ENGL 381 B: Advanced Expository Writing

Whenever we take out a student loan, buy something online, or catch an MIP, we interact with the law and its agents. We mediate and are mediated by such interactions through a variety of written and spoken genres -- police reports, contracts, depositions, and a whole host of other recognizable and not-so-recognizable textual artifacts. This class seeks to build upon this observation by using the genres of legal discourse to investigate advanced principles of rhetoric, writing, and argumentation. Without considering the law as the law, this course will prepare you to write, argue, and think about the role that we all play as subjects of what philosopher Ronald Dworkin called the "law's empire." Whether you intend to major in law, STEM, or underwater-basket weaving, this class has something for you -- as a thinker, as a citizen, and as a human being.