ENGL 281: Intermediate Expository Writing - "Writing The University: Exploring the Past, Present, and Future of College"
Summer 2026, A Term | Asynchronous
Office Hours: Tuesday noon-2pm, and by appointment (Zoom link)
Instructor
Jonathan Isaac
Assistant Teaching Professor, Department of English
Email: jisaac3@uw.edu
Office: Padelford A-011
Course Description
The catalog description for ENGL 281 reads, “Writing papers communicating information and opinion to develop accurate, competent, and effective expression.” Not very informative, is it? So how about this: Informally, the goal of this course is to build on the experience you have developed so far in other courses, and to expand your abilities to read and respond in writing to particular contexts, whether those contexts are disciplinary, professional, topical, personal, or something else. I want this course to be relevant and familiar to you, and so I thought: well, we’re all members of the university community. But what does that mean, to be a part of the university community? And what are the questions we can ask to better understand it?
Why the university?
The idea of ‘the university’ is nearly 1,000 years old–the first university as we would recognize it was established in Italy almost a thousand years ago. Suffice it to say, many things have changed since then, though many, surprisingly, have not. Think about the terms we still use: alma mater (‘nourishing mother’ in Latin), alumnus, cum laude (‘with praise’), and so on.
At the moment, the way we talk about higher education in the United States is characterized by headlines like these, professing that it’s headed in the wrong direction or that it has drifted from its original intentions. These headlines are worth taking seriously. At the same time, there is something that brought each of us here to this place, the University of Washington. We are all investing something (time, energy, money, sweat) and sacrificing some other things (time, energy, money, connections with loved ones).
In this class, we’re going to examine how we talk about the university (not The University of Washington, but “the university” as an idea that circulates in the public imagination). We will be reading arguments for and against the humanities, college, Artificial Intelligence, and so on. The goal is not necessarily to convince you of one perspective over any other, but rather to explore through writing what we mean when we talk about higher education and how universities are rhetorically constructed (that is, how they are produced through language and writing–more on that later).
Last, this course emphasizes writing as a process, and there are many opportunities built into the course to start your assignments early and revise them. Take advantage of these opportunities, and of the feedback you will receive from your peers and instructor along the way!
A note: readings and assignments for this class will focus on university discourse in the US. This choice was made for a few reasons: we all have in common that we attend an American university, higher education in the US is internationally-regarded and subject to intense scrutiny (especially now), and it is where my area of specialization is. When appropriate or possible, you are welcome and encouraged to bring in perspectives that center on higher education conversations outside of the US.
Course Objectives
- Practice critical reading skills that include the ability to critically analyze information within its specific social, historical, academic, and cultural contexts.
- Engage in collaborative, intellectual, generative discussions with other writers and scholars about topics related to higher education and current events.
- Form complex, analytical claims supported with textual evidence in writing about higher education and current events.
Course Readings
There is no textbook you need to purchase for this course—any readings I assign will be posted to the Canvas website. To that end, you will need regular (daily) access to the Canvas website and to your UW email.
Grade Breakdown
Week 1 Assignments (25%)
- The Assignments in Week 1 will focus on getting you up to speed in the "Humanities Debate" happening in the public sphere over the last five years. You can expect to produce a combination of:
- Metacognitive reflections
- Reading annotations
- Brainstorming notes
- Short responses to readings
Major Assignment 1: Oh, The Humanities! - Op Ed (25%)
- In this assignment you will construct an Op Ed for The Daily at UWthat enters into the “Humanities” debate. There are many differing perspectives on the value of the Humanities (and college in general), and you will be staking out a claim and defending it in a public-facing format.
Week 3 Assignments (25%)
- The Assignments in Week 3 will focus on the discourse surrounding Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the college experience. Like with Week 1, you can expect to produce a combination of:
- Metacognitive reflections
- Reading annotations
- Brainstorming notes
- Short responses to readings
Major Assignment 2: Tracing the AI Debate (25%)
In this project, which will take the final form of a Google Site, you will produce a critical curatorial project that examines the rhetorical ecology surrounding one particular element of the AI Debate. Rather than writing a traditional essay, you will design a curated digital resource that maps how a particular topic related to AI circulates across media, audiences, and institutions over time. A rhetorical ecology explores how a particular idea travels across different platforms (e.g. news, social media, TV ads) to gain meaning and value for the broader public. At least one of the sources will need to address AI use in higher education.
Grade Breakdown
Each assignment will have a point value in Canvas attached to it. Major Assignments will be assessed using rubrics that can be viewed on the assignment page. Below is how I will determine final grades in the course:
≥ 95% = 4.0 88 = 3.3 81 = 2.6 74 = 1.9 67 = 1.2
94 = 3.9 87 = 3.2 80 = 2.5 73 = 1.8 66 = 1.1
93 = 3.8 86 = 3.1 79 = 2.4 72 = 1.7 65 = 1.0
92 = 3.7 85 = 3.0 78 = 2.3 71 = 1.6 64 = .9
91 = 3.6 84 = 2.9 77 = 2.2 70 = 1.5 63 = .8
90 = 3.5 83 = 2.8 76 = 2.1 69 = 1.4 62 = .7
89 = 3.4 82 = 2.7 75 = 2.0 68 = 1.3
Late Work Policy
Assignments are considered to be submitted when they are fully uploaded to Canvas. On Canvas, the due date time is 11:59 pm, unless otherwise noted. Do not wait until the last minute to submit an assignment, because uploads may take some time and you might miss the submission deadline.
Because it is disruptive to my own work flow and because the summer quarter is so short, I will not be able to provide feedback on late assignments. Late assignments will receive a 5% deduction for each day late. If you are not able to turn in an assignment, please make every effort to get in touch with me in advance of its due date so we can discuss a contingency plan.
Everything must be submitted through Canvas--I will not accept assignments emailed to me.
Academic Integrity
The University of Washington Student Conduct Code (WAC 478-121) defines prohibited academic and behavioral conduct and describes how the University holds students accountable as they pursue their academic goals. Allegations of misconduct by students may be referred to the appropriate campus office for investigation and resolution. More information can be found online at https://www.washington.edu/studentconduct/
AI Policy
Quotes that presently inform my thoughts about AI usage:
- “Words are the most subtle symbols which we possess, and our human fabric depends on them. The living and radical nature of language is something which we forget at our peril.” - Iris Murdoch
- "There are people who benefit greatly from convincing you...that you can't make decisions on your own, and I think maybe we owe it to ourselves to at the very least say, "Wait, you know what? I can do this on my own." - Hanif Abdurraqib
- "Attention is just another name for the contact the mind makes with the world. If it is sufficiently attenuated [reduced], our capacity and inclination to care, desire, love, and act also suffer." - L.M. Sacasas
- "Times are hard." - Steely Dan
The goal of this writing class is to support your learning and development as a writer and composer. Because this involves engaging with the writing process and developing your knowledge about writing, both of which involve hard work, lots of emotions, and important opportunities for learning about your own learning, this course strongly discourages the use of GenAI/LLM tools. I am most interested in reading your thoughts—clunky, imperfect, or half-baked as that may be—not in the smooth, polished, and lifeless tone of an LLM. Writing is hard work, but that is how we learn to communicate; we sacrifice this capacity at our own peril!
I do not, however, want to promote a culture of shame or fear; rather, I want you to feel empowered in your writing process. As such, here are my rules surrounding AI usage:
- It is never OK to prompt a GenAI/LLM tool to generate chunks of text and pass them off as your own—whether as a reading response, an annotation, or a major assignment. This may constitute plagiarism and can result in being asked to re-do an assignment or not receiving credit for that assignment.
- At the end of your major assignments, you will be asked to reflect on your composing processes and AI use. Any GenAI/LLM use during your brainstorming/idea generation process (for example, prompting an LLM to help you identify weak points in your Opinion essay or counterarguments to your main idea) should be appropriately recognized and communicated in this reflection.
- At any stage of your writing, keep your drafts, notes, papers, and research materials. If a question of plagiarism arises, you'll have a paper trail ( paper trails protect you in a variety of academic, public, and work-related contexts)
- If you have questions, ask me! I am not so scary (at least, I don't think!) and have a deep well of compassion for this confusing/anxious moment in higher education.
Access and Accommodations
Your experience in this class is important to me. If you have already established accommodations with Disability Resources for Students (DRS), please communicate your approved accommodations to me at your earliest convenience so we can discuss your needs in this course. If you have not yet established services through DRS, but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but not limited to; mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), you are welcome to contact DRS at 206-543-8924 or uwdrs@uw.edu or disability.uw.edu. DRS offers resources and coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities and/or temporary health conditions. Reasonable accommodations are established through an interactive process between you, your instructor(s) and DRS. It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law.
Religious Accommodations
“Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy. Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form.
Communication
I will respond to your emails within 12-36 hours. Please use the kind of formatting, language, and respectful forms of address with me and your class that you would use in any professional context. In this online class environment, I encourage all students to do what they can to help instructors get to know them personally: be descriptive in your self-introduction forum, include a signature line in your emails, upload a profile picture in Canvas, come to office hours to introduce yourself, etc. This will make the quarter more enjoyable for everyone!