Why HSE?
We cover a lot in English 100, and the smaller group that meets in HSE gets the chance to go even deeper into these ideas (and to decompress a bit, together). Each theme introduced in your composition course will have a corresponding place in HSE, where you鈥檒l explore your individual strengths as thinkers, readers and writers, learn about the resources and community available to you in our class and at 美姬社区, and find your collective place as students in the world of ideas.
Themes
Power, storytelling, identity, community, hybridity, carnival, 鈥渞eality鈥� (and reality), mythology, persuasion, shadow, monstrosity, gothic and horror
Reading Examples
We have used broad philosophical and psychological frameworks like Plato鈥檚 鈥淎llegory of the Cave鈥� or the 鈥淗ero鈥檚 Journey鈥� monomyth to understand how and why stories are told. Additional readings for any individual assignment might be an interview with a family member or a close friend, a speech, a film or TV show, a video game, song lyrics, or your social media feed. Depending on the semester鈥檚 focus, we expand these conversations with a novel, short stories, humor, opinion and academic articles, podcasts or videos.
Sample Assignments
Students analyzed the main character in Michael Schur and Rashida Jones鈥檚 鈥淣osedive鈥� (Season 3, Episode 1 of Black Mirror), by using psychologist Carl Jung鈥檚 theories of the shadow self. Others explored similar 鈥渁cceptable鈥� and 鈥渦nacceptable鈥� behaviors in Batman and The Joker, or in Walter White and his shadow alias, Heisenberg (Breaking Bad).
Personal Interests
When I'm not teaching, you'll most often find me with my family, playing Heardle (challenge me!), or swimming in the ocean. Water has an important place in our class, metaphorically (Bruce Lee fans: prepare).
