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WRTG 105 is taught by faculty across all departments and schools. Browse our various offerings for the Spring 2026 semester below:

WRTG 105-01: The 1619 Project

Instructor: Maria Lima (Department of English & Creative Writing)

Meeting Times: TR 2:30-4:10

Description: This course is a writing seminar designed to give you many opportunities to practice your critical thinking, argumentative and writing skills.  We will read each other's writing, collaborate on presentations, and revise our work to almost perfection.  With this class, I hope, we'll see writing as both work and play, understanding that if language creates reality, whose language prevails makes all the difference in the world.  Yes, we are talking about power--about writing to change the world – or at least the United States.

Our class takes on The New York Times challenge to reframe American history, to consider the possibility that the origin of this country can be traced to 1619, the year that marks the arrival of the first enslaved Africans (from the land that would become Angola) to the land that would become the United States, in all its defining contradictions.  Out of slavery, according to Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, grew nearly everything that has truly made America exceptional. To name only a few: its economic might; its industrial power; its electoral system, diet, and popular music; the inequities of its public health and education; its income inequality; systemic racism; its legal system and the endemic racial fears and biases that continue to plague the nation to this day.  The American Documents set for the world a blueprint for freedom and equality despite the nation’s history of widespread injustice. The seeds for all that were planted long before the country’s official birth date, in 1776, when the men known as our founders formally declared independence from Britain. We’ll spend the semester reading and writing about The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story, focusing on the power of literature to represent alternative (non-hegemonic) versions of history. Once we understand how “we got to be this way,” we’ll work together to change the national imaginary and dismantle white supremacy (or at least try to).
 

WRTG 105-02: Indigenous Wisdom

Instructor: Lisa D'Angelo (Department of English & Creative Writing)

Meeting Times: TR 12:30-2:10

Description: : Using Braiding Sweetgrass as the central text, and recognizing writing as conversation which involves the writer, reader, and additional outside voices, students will examine, respond to, and reflect upon the messaging of Robin Wall Kimmerer. With her use of anecdotes from her life as an Indigenous person, scientist, educator, mother, and child, along with rhetorical techniques she uses to effectively engage her audience and convey her experiences, students will recognize Kimmerer’s writing as a model, both in content and form, that will then guide and encourage them within the context of their own writing.

WRTG 105-03: Grimm Realities

Instructor: Joanna Santos-Smith (Assistant Dean for Strategic Initiatives)

Meeting Times: TR 4:30-6:10

Description: Students will explore the enduring legacy of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales and their transformation across time, genre, and medium. From their folkloric origins to their modern reinterpretations in literature, film, television, and digital media, Grimm stories offer a rich lens through which to examine cultural values, narrative structures, and rhetorical strategies. Students will engage in a variety of writing assignments that emphasize analysis, argumentation, and revision, culminating in a research-based project that connects Grimm tales to broader cultural conversations.

WRTG 105-04: Indigenous Wisdom

Instructor: Lisa D'Angelo (Department of English & Creative Writing)

Meeting Times: TR 10:30-12:10

Description: : Using Braiding Sweetgrass as the central text, and recognizing writing as conversation which involves the writer, reader, and additional outside voices, students will examine, respond to, and reflect upon the messaging of Robin Wall Kimmerer. With her use of anecdotes from her life as an Indigenous person, scientist, educator, mother, and child, along with rhetorical techniques she uses to effectively engage her audience and convey her experiences, students will recognize Kimmerer’s writing as a model, both in content and form, that will then guide and encourage them within the context of their own writing.

WRTG 105-05: Write about Cinema

Instructor: Johannes Bockwoldt

Meeting Times: MW 12:30-2:10

Description:

WRTG 105-06: Intro to Philosophy

Instructor: David Levy (Department of Philosophy)

Meeting Times: MW 12:30-2:10

Description: An introduction to the discipline and practice of Philosophy-its main areas, problems, and methodology. You will build skills in reading philosophical texts, identifying and responding to arguments, and writing and revising argumentative and reflective essays as you develop an understanding of fundamental and enduring problems concerning knowledge, existence, and value.

WRTG 105-07: The Just Society: Introduction to Political Theory

Title: Aaron Herold (Department of Political Science & International Relations)

Meeting Times: MW 12:30-2:10

Description: What is a just society? In this course, we will consider this question through an introduction to ancient, modern, and American political thought. We will analyze the competing visions of justice and morality that have been articulated by some of the greatest minds of the past. In so doing, we will also reflect on the alternatives embodied in the lives of some exemplary human beings, including Socrates, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Frederick Douglass. Some of the questions we will consider include: What is the best form of government, and is it possible to bring it into existence? Are human beings equal? If so, in what way? Do we possess rights? If so, what is their source, and how far do they extend? What obligations do we have to our community? Are the demands of good citizenship the same as the requirements for being a good person? Are there any fixed moral limits to human action? What is the true meaning, and the true worth, of human freedom? What is the place of reason or philosophy within a political community? What is the appropriate place of religion in politics, and in human life more generally? What is the best way of life for a human being? Students who complete this section of WRTG 105 can receive a waiver for PLSC 130 (Political Theory). Students who have already taken that class should not enroll in this section.

WRTG 105-08: The Witch

Instructor: George Goga (Department of English & Creative Writing)

Meeting Times: MW 4:30-6:10

Description: 

WRTG 105-10: Academic Ableism

Instructor: Gillian Paku (Department of English & Creative Writing)

Meeting Times: TR 2:30-4:10

Description: The phrase “academic ableism” is part of the title of a book about disability and higher education in which Jay Timothy Dolmage contends that the category of the “normal” is maintained through higher education. In this section of the writing seminar, we will think about the writing habits and norms that form in the secondary school system (looking at you, College essays, quotation sandwiches, and hamburger paragraphs); SUNY Geneseo’s origins as a normal school and its commitments to accessibility; neurodivergence and disability; meritocracy and AI; excellent sheep, and calm cattle. We’ll read Mark Haddon’s novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and various non-fiction articles and essays about the intersection of disabilities with higher education. Writing is what we’ll be doing and also what we’ll be thinking about, so there will be plenty of drafting, conferencing, peer-editing, revising, and reflecting. In all those ventures, we’ll be looking to include accessibility at the point of design and to innovate in how we communicate.

WRTG 105-11: Supply Chain

Instructor: Jordan Kleiman (Department of History)

Meeting Times: TR 12:30-2:10

Description: 

WRTG 105-12: Monarchy

Instructor: Timothy Carapella (Department of History)

Meeting Times: MW 4:30-6:10

Description: What comes to mind when you hear the word monarchy? Perhaps it's the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland screaming "off with her head!" or Thomas Jefferson maligning King George III as a tyrant in the Declaration of Independence. Maybe it's Henry VIII executing two of his six wives or Louis XIV strolling through the gilded halls of Versailles—or Marie Antoinette being carted to the guillotine. Do you think monarchy is a “bad thing” that belongs in the dustbin of history, or does it still belong in the world of the twenty-first century? Thomas Paine certainly thought it was outmoded in 1776 when he wrote Common Sense. But why? This writing seminar will start there before we turn, perhaps with more sympathy than Paine, to the lives of three European monarchs: “Bloody” Mary Tudor, Marie Antoinette, and George V. 

WRTG 105-13: Monarchy

Instructor: Timothy Carapella (Department of History)

Meeting Times: MW 2:30-4:10

Description: What comes to mind when you hear the word monarchy? Perhaps it's the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland screaming "off with her head!" or Thomas Jefferson maligning King George III as a tyrant in the Declaration of Independence. Maybe it's Henry VIII executing two of his six wives or Louis XIV strolling through the gilded halls of Versailles—or Marie Antoinette being carted to the guillotine. Do you think monarchy is a “bad thing” that belongs in the dustbin of history, or does it still belong in the world of the twenty-first century? Thomas Paine certainly thought it was outmoded in 1776 when he wrote Common Sense. But why? This writing seminar will start there before we turn, perhaps with more sympathy than Paine, to the lives of three European monarchs: “Bloody” Mary Tudor, Marie Antoinette, and George V. 

WRTG 105-14: Conspiracy Theories & Skepticism

Instructor: David Hahn (Department of Philosophy)

Meeting Times: MW 10:30-12:10

Description:

WRTG 105-15: American Partisan Politics: 1790s and Today

Instructor: Thomas Barden (Department of History)

Meeting Times: TR 6:30-8:10

Description: This course examines how the rise of American partisan politics began in the 1790s with its viciousness and turmoil and how it compares with the partisanship and polarization of today’s current politics.  This introductory writing course teaches students to read and research academic level texts and write and revise argumentative and reflective essays.

WRTG 105-16: Secrets & Secret Codes

Instructor: Doug Baldwin (Department of Mathematics)

Meeting Times: TR 8:30-10:10

Description: The title "Writing Seminar: ...." perhaps suggests you’ll get nothing out of this course if you already write well. Fortunately, I have another interpretation in mind. Although this course is centered on writing, it’s more about what and why people write than it is about how to write. So while we might spend some time on things like how to state a thesis, the real purpose of the course is to change the way you think about writing: to think of, and practice, it as a tool for refining ideas, whether those ideas are ultimately meant for others or just for yourself. And this view isn’t just about writing, it works for language in any form. Thus, I also hope that we’ll have a lot of conversations in this course, as places to explore both other people’s ideas and your own — maybe before writing, maybe afterwards, during, or even without writing at all.

Of course, it’s hard to have ideas without them being about something. We will therefore use secret codes as a context for thinking, writing and discussing. Much of this activity will actually deal with issues surrounding the codes in our readings rather than with the codes themselves, although we’ll also look at some of the history, mathematics, and technology of secret codes.
 

WRTG 105-17: Biodiversity and Our Changing Planet

Instructor: Mackenzie Gerringer (Department of Biology)

Meeting Times: MW 12:30-2:10

Description: In this course, we will build skills in finding scientific information, writing, revising, and communicating across audiences. This section will explore the incredible biodiversity of life on our planet, the power that diverse perspectives bring to the sciences, and the need to meet some of the biggest challenges we face with critical thinking, collaboration, and communication. Course readings will support our discussions of topics including climate change, sex and gender diversity, traditional ecological knowledge, and identity and belonging in the sciences. Learners will develop skills in storytelling, editing, critical information literacy, and communication that will serve across academic majors and beyond. 

WRTG 105-18: Global Sports

Instructor: Amanda Lewis-Nang'ea (Department of History)

Meeting Times: MW 10:30-12:10

Description: Students will explore how sports shape—and are shaped by—cultures around the world. From soccer in Nigeria to baseball in Japan, we will look at how games reflect nationalism, social change, and global connections. Through reading, discussion, and writing, students will examine topics like race and gender in sports, the role of athletes as activists, and how politics impacts the games we watch and play. This writing-focused class will engage students through various forms of reading and writing skills designed to help students develop their voice and strengthen their writing skills. No sports knowledge required—just curiosity and a willingness to think critically about the world through the lens of sport.  

WRTG 105-19: The Witch

Instructor: George Goga (Department of English & Creative Writing)

Meeting Times: T 4:30-7:40

Description:

WRTG 105-22: Access & Opportunity in Business

Instructor: Jesse Redlo (School of Business)

Meeting Times: TR 3:30-4:45 (note: this section is hybrid and will require some additional work online)

Description: This section will explore the topics of access and opportunity, concentrating on how they affect business. Students will engage in intrapersonal, reflective activities to build self-awareness around topics, such as privilege, social justice, and equity forming a foundational understanding of what it means to ethically facilitate access and opportunity in business. Based upon this new self- awareness, students will practice effective interpersonal communication skills by engaging with peers to have respectful and insightful dialogues about differing viewpoints. Simultaneously, students will practice academic research and writing skills by actively reviewing existing best practices in making business more accessible. The class will culminate in an academic paper delivering recommendations on how to increase access and opportunity in business through the lenses of evidence-based practice and individual reflection on growth.

WRTG 105-23: Questioning Playfulness

Instructor: Sharon Peck (School of Education)

Meeting Times: MW 12:30-2:10

Description: 

WRTG 105-24: Geography

Instructor: Sohrob Aslamy (Department of Geography & Sustainability Studies)

Meeting Times: MW 10:30-12:10

Description: