In this course, we will examine how our identities and communities shape our understanding of ourselves and the world around us—how it affects the way we move and think in the spaces we occupy. Through the usage of personal narrative and critical writing, we will study how language, culture, community, and socio-historical contexts influence our ways of knowing and being. Then, we will utilize these influences—the very systems that affect us in tremendous ways—to write ourselves into being. 

In this sense, being—to be—encompasses the knowledges, experiences, and communities that make us up. However, being is not merely these influences or even simply a state of existence. As Lois Elaine Griffith, one of the founders of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, once reminded me, being is also to “be in”— it is about the way we use our knowledges to navigate and occupy the spaces we engage with every day. 

We will work with a multitude of literature—essays, poetry, cultural artifacts, videos, creative non-fiction, and academic articles—focusing on genre, audience, purpose, research, and rhetorical strategies. By engaging with published authors and their writings, you will develop your own voice as a writer in both academic and personal situations. 

Throughout this course, you will also participate in various writing assignments constructed to deepen your exploration of these themes on being, culminating in a research-based project that connects your personal and communal experiences with broader social, cultural, and historical contexts. By the end of this journey, I hope you will have the confidence.

– Prof. Toro