“Aromatic Memories”, “The Element That Made and Maimed Me” and
“The Significance of a Change of Clothes”
Paulina Mustafa wrote “Aromatic Memories,” Sahar Hakim-Hashemi wrote “The Element That Made and Maimed Me” and Chris Welch wrote “The Significance of a Change of Clothes” in “Writing and Experience: Crossing Borders” (21W.731.01, Spring 2010). In that class, they were invited to write essays on subjects of their choosing, with an emphasis on crossing national, cultural, linguistic, or class borders.
“Love, Peace and Hair Grease”
Merricka Livingstone wrote “Love, Peace and Hair Grease” in "Writing and Experience: Writing in an Age of Spin" (21W.731.03, Fall 2009) for an assignment that asked students to write a familiar essay that introduced the world in which they grew up, practicing the techniques of narrative to convey significant personal experiences authentically, developing characters and scenes in which these appear and interact.
“Derailment” and “Undercurrent”
Gabriel Blanchet wrote “Derailment” and Kellie Young wrote “Undercurrent” in “Writing and Experience: Exploring Self in Society” (21W.731.01 and .02, Fall 2009) for an assignment that asked students to narrate and reflect on an experience that was central to the formation of their sense of personal identity.
Complete Essay Assignment
“Arco Iris” and “Fast Food, Living Fast”
Katie Inman wrote “Arco Iris” and Anita Nelson wrote “Fast Food, Living Fast” in “Writing and Experience: Exploring Self in Society” (21W.731.01 and .02, Fall 2009) in response to an assignment prompt that asked them to explore a topic of public interest through the lens of experience.
“Truth Lying in the Tundra”
Stephanie Thompson wrote “Truth Lying in the Tundra” for an assignment in “Writing and Experience: Exploring Self in Society” (21W.731.02, Fall 2009) that also asked students to explore a topic of public interest, drawing upon experiential material. This assignment also required that student writers conduct an interview and incorporate the interview material into their essays. Interviews could be used to provide additional narrative material or offer expert commentary, whether to support the writer’s perspective or to provide counterargument.
“The Workbench”
“It’s Massachusetts: I Was Bound to Have a Liberal Yuppie Moment at Some Point, Right?”
Carlos Greaves wrote this piece in “Writing and Contemporary Issues: Food for Thought” (21W.730, Fall 2009). The assignment asked students to analyze and reflect upon the ideas expressed by Michael Pollan in his book In Defense of Food; one option was to craft a letter to a friend or family member “explaining what you found interesting, unexpected and/or important” in Pollan’s book.
“Greasy Goodness”, “Being Latino”, and “Crash”
Shuang Chen wrote “Greasy Goodness,” Miguel Flores wrote “Being Latino” and Drew Dennison wrote “Crash” in "Writing and Experience: Writing in an Age of Spin" (21W.731, Fall 2009) for an assignment that asked students to select an intriguing question arising out of their own experience and to pursue that question, using their own train of thought as the core "plot" of the essay. The challenge was to keep the essay grounded in the particulars of personal experience while making use of knowledge gained through outside sources. The goal was to reach and articulate some fresh insight--though not necessarily a definitive answer to the initial question(s) raised.
“The Reality Behind Reality TV”
Hohn Yazbek wrote this essay in "Writing on Contemporary Issues: Culture Shock: Writing, Editing and Publishing in Cyberspace" (21W.730, Fall 2009). Students were asked to write on subjects of their choice, focusing on American popular culture, broadly defined.
“Scientific Discovery: Engaging and Teaching Science to Elementary Students”
Graham Van Schaik wrote this essay in "Writing on Contemporary Issues: Social and Ethical Issues" (21W.730, Spring 2010). The assignment asked students to reflect upon their own ethical commitments, creating an argument about ethical values from the narrative material of their own experience.
“Individual Rights vs. Public Health: The Vaccination Debate”; Ho Yin Au wrote “Should Physician-Assisted Suicide Be Legal?”
Mahesh Vidula wrote “Individual Rights vs. Public Health: The Vaccination Debate” and Ho Yin Au wrote “Should Physician-Assisted Suicide Be Legal?” in "Writing on Contemporary Issues: Social and Ethical Issues" (21W.730). This comparative analysis assignment asked students to choose a contemporary issue that evoked a sense of conflict or debate, and to research and then present different perspectives on the topic. The students' role as writers was to educate the public and to translate complex ideas for a broad readership, rather than advocate for a particular position. They were encouraged to move their audience beyond a "sound-byte" understanding of social problems so that readers could make more fully informed decisions about issues.
“The Cult of Soy”
Anna Falvello Tomas wrote “The Cult of Soy” in “Writing and Contemporary Issues: Food for Thought” (21W.730, Fall 2009). The assignment asked students to develop an inquiry, asking a research question about a food issue, researching that question and formulating an argument.
“Seeing the Whole: A Review of In Defense of Food”
Nidhi Kulkarni wrote this review in response to an assignment, which asked students to analyze and reflect upon the ideas expressed by Michael Pollan in his book In Defense of Food.
“Critical Review: Nova Science Now: Sleep”
Sean Faulk wrote this review in “Science Writing and New Media: Perspectives on Medicine and Public Health” (21W.732.01, Spring 2010) for an assignment that asked students to “evaluate a document (either print or video) that draws upon recent scholarship” in the field of sleep science to educate a broad public audience.