January 14, 2025: Spring Semester Previews: First-Year Writing II

[AnotherSpring semester is upon us, and with it my annual Spring semester previews. Thistime I’ll focus on one skill I’m excited to be teaching as part of each ofthese courses. Please share what you’ve got going on this semester and year aswell!]

I’m notgonna lie, probably the hardest part of my Spring semester is going to be theweek we watch Fruitvale Station in my First-Year Writing IIclasses (as part of a unit where they write a comparative analysis of a couplefilms/TV shows/multimedia texts). I wish I felt we were in a better place as acountry than we were 15+ years ago when that film’s events took place, or adecade+ ago when the film itself was released. I wish it didn’t seem so clearto me that so many of my fellow Americans would watch that film and argue that Oscar Grantgot what was coming to him, or worse. But a central aspect of what we do in theclassroom is to try to engage with our toughest conversations, to developindividual voices and ideas, but also and perhaps especially as communities. Sothis hardest part of my semester might well be the most important part of thesemester as well.

Nextpreview post tomorrow,

Ben

PS. What’son your radar?