Dimples’s Profile Student Toggle navigation

A sum­mer course fo­cused on basic writ­ing skills, gram­mar, and prepa­ra­tion for the CATW.

A summer course focused on basic writing skills, grammar, and preparation for the CATW.

In this com­po­si­tion course, we will ex­plore the art and sci­ence of dream­ing to prac­tice col­lege writ­ing skills. Can dreams help us un­der­stand the self, as Freud ar­gues? Are dreams mys­ti­cal, mag­i­cal…even prophetic? Or are they sim­ply the mean­ing­less re­sult of ran­domly fired neu­rons? What do they have to do with mem­ory, metaphors, re­pressed de­sires, and wak­ing life? How have they dri­ven and in­spired artis­tic en­deav­ors? These ques­tions speak to the un­cer­tain­ties and am­bi­gu­i­ties that schol­ars grap­ple with while re­search­ing and writ­ing about dreams; how­ever, these com­plex­i­ties also ex­plain why dreams have fas­ci­nated great thinkers across his­tor­i­cal and dis­ci­pli­nary gulfs, and in­spired all types of artists and writ­ers, from William Shake­speare, to Sal­vador Dalí, to Stephanie Mey­ers. The topic of dreams is one that in­te­grates the per­sonal and the aca­d­e­mic, al­low­ing us, as a class, to prac­tice dif­fer­ent kinds of writ­ing, di­rected at many dif­fer­ent types of au­di­ences and dis­ci­plines; more­over, there are count­less, di­verse pri­mary and sec­ondary sources that we will ex­plore and uti­lize over the course of the se­mes­ter. As stu­dents in this class, you will write four major es­says draw­ing upon ideas and ques­tions pre­vi­ously ex­plored in these sources on dreams, and you will even­tu­ally write a re­search paper that en­ters these aca­d­e­mic con­ver­sa­tions. More­over, as a class, we will all keep dream blogs, doc­u­ment­ing our dream lives and re­flect­ing on them through the lens of our course read­ings and dis­cus­sions.

In this composition course, we will explore the art and science of dreaming to practice college writing skills. Can dreams help us understand the self, as Freud argues? Are dreams mystical, magical…even prophetic? Or are they simply the meaningless result of randomly fired neurons? What do they have to do with memory, metaphors, repressed desires, and waking life? How have they driven and inspired artistic endeavors? These questions speak to the uncertainties and ambiguities that scholars grapple with while researching and writing about dreams; however, these complexities also explain why dreams have fascinated great thinkers across historical and disciplinary gulfs, and inspired all types of artists and writers, from William Shakespeare, to Salvador Dalí, to Stephanie Meyers. The topic of dreams is one that integrates the personal and the academic, allowing us, as a class, to practice different kinds of writing, directed at many different types of audiences and disciplines; moreover, there are countless, diverse primary and secondary sources that we will explore and utilize over the course of the semester. As students in this class, you will write four major essays drawing upon ideas and questions previously explored in these sources on dreams, and you will eventually write a research paper that enters these academic conversations. Moreover, as a class, we will all keep dream blogs, documenting our dream lives and reflecting on them through the lens of our course readings and discussions.