Course Descriptions

Theories of Writing was the first class I took as a writing minor—this happened in fall quarter of 2021. The focus of this class was to see how writing was and is viewed, as well as how writing itself has adapted in its purpose, form, and how it responds to audience needs. At the end of the course we had to create and explore our own theory of writing, which encouraged students to engage with the theories mentioned in class. At the time I took this class I was still figuring out how important using different writing modalities would be for me and these works were a good start to that journey. As a result of the writing I did for this course, I was nominated for the Writing Excellence Award, which encouraged me to keep developing my writing skills in future projects.

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I took Undergraduate Peer Tutoring in the spring of 2022. The class was designed to prepare students for work at the DU Writing Center, by introducing a variety of writing center theories which centered on making writing accessible to all students. We applied this knowledge by observing current tutoring practices at the writing center, interviewing current consultants, and researching a current linguistic practice. On top of this we wrote a personal literacy narrative in which we explored one of our “literacies” (an identity or way of speaking/writing). The latter was an exercise which served as another step to my realization that I prefer to work with new and creative modalities when I am writing.

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Theories of the Lyric focused on understanding poetry’s mechanics and purpose from the lens of several philosophers and poets over time. We investigated many perspectives over the quarter and practiced analyzing poems with these different perspectives in mind. My theoretical views in regard to poetry have definitely become more nuanced as a result of this class. In terms of writing abilities I developed greater confidence in my argumentative writing, as well as how to better integrate rhythm, allusion, and surprising images into a final poem.

I took my Psychedelic Medicine course as part of the psychology track while studying abroad in Fall of 2022. This course centered on investigating how small doses of psychedelics, such as mushrooms, ayahuasca, and ecstasy, might be used to promote mental health or improve existing psychotherapy/psychopharmacology options. The course culminated in a final essay investigating the treatment of a specific disorder using one psychedelic, which turned out to be one of the toughest pieces of writing I have ever created.