This course introduces students to the power of writing as a means of communication and a process of thinking and understanding. As students complete a series of writing assignments, they will engage in a process of reading, drafting, reviewing and revising, working in peer groups and individually with their instructors.
By 2050, the United Nations estimates the world population will exceed 9.6 billion people, a number that is challenging for its environmental, economic, and political impacts. This dilemma, while seemingly unique to our own moment, has haunted us since the rise of cities in the late eighteenth century and Thomas Malthus’ famous text, An Essay on the Principle of Population in which he incorrectly predicted a global food shortage by the mid-1800s, but sparked an ongoing debate over progress, poverty, and population that persists to this day. Fears over population growth have infiltrated cultural narratives as well – morphing into stories of class conflict, pandemics, environmental destruction, and procreative control. This University Writing Seminar will examine dystopian films which engage in population paranoia. Students will read Malthus’ Essay and watch films and shows as Metropolis, Soylent Green, WALL-E, Children of Men, 3%, and 28 Days Later to consider how anxieties about population growth balloon to grotesque proportions in horror and dystopian cinema. Students will write three essays: The first will be a close reading essay which focuses on evidence and analysis of a course film. The second will be a lens text utilizing Malthus’ Essay. The final essay is a research essay that participates in the critical conversation around a film and topic related to the course of their choosing.
Paige Eggebrecht