Unit One
Writing as History and Culture
Unit Overview:
Who are we at UVA? In this unit, we’ll attempt to answer that question by grounding our evidence in texts that have been curated for us, in exhibits and publications. We will read a series of pieces on what texts tell us about a culture’s history and identity, and then we’ll focus on examples of texts at UVA—both those you’ll see in our Special Collections exhibit and in our one assigned text for the class, Mr. Jefferson’s Telescope.
This is a foundational unit, meant to help us think through the broad relationship between a culture’s identity and what they produce in terms of writing, as well as to begin situating ourselves more specifically at UVA.
By the unit’s end, you should be able to:
Speak thoughtfully about the relationship between texts and the cultures that produce them (by drawing on established research about cultural rhetoric as well as history and anthropology).
Name and analyze key “texts” that previous researchers have curated in connected with UVA (from Special Collections and Mr. Jefferson’s Telescope.
Formulate your own preliminary research goals and questions for Units 2 and 3.
Develop a reasonably advanced traditional essay, working through draft material independently and in collaboration with peers.
Examples of Strong Papers for Reference
The Hidden History in the Architecture on Grounds<—use this one as a reference for including/formatting images