ENGL 120A Advanced Composition

Internment and Relocation. In this course, we will focus on internment and forced relocation as historical and cultural phenomena as a means to develop sophisticated critical reading, thinking, and writing skills.  We will look at multiple representations of a critical moment in U.S. history: World War II. By interrogating the social, ethical, religious, education, political, economic, and legal implications of imprisoning U.S. citizens— children, women, and men, we will analyze the rhetorical strategies that are employed to mark certain bodies as insiders or outsiders in a broader context of US containment and relocation of different peoples of color throughout our history as a nation. By the end of the semester, students will have produced 16 polished pages of argument and analysis regarding issues of how national identity and international relations are portrayed and contested: one paper will focus on an analytical article and one paper will focus on a fictional text. Emphasis will be on the writing process and will include drafts and revisions and a variety of analytical essay formats in a workshop setting.

Assignments

Paper Proposal

Annotated Bibliography

Term Paper

Summary v. Interpretation