Writing, Speaking and Argument Program

Tag: Digital Communication

  • WRTG 290C

    WRTG 290C

    Laura Whitebell

    T/Th 3:25-4:40

    4 credits

    Prerequisite: Successful Completion of the Primary Writing Requirement

    Why take this course?

    • Explore the history of misinformation and the different forms it can take across media
    • Understand how misinformation spreads

    Key skills you’ll gain

    • Learn how to communicate effectively by strengthening your writing, speaking, listening and close reading skills
    • Develop critical thinking skills to evaluate information and understand how writing and speaking shape public opinion
    • Apply your learning to real-world issues through hands-on projects, e.g. creating public service communications, mapping information networks and researching misinformation campaigns.

    Full course description

    Today, the term “misinformation” is part of everyday conversation. Yet it has a long history across the political spectrum and takes many forms, including rumors, fake news and conspiracy theories. What roles do writing, speaking, and argument play in the creation and dissemination of these narratives? 

    This class explores issues of consensus, knowledge and public argument. Assignments include public service communications, an information mapping project and a class-wide study of a misinformation campaign. Students engage in discussion, reflection and peer feedback as they develop and revise writing and speaking assignments, culminating in a research project on a topic of their own choice.

  • WRTG 290B/ENGL 288A/DMST 262W

    WRTG 290B/ENGL 288A/DMST 262W

    Whitney Gegg-Harrison

    T/TH 12:30-1:45

    4 credits

    Why take this course?

    • Whether you love or hate AI, you care about how it is affecting you as a writer, and the world in which you write
    • You want to better understand large language models and their possibilities and pitfalls for writers 

    Key skills you’ll gain

    • You’ll learn how to identify and debunk different types of hype and misinformation in media about AI
    • You’ll learn from published authors and guest speakers about how AI is (or isn’t) used in their writing context (e.g. fiction, journalism, memoir, academic writing)
    • You’ll learn how to compare the features of human writing with the features of AI-generated writing (and better understand why there’s so much conflict around “AI detection”!)
    • You’ll practice communicating across differences: AI is an often-contentious topic, and we won’t all be coming from the same place

    Full course description


    What does it mean to be a writer in a world where AI systems like ChatGPT or Claude can produce text that is at least sometimes indistinguishable from text written by a human? In this course, we will explore a variety of AI tools with the goal of understanding how these tools might fit into the writing process and where the possible pitfalls lie. We’ll learn how to interpret articles about AI in the media with a critical eye and discuss what would be necessary for media to do a better job of writing about AI. But we’ll also experiment with AI tools to explore what it means to write with AI. Throughout the semester, we’ll dive deeper into what it is that we humans do when we write, from brainstorming all the way through final drafts, and we’ll probe what happens when we add AI to the mix at each of those stages in a series of reflective assignments. These will build towards a final project in which students offer a research-based proposal for a specific way in which AI could be effectively and ethically used by writers.

  • WRTG 261/ENGL 288/DMST 250

    WRTG 261/ENGL 288/DMST 250

    Liz Tinelli

    M/W 10:25-11:40

    4 credits

    Prerequisite: Successful Completion of the Primary Writing Requirement

    Why take this course?

    • You’re interested in how data, design, and digital media shape the way we communicate
    • You want to explore topics connected to your own interests, major, or future career through digital projects

    Key skills you’ll gain

    • The ability to make intentional choices about writing, visuals, design, and medium
    • The ability to use and attribute sources responsibly across academic, professional, and digital contexts
    • Experience collecting, analyzing, and visualizing data
    • Experience creating digital and multimodal projects for different audiences and purposes

    Full course description


    The purpose of writing in a digital world is to engage with a broader community around a topic of interest and contribute to public knowledge. In this course, students are invited to dig deeply into a question of interest, write for a public audience, and use the Internet as an archive of information waiting to be discovered, analyzed, and written about. Students can draw on pre-existing research interests from their majors or develop a line of inquiry stemming from class discussions, writing, and research. In order to gain experience writing to a range of readers, students will engage in a writing process informed by peer review, self-assessment, and revision. Shorter writing assignments will help students develop and refine ideas as they transform texts for different audiences. The final research project will be multimodal, published for a public audience, and should demonstrate your ability to think critically about a topic and effectively communicate that knowledge to a range of readers.