 Quispe Coronel
Queer Pictures How can images reflect, create, and support marginalized identities? In this course, we explore historical and contemporary portraits of queer people, moving from covert prints of the eighteenth century to the fashions of celebrities like Chappell Roan. We talk about why representation matters, and what happens when our identities are censored or hidden. Our class discussions and assignments cover three big questions: What counts as a portrait? What makes an image or the person depicted within “queer”? Where do queer pictures belong—in museums or somewhere else? WR 120 Armstrong
Reading Magical Realism While the fascination with “popular genres” such as science fiction, fantasy, and horror continues to grow in modern readership, the specific genre-blending mode of magical realism is often overlooked. In this class, we explore the significance of the term “magical realism” and examine its uses in anticolonial contexts through a wide range of genres and settings. Readings include short stories from Latin America, poems from the Caribbean, and African plays. Central questions we consider in our course are: How can writing perform a political role? And how does magical realism impact how we read the world? WR 120 Barry
Reimagining Fairy Tales We examine classic versions and modern retellings of famous fairy tales, beginning with “Little Red Riding Hood,” side by side with critical essays by scholars working from literary-critical, feminist, and social justice viewpoints. We ask questions such as: why do certain tales persist in popular culture, and what cultural work are they doing? How do these pervasive stories shape our cultural understanding of romance, sexuality, race, class, religion, and disability, and how can telling the tales in new ways change those understandings? WR 120 Bennett-Zendzian
Reimagining Happiness What does it mean to be happy? Can you become happier? If so, how? What factors are most correlated with happiness: physical attractiveness, high income levels, well-respected jobs, healthy social relationships or a strong sense of purpose? How much of your happiness is under your control? We explore these questions by reading academic and nonacademic sources written by psychologists, sociologists, economists etc. We watch Ted Talks and discuss how happiness is defined in cross-cultural contexts. We keep a journal to record happy moments, look for gaps in our understanding of happiness, and develop our own theory of happiness. WR 120 Zhao
Religion and Global Health We explore how religious traditions around the world inform, contest, and transform public health. This course draws on anthropology/sociology of religion to explore how the different worlds that communities inhabit shape their interactions with global public health workers and initiatives. We seek to understand how communities’ worldviews are constructed and experienced. We examine how religious traditions are not all manifestations of one spiritual reality, but are different in their construction, goals, practices, and experiences, and we examine global health work in religious communities. WR 120 Fuller
Religion and Pluralism This course critically examines religion and the challenge of pluralism through the voices of scholars, activists, and everyday religious practitioners. Our sources include academic articles, ethnographies, NGO reports, and film and highlight the experiences of Muslims, Jews, and Christians across the Americas, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Europe. How do inequalities of class, ethnicity, race, and gender intersect with religion in ways that create barriers to realizing a just and plural society? Where, why, and how do people engage across lines of socioreligious difference or weave together religious practices assumed distinct? When do they encounter difficulties in doing so? WR 120 Renca
Retelling Stories We examine how creators shape truth across journalistic, filmic, and comic adaptations. Are all stories really the same? How does narrative shift when newspaper profiles are turned into blockbuster movies? Do comic adaptations of works from the literary canon do their original authors justice? Or do they create a new work of art all together? These are some of the questions we’ll be asking and attempting to answer in this 15-week course while simultaneously crafting scholarly and creative writing to answer them. WR 120 Grasso
Rewriting Mythologies This course explores modern myth and folklore retellings across cultures and rewrite a myth of your choice. WR 120 Relick
Science Writing and Society This course examines the kinds of writing involved in scientific discoveries from grant proposals, through research notes, to publication and finally public dissemination. We look at a few high-profile studies such as the research on Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in NFL players and the public discourse on these findings. Students write about the differing presentations of information for different audiences and purposes. We also explore how error and misunderstanding regarding scientific discovery can develop. WR 120 Kinraide
Sociology of Code-Switching What comes to mind when you hear of someone being the “right fit” for a job or a college? Do you have to look a certain way, talk a certain way, dress a certain way? How do the various identities (race, ethnicity, social class, gender, etc) we all hold shape our access to the “right fit”? In sociology, we talk about “code-switching” as part of the cultural toolkit that individuals employ to navigate diverse settings such as home and work. In this course, we examine how code-switching can shape access to social mobility along with its consequences for individuals and society. WR 120 Bowman
The Art of Memoir This course offers an engaging exploration into the art of memoir writing, guiding you through the process of crafting your own life stories. Through the study of acclaimed memoirs such as I Would Meet You Anywhere by Susan Kiyo Ito, Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner, Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt, and I Wonder as I Wander by Langston Hughes, you gain insights into various narrative techniques and thematic elements. Students also participate in writing short memoirs, allowing them to practice and refine their storytelling skills. The course also includes two analytical papers, where students critically examine the memoirs studied, and a presentation to develop their public speaking and interpretive skills. Additionally, an alternative assignment will challenge you to compose your own memoir, providing a comprehensive understanding of the memoir genre.
By the end of the course, you will have a deeper appreciation for the memoir as a literary form and will have developed your own unique voice and style in writing personal narratives.		 WR 120 Westhues
The Body in Performance What is a body? How has our understanding of the human body changed throughout time? While philosophers have often prioritized the mind over the body, the body’s role in perception, consciousness, and the creation of the self has become increasingly explored. In this course, we consider the philosophy of the body alongside drama spanning from the classical period to contemporary times. We examine how the body is staged and how performance actualizes questions of self-identity. WR 120 Kulczycky
The Charles River Now As the Charles River (indigenous Massachusett: *Quinobequin*, “meandering”) wanders through Boston and past our campus, this course takes us on a tour outside the classroom to explore the green spaces along the Charles’ bank and the multispecies communities connected by its waters. Be prepared to read the Charles as a living text and spend time getting to know the river and its inhabitants! WR 120 Blyler
The Culture of College We explore contemporary college life from an anthropologist’s perspective, with the goal of understanding the hidden rules, rituals, and beliefs that twenty-first-century college students navigate as they transition from high school to university in a global context. We also critically examine contemporary trends and challenges faced by students in the U.S.—including mental health struggles, financial inequity, and homesickness—as well as issues pertaining specifically to international and multilingual students. In exploring and discussing these topics, we develop our written and oral communication skills, as well as gain insight into academic literacy practices. WR 120 Kasztalska
The Graphic Memoir Graphic memoirs are nonfiction graphic novels that tell the true stories of their author’s lives through a combination of text and image. In styles ranging from cartoons to fine art, graphic memoirs tackle a wide range of serious subjects. Our readings participate in overlapping conversations about race, sexuality, family dysfunction, and illness. We ask questions about how memoirists grapple with time and memory, how visual and linguistic style affect meaning, and what the graphic genre can teach us about academic writing. At the end of the semester, we showcase all we have learned by creating graphic texts of our own. WR 120 Kent
The Graphic Self This seminar focuses on representations of identity in graphic memoirs (memoirs in the comics form). Through our study of several long- & short-form personal graphic narratives, we engage in important academic conversations about topics such as: visual storytelling and bearing witness, the power of the comics medium to communicate personal experience, the blurry boundary between fiction and nonfiction, and the act of self-reflection and possibilities for closure. Regular drawing & self-writing exercises provide opportunities to develop your own “graphic self,” ultimately leading to the creation of your own short graphic memoir! *No prior drawing experience or comics familiarity required! WR 120 Yoder
The Journey: Our World in Film Do you dream of adventure? Venturing over the next unknown horizon? We look at films from a wide array of cultures and eras from around the world that embark on a journey. However, journeys do not solely unfold in the outward geography of the world, but within our lives as well, as we progress through personal passages and transformations. Thus, we also share tales of our own journeys, literal and metaphorical. In addition to the films, there are also some short readings. WR 120 Degener
The Korean Wave and Society By discussing K-Pop and contemporary Korean films, this course uses the current international popularity of Korean pop culture to foster discussion about pressing contemporary global concerns, such as what it means to be an individual during an age of intensifying economic inequality, cutthroat competition for dwindling jobs, and stifling pressures to conform to social norms. WR 120 Cook
The Language of DNA Humans can now edit their own DNA, changing how we view disease, inheritance, and ourselves. But how did this discovery get from the scientists to doctors, from doctors to patients, from patients to the public? Learn how scientists talk about the genetic revolution with each other and how that discovery gets to the public, through everything from scientific papers to Ted Talks. Analyze how the view of genes and gene editing has changed in both science and pop culture, and through it all, learn how to talk about genes and gene editing with your friends and colleagues! WR 120 Gibbs
The Language of Identity “The Language of Identity” is an exploration of self through writing about culture, race, gender, and class. We will explore how language shapes identity—our own and the diverse communities around us. With writers like Ta-Nehisi Coates, Roxane Gay, Gabriel Mac, June Jordan, Gloria Anzaldua, and many more, we see how the perception of our language shapes how others judge or view our identity—fairly or unfairly. Ultimately, we will learn how to craft an argument in the public discourse, and in doing so, will notice how the engagement of our language within any discourse informs our identity. WR 120 DiPaolo
These Films Are So Gay We study films that have been perceived as “gay” in one way or another, even when their subject matter is ostensibly “straight.” Because homophobia is so pervasive, gay audiences have learned to read even homophobic films as gay. Note: most of these films evoke the queerness in coded ways. People looking for uplifting affirmations of queer experience may be disappointed, and one of the points of this course is to talk about the strange formations that occur when films want to say something and not to say it at the same time. WR 120 Desilets
Twenty-First Century Terrors In the 60s and 70s, Vietnam and civil unrest gave birth to a golden age of horror movies. In our new century, we have been forced to confront tragedy on an even greater level. This course examines the horror genre in both film and television as a powerful meditation on the fears of a new and uncertain century, including terrorism, chemical and biological warfare, pandemic, authoritarianism, and nuclear Armageddon. Attention is given to works made in the US, Europe, and Southeast Asia to consider the genre in a global, cross-cultural context. WR 120 Vahamikos
Values & Boundaries Then & Now This course explores the consequences of asserting, maintaining, or denying one’s values and personal boundaries. Ancient literature will be our touchstone. Over and over again—and just as we do today—characters reject unfair circumstances only to confront a new source of pain, while others acquiesce only to realize exactly what they have given up. Issues surrounding personal boundaries crop up today as well, with family members, friends, the enabled, the disabled, the empowered, and the disenfranchised. With reference to modern discussions on values and boundaries, we explore where, when, and with whom characters assert, defend, or deny themselves. WR 120 Kotiuga
We Live in a Society In this course, we explore what it means to be in community with one another and how our social relationships affect our identities. We focus on two central aspects of sociality—affinity and conflict. Are we products of the people with whom we surround ourselves? How do we navigate our loyalties when a friend acts against our values? Are we obligated to engage community members with whom we disagree? Throughout the semester, we tackle these questions using social philosophy and your firsthand experience collaborating with a community organization of your choosing. WR 120 Grippo
Women Poets Now Audre Lorde argues, “Poetry is not a luxury… it lays the foundations for a future of change, a bridge across our fears of what has never been before.” This seminar examines the ways diverse women poets engage with the world through their writing. Using creative and critical writing, we explore poetry’s essential role in investigating social and political issues. As a final class project, we contribute to this larger poetic conversation by creating an online poetry journal of the class’s writing. WR 120 Bennett
Writing Race & the Environment What makes people vulnerable to environmental harm? Who benefits from that harm? Literature raises these and other critical questions and offers thoughtful answers. It also provides much-needed vision and hope. In this course, written and film texts ground our thinking about environmental abuses and the people they impact most. We examine how contemporary texts illuminate environmental racism and consumption. We also ask: How can each of us participate as change agents in enacting environmental justice? The authors guiding our investigation may include Octavia Butler, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Robert Bullard, Janice Mirikitani, Vandana Shiva, Simon Ortiz, and Rita Wong. WR 120 Tall

WR 151, WR 152, and WR 153 Topics (Fall 2025)

Topic Description Class Instructor
Attention/Distraction From industrialization and automation to the rise of the “attention economy,” how have cultural shifts and new technologies impacted our sense of focus, and what we pay attention to? Looking primarily at life in the United States, this course explores various conversations surrounding the rise of new technologies and new tempos from the late nineteenth-century to today, with an eye on the way these cultural and technological shifts have impacted the ways we experience place, community, work, and everyday life. What can various panics over our perceived shifting attentions reveal about cultural ideals and cultural anxieties? WR 151 Kolberg
Burning Questions Burning Questions asks students to conduct a semester-long research project on a topic of their choosing that culminates in a multi-genre project, with an emphasis on the process of research and how it interacts with a student’s own original ideas. Intended for students who have a particular passion in which they’re ready to gain expertise, this course offers freedom of topic choice, intensive workshops, camaraderie, and the chance to lay the foundation for serious study in a field of interest. WR 151 Myers
Digital Worlds From the pen to the phone, to the Internet, to AI our lives have been influenced by the changes in technology around us. Through the production of verbal and non-verbal artifacts, we learn how to read various cultural texts and how to produce your own texts in response. The independent and collaborative work that we produce in this class will contribute towards our understanding of the
cultural and social importance of language and the impact the technology we use to communicate with each other has on our lives.		 WR 152 Shetty
Family Snaps and Stories From the Victorian daguerreotype to the smartphone snapshot, we associate family photographs with personal history. Family photos document children’s maturation as well as relationships among parents, siblings, extended family, and chosen members. Family portrait conventions have a history related to portrait painting and studio photography, contexts that posit various family ideals. This course investigates the stories, assumptions, and expectations we bring to family photographs and offers the opportunity to create a research project involving public and/or personal photographic archives. We present our research to a new audience in a digital photo-narrative and share this work-in-progress in a short presentation. WR 152 Martinez
Frankenstein’s Adaptations Everyone “knows” Frankenstein—the 8ft creature created out of mismatched body parts that stumbles along with outstretched arms, terrorizing innocent villagers. But Frankenstein wasn’t the creature, he was Dr. Frankenstein, the creator, and that’s one of the myths about this iconic story we examine. In this course, we explore various adaptations of the story, from Mary Shelley’s original text through its retellings in various formats, to explore how it has permeated cultures around the world. Students have the opportunity to create their own interpretations of the novel to conclude the semester. WR 153 Hanselman
Future of Video Game Studies Since the invention of Pong in 1972, video games have become one of the world’s most popular forms of entertainment. In recent years, the emerging academic discipline of video game studies has flourished, with peer-reviewed journals examining video games through the lenses of cultural studies, psychology, business, and education. After surveying the landscape of video game studies, our class explores the challenges involved in making video games, using case studies of Boston-based Irrational Games and industry giants like Nintendo and Sega. Our projects explore the future of gaming, gaming culture, and the scholarly discipline of video game studies. WR 152 Stevens
How Do We Write About the Net? Postmodern fiction captures the chaos of tech & media in our lives. How does it show us what’s next? WR 153 Culler
Identity and Image How are various elements of identity (gender, race, origin, values, beliefs) shaped and contested in the public discourse and across media? How much agency do we have in defining how we are perceived, and why do we care about it? We ask these questions as we explore how humans create their social image to affirm themselves and wield power. We learn about self-presentation by analyzing seminal works in the humanities and social sciences as well as documentaries, op-eds, and podcasts. Through academic arguments and multimedia projects, we interrogate the aesthetic and political tools at work in forging one’s identity. WR 152 Sembe
Literature on Film Why do we adapt books into movies? How does the experience of a story we first encounter as a text change when we see it on screen? Are filmmakers obligated to be “faithful” to their sources, or do they have artistic license to innovate? Is literature an inherently “higher” form of art than movies? In this course, we consider these and other questions about the nature of literature on film as we develop our skills as critical film readers and as proficient writers and communicators. Our goal is to produce well-researched, clear, and persuasive communication about the difference that form makes in our encounters with art. WR 151 Walsh
Loneliness across Disciplines Concepts of loneliness can be discussed in any number of fields and disciplines within the hard or social sciences, humanities, communications, and business. Therefore, in this course, we explore ideas and depictions of loneliness in three very different disciplines in order to not only study the complexity of loneliness but also to examine and explore the demands and expectations of three distinct and diverse disciplines. WR 153 Panszczyk
Magical Thinking Magical thinking takes many forms. It’s an idea that might come true or turn into another failed dream. In this course, we examine the power of possibilities imagined in science fiction and fantasy stories, and in real life by people we often think of as visionary inventors and corporate tycoons, like Steve Jobs and Elon Musk. When we imagine the future, what ideas from the past are we bringing with us? When authors sit down to create a fantasy world, what cultural beliefs do they rely on? When does magical thinking help society and when does it hurt us? WR 153 Burg
Medical Debates Medical advances and increased public health have often come at the price of deliberately inflicting harm. In this class, we examine some of the historical debates about when and whether intentional harm to animals, individuals, or groups outweighs the benefits of medical progress. Vivisection exposes the issue of cruelty versus advances in medical research; vaccination weighs the relative risks and benefits of dangerous medical procedures to a particular individual; and the case of Typhoid Mary is representative of the problem of personal liberty versus public health. WR 152 Kinraide
Playing for Keeps Why do we love games so much? The game designer Sid Meier said that a game is “a series of interesting choices;” in this course, we develop writing skills through a consideration of these choices, whether they take place on a chessboard, a soccer pitch, or an intense game of rock-paper-scissors. We think about the ways in which a game can be defined–and then you will develop a board game and a research paper based on an issue you care about. You’ll explore the creative process behind thinking like a board game designer, and inform this exploration through researched argument. WR 153 Schratz
The Coens and Genres of Film We explore the celebrated films of the Coen brothers and their referencing of various genres of film. WR 152 Degener
The Educated Electorate The goal of the course “The Educated Electorate” is to teach writing through political participation.  Students conduct research about a political issue, and after the second week they do volunteer work for three hours a week in a candidate’s campaign or for an issue-focused activist organization. While students will still meet to discuss their experiences in class, the course also includes short readings on youth politics, issues, and elections. In this class, students also step outside the framework of academic argumentation with an eye to different audiences, including the voting public, campaign managers, elected officials, activist organizers/organizations, the media, and policy makers. WR 151 Blumenthal
The Ethical Imagination The Ethical Imagination is a historical survey of the development of world ethics. While its main focus is on Western Philosophy, it includes several comparative studies of Middle and Far-Eastern ethical theories. The contemporary short stories and essays we read emphasize the role the imagination plays in determining the moral compass of the world; and ultimately, the role art plays in raising questions about equity, freedom, diversity, justice, war, hatred, abuse, and intolerance in general. Writing assignments, whether non-fiction or fiction, focus on both analytical and creative skills. WR 153 Allenberg
The Horror of Hermes In this course, we look at the influence of the Western Esoteric Tradition, often called “the occult,” on horror literature. The genre of horror is filled with vivid examples of the occult, but how serious authors are about the subject is rarely considered. Our class inquires why “occult” practices appear so prominently in many works of horror, and how these dense symbol systems and arcane practices speak to the fear of technology and science. The occult continues to be a driving force in literature, movies, and video games, as well as alternative religions, spirituality, and politics. WR 151 Morazzini
The World of Higher Education What is the purpose of higher education? This is a question on the minds of many in the United States today, including students, parents, politicians, and others. In this class, we consider it from several perspectives, most prominently historical, philosophical, and sociological. Although our focus is on the American system of higher education in the first quarter of the twenty-first century, we also look at the writings of thinkers and scholars from other times and places to help us become better informed about some of the basic premises of—and tensions within—the Western educational model. WR 151 Gapotchenko
Transformative Visual Media From the printing press to social media reels, we explore how innovative technology disrupts mass media. As we now live in a time when images can be modified more and more convincingly, this course considers the ethical and social consequences of manipulated media, and ultimately, its power as a narrative tool. WR 152 Sarkisian
Writing with a Sense of Taste Do certain foods conjure up memories or stir feelings for you? Have you ever been homesick and found a familiar food to be just the remedy you needed or how a particular dish can mean so much to your culture? Through reflecting and writing (and some tasting, too) we analyze essays from MFK Fisher’s The Art of Eating and Anthony Bourdain’s A Cook’s Tour as we dive deep into a world of culinary cultures as well as the struggles encountered and satisfaction gained by writing with all of our senses. WR 152 Robertson