Composition I

Aloha mai. Welcome to
English 100. This is a place-based composition course that will prepare you for
the demands of university-level writing.

As your instructor,
I argue that place is foundational to identity, knowledge, and creativity, and
will emphasize the role of place in our work. ‘Āina is that which feeds. As we
cultivate writing habits, research techniques, and critical thinking skills, we
will reflect on how place has fed us, physically, intellectually, and
culturally. We will identify and refine our literacy practices as well as
challenge our assumptions about place and knowledge.

We will begin the
semester with a brief but valuable narrative of your different relationships to
place. Indeed, the knowledge each of us brings to the classroom has been shaped
in many ways by the places where we have lived, worked, created, suffered loss,
changed our minds, took risks, and evolved. Our first assignment asks you to
explore these connections in critical and creative ways. Subsequently, an
interview project will open your story to incorporate another layer of
experience and knowledge.

You will also produce an image analysis of an advertising image used to
represent Hawai‘i today. This image analysis will be the basis of a larger
class letter-writing project to a local magazine. We will actively participate
in conversations beyond the UHM campus.

Lastly, the Re-presenting Waikīkī
research project will build on your narrative and analytical skills while
introducing you to the demands of research, collaborative work, and an oral
presentation. You will be critical consumers of visual culture as well as
active producers.

Since this course will be an active
learning environment, passionate discussions will occur. Our classroom is a
safe and supportive space, and we must all be respectful of each other.
Remember, in this course, we are not only developing as writers but also as
critical thinkers.  So although we may disagree, it is important that we
listen to each other and exchange ideas in considerate ways.

Required Texts and Materials

  • Diana Hacker’s A Pocket Style Manual
  • Regular
    access to the Internet (all other texts will be available online)
  • Class
    notebook