Spring 2026 Writing (TWP) Courses: 200 & 300 Level


Dr. Hannah Davis	Writing 202S: Words in the World: Theories of Writing and Rhetoric* MW 1:25PM - 2:40PM - Social Sciences 109 How does writing happen? Is writing an individual action or is there a social component to writing? Does culture matter? Does AI change the answer to any of these questions? In Theoretical Frameworks of Writing Studies, we will explore the many questions at the heart of Writing Studies to understand the ways writing is theorized, the debates among these theories, and how these theories affect your view of yourself as a writer/student. In the age of AI, Theoretical Frameworks of Writing Studies allows you to think about how machines have and will continue to shape our theories of writing, to consider how writing and theories about writing have changed over time, and to explore the human side of writing. *This course was formerly titled Theoretical Frameworks of Writing Studies.
Dr. Eliana Schonberg	Writing 255S: Literacy, Writing, Tutoring Tu 10:05AM - 12:35PM - Bell Tower East 110 Are you interested in becoming an Undergraduate Writing Consultant and improving your critical thinking and writing skills? In this class you will study the scholarship of literacy and college level teaching/consulting practices to hone your critical thinking, academic writing, and peer consulting skills. We will read and discuss selections from writing center theory, rhetoric and composition theory, and literacy studies, and you will write regularly, both in response to readings and for a substantial final research project. You will also engage in writing consultations, first with your classmates and then with 120 students. Students who successfully complete the class will be eligible to become a paid Undergraduate Writing Consultant either working in the Writing Studio or paired with a W-coded class. The class is taught by the Director of Duke’s Writing Studio and meets once a week. All readings will be made available through Canvas.
Dr. Yan Li	Writing 265S: Writing For Global Audiences MW 3:05PM - 4:20PM - West Duke 108A How do cultural differences shape writing practices and communication strategies? How do writers construct, adapt, and negotiate voice and identity for global audiences? This course offers a contextualized overview of rhetorical traditions across temporal and spatial boundaries, fostering a much-needed dialogue in global communication. Through readings in historical, comparative, cultural, postcolonial, and decolonial studies, students will gain foundational knowledge and insight into pivotal debates and practices concerning language, culture, power, and political subjectivity. For the past couple of decades, rhetorical scholarship has moved beyond Greco-Roman rhetoric as both its foundation and focal point, expanding to explore and embrace a wider range of rhetorical traditions and practices. This readiness to engage with the other has not only opened up a much-needed space for other rhetorical traditions to emerge, to speak to the richness and diversity of global rhetorical traditions but also called into question the viability of a single, static rhetorical tradition. This course thus aims to engage both the canonical and other non-Euro-American rhetorical traditions, which have often been silenced or marginalized or altogether forgotten. Together, we will work to construct a “developing global rhetorical framework”—one that demonstrates how different cultures foster different ways of knowing and speaking and how they enact different forms of inquiry and knowledge-making. This approach contributes to what can be described as a comparative/cultural turn in the field of rhetorical studies. Throughout the semester, we will explore what it means to study rhetorical traditions in the global contact zones of the 21st-century. Our inquiries will include: Whose narratives are represented and for what purposes? What elements are considered central, and what is omitted or marginalized? How can the art of recontextualization serve as a productive heuristic right now when boundaries of all kinds are being blurred, conflated, or recreated? To address these questions, course readings are paired to foster dialogue across rhetorical traditions, encouraging students to engage with different origins and perspectives in knowledge-making.
Savannah Marciezyk	Writing 275S: Cyber Connections: Communication in the Digital Age: How Do You Meme? WF 3:05PM - 4:20PM - Classroom Building 135 How did images with captions become a key form of communication? Why do some memes catch on but others fizzle out? How do memes travel from sub-cultures to a mainstream audience? Drawing on texts from both literary studies and philosophy, this course will ask what a meme is, and how it manages to communicate through structural, metaphorical, and referential modes. We will look at the ways memes have been weaponized or coopted to fuel political movements (like Pepe the Frog and “Kamala is brat”), how different platforms generate their own meme formats; and consider the ways internet cultures are formed by and around meme content. We’ll also consider how meme formats have changed over time, and how they’ve made the jump from internet to IRL. Assignments for this class will help students to develop their analytical writing skills, and ask them to make cross-modal, cross-platform connections. Assignments include short papers, in-class presentations, and a final case-study project.
Dr. Sharieka Botex	Writing 285: Literacies for Our Lives MW 11:45AM - 1:00PM - West Duke 108A In today’s times, when people need inspiration to recognize how they can use their writing, speaking, and other literacy practices to pursue their professional and academic goals, do community-engaged work and make positive change in society, African American Rhetoric and Composition scholarship can serve as a powerful and insightful tool. In this course, you will engage in reading, research, writing, and dialogue focused on African American Rhetoric and Composition scholarship that provides insights on how the Black community has used their literacy practices to make positive individual, institutional, and societal change. Along with this, you will consider how lessons learned from African American Rhetoric and Composition can be used for progress and prosperity and to write realities you want to experience into existence. You will refer to texts (e.g., journal articles, books, podcasts, videos, music, etc.) about how the Black community has progressed and prospered, despite enduring racism, oppression, educational and institutional inequalities, and injustices in society and despite being overlooked and underrepresented in institutional and traditional settings and scholarship (e.g., Jacqueline Jones Royster and Jean C. Williams, Ronald Jackson II, Shirley Wilson Logan, Carmen Kynard, Eric Darnell Pritchard, Shirley Wilson Logan, Tamika Carey, Adam Banks, and April Baker-Bell, etc.) We will engage in weekly cyphers, which David Green explains when he writes, “Cyphers provide a means of complicating the daily narratives circulated about language, race, and difference among select groups of people willing to engage in ongoing and evolving discussions about writing and language” (63). This class invites students to broaden their understanding of literacy by considering how it is defined and discussed in African American Rhetoric and Composition scholarship. You will apply the definitions of literacy from African American rhetoric and composition scholarship to your projects and consider your deepened understanding of literacy when providing feedback on your peers’ work.
Dr. Cary Moskovitz	Writing 312: Science Information Literacy TuTh 1:25PM - 2:40PM - Perkins LINK 079 (Seminar 3) As reported in a recent NPR news story, 28% of all biomedical publications in 2020 were bogus—over 300,000 papers. The situation is similarly dire for the environmental sciences: according to an editorial in the journal Nature Communications, fake news and manipulated scientific knowledge have “plagued climate and environmental science for decades.” And according to the United Nations, “60 percent of sustainability claims by European fashion giants are ‘unsubstantiated’ and ‘misleading.’ The scientific enterprise has been one of the undoubted achievements of human history; but in recent decades, we’ve also seen an explosion of poor-quality scientific reports and misleading information about science. We’ve seen the rise and rapid growth of predatory journals—bogus scientific journals that will publish just about anything if authors pay their publication fees. Preprints, unreviewed drafts of scientific papers, are increasingly being treated by journalists and policy makers as legitimate scientific publications. And AI is now making fake science even easier to generate on a massive scale. This course aims to help students understand the threats to quality scientific communication in our time and provide them with practical skills in locating and evaluating varied sources of scientific information. Students will also gain skills in scientific communications. Topics will include examining scientific journal articles for biases and expertise, how peer-review is supposed to work and how it often fails, using research databases to weed out bogus science, evaluating the use of generative AI tools for scientific content, and more. For their major projects, students can choose to focus on a topic in health sciences/medicine or environmental sciences.
Dr. Jessica Corey	Writing 316S: Persuasive Writing for Change TuTh 11:45AM - 1:00PM - West Duke 108A This course examines the role of writing in shaping public conversations and creating social change, writing as input and output of civic engagement. In other words, the course traces rhetorical communication as rhetorical action, the intersection between personal ideologies and community practices and policies, and the fluidity between cognitive and emotional ways of knowing. To do so, we will consider ethics in argumentation, persuasive strategies, marketing and propaganda, and rhetorics of new media as they relate to local and global movements. We will explore the following questions: What theories underlie activist communication? What are the ethical responsibilities and challenges for writers with the purpose of driving social change? How can/do we navigate complex and intersecting subject positions in such a way that fosters personal growth (our own and others’) and self-advocacy and that also allows for new rhetorical conventions within dialogues about social issues?
Dr. Rhiannon Scharnhorst	Writing 350: Feminist Rhetorics TuTh 3:05PM - 4:20PM - West Duke 108A Ever wonder how women throughout history found ways to speak truth to power when they weren't supposed to have voices at all? This course explores the brilliant, subversive, and creative strategies feminist rhetors have used to claim space in public discourse—from ancient philosophers whose words survive only through male scribes, to contemporary activists reshaping digital conversations. You'll become a rhetorical detective, diving into archives to recover the stories of marginalized women writers and speakers whose contributions have been overlooked or erased. We'll examine how feminist rhetors have written "in-between" spaces—in cookbooks, letters, manifestos, tweets, and fragments—turning constraints into opportunities for resistance. Along the way, you'll experiment with alternative writing forms that embody feminist principles: maybe a digital archive, a creative-critical piece, or a multimedia project that challenges traditional academic genres. This isn't just about studying feminist rhetoric—it's about practicing it. Perfect for students interested in gender studies, literature, history, media studies, or anyone curious about how marginalized voices shape the conversations that matter.
Dr. Ingrid Byerly	Writing 384: Public Speaking and Global Civil Discourse Tu 10:20AM - 12:50PM - Bivins 114 Public Speaking terrifies even the most successful individuals, and yet most dream of being able to create compelling, organized, impassioned speeches, and confidently deliver powerful presentations. This course will help you discover the power of your voice. We will uncover proficiencies to overcome common obstacles like stage-fright, podium-paranoia, performance nerves, and even imposter syndrome. We will explore elements of effective communication skills, the importance of civil discourse and the enduring value of positive interpersonal interactions. Whether focused on everyday communication, academic presentations, philanthropic visions, corporate presentations or unique occasions, effective presentation skills serve as a powerful tool by which to speak your mind, make your case, pitch your ideas or advocate for your cause. We will foster a mindful understanding of varied codes of conduct and intercultural communication skills, which will both enrich your interactions and benefit your strategic path going forward. We will analyze historically influential speeches that have had a political and social impact on societies, to uncover the secrets of influential speechwriting and memorable speakers. We will explore the human dimensions of the expressive communication process: vocal intonation, body behavior, focus, control, self-awareness, and audience evaluation. Mastering these attributes will optimize the unique ‘music of your voice’ in delivering your message. You will discover the potential of your words, and as one student eloquently put it, ‘the most important thing you will learn will be about yourself.’ NOTE: This course is participation-based. Attendance is mandatory, and in registering, students agree to the expectation that no electronic devices are used in the classroom.