76-796 Writing and the Public Interest

Units: 9.0 Department: English Cross-listed: 76-396 Related URLs: http://hss.cmu.edu/HTML/departments/engl Have you ever wanted to use your writing and speaking skills to support causes you might really care about, like protecting the environment or making campaign finance reform a reality? Writing and the Public Interest focuses on persuasive writing designed to successfully debate public issues and causes like these. This kind of persuasion is central to the work of public affairs writers and communications consultants, volunteers and professionals working for advocacy organizations, and managers in the private sector who need to understand public issues and influence public policy. These are also helpful skills to have if you want to win more arguments with those near and dear to you! This course allows you to identify and acquire a working knowledge of a current public issue of special importance to you. Issues chosen in the past include: re-introduction of the gray wolf into Yellowstone Park, legalizing needle exchanges for intravenous drug-users, press ethics and censorship, Medicare reform, "Three-strikes" legislation for crime control, domestic partners policy, and education for disadvantaged children, to name a few. Knowledge you develop on your issue throughout the term becomes the basis for a series of assignments, including an op-editorial, an issue-driven news report, a position statement supported by simple statistics, a "best practice" case study, and a media kit and press conference you will create with team members. The course's readings and videos explore highly controversial, contemporary public issues and provide interesting examples to guide writing.

Popularity index Rank for this semester: #1630 Rank in this department: #80

Spring 2005 times

Sec	Time	Day	Instructor	Location
A	6:30 - 9:20 pm	W	Spann	BH 235A