CWP 118
College Writing: Technology & Selfhood
Writing is a technology that allows one to read the thoughts of others across space and time. Our course's theme -- technology -- is the subject matter that we will be reading to hone skills such as analysis, argumentation, and critical thinking. This does not mean that a student must be a budding technologist to succeed in this course, nor will this course seek to transform a student into one. Rather, this course treats "technology" in its broadest sense, from its root in the Greek techne (which means "craftsmanship," "craft," "art," or "rhetoric") to its contemporary definition as the realm of knowledge that deals with the mechanical arts and applied sciences. In writing about technology, we will consider perspectives across the university curriculum in order to better comprehend our relationship with our tools and to scrutinize the dynamic interaction, communication, and interdependence of different kinds of tools for various means of communication and representation. We will strive to think critically about ourselves as part of larger communities and systems by attending closely to the ways we communicate with and about others through technologies such as writing, film, and social media. In writing creative, analytical, argumentative, and researched essays, we will address responsible uses of technology and the effects that technologies have on different communities and individuals, and we will try to answer questions like the following: How does technology affect us when we use it? How do technologies intersect and affect one another? What roles does technology play in our everyday lives? What roles do we want it to play in our future? THIS COURSE SATISFIES THE FIRST-YEAR WRITING REQUIREMENT FOR ALL DIVISIONS.
Instructors
Aileen Waters, Berson, Boese, Dustin Iler, Iler, McCollough, Ruth Berson, Shea McCollough, Stefanie Boese, Waters, Wren Henderson
Reviews
4-6 hrs/week
This class was surprisingly interesting! The discussions all felt very relevant to the modern world and the prof is great—super lenient w grades and extensions and very kind.
12/18/2024
Most of the works are completion grades, even essay drafts. He's so opened for feedbacks and ideas and encourage you to contribute to the class. He doesn't give a lot of homework compared to other College Writing class. Also allow you to resubmit if there is something wrong with your format, citation,... and still give full credit.
10/24/2024
6-8 hrs/week
yippee best cwp ever and i’ll say it with my chest. content was super interesting, relevant, and eye-opening,, it was so cool read and write abt technology’s rising role in our world! mccullough was lit too, a grad student, so pretty chill and genuinely wanted us to get something out of it which i appreciated :)
5/23/2024
2 or less hrs/week
I took this class Spring 2023. Very easygoing professor and graded super leniently. Patient and caring nature. For some reason they still haven't graded my final paper yet and it's currently Summer 2024 LOL
5/23/2024
I think calling Aileen Waters a professor or even a teacher is rude to other professors. Aileen Waters is a grader, she will not teach you anything in the class, moreover expect that you already know it. She comes off as arrogant, and thinks that nobody is better with grammar rules than her. Overall, harsh grader, not that pleasant of a person.
5/14/2024
College Writing is a well-recognized grinding course at WashU, but taking the course with Dr. Iler would surely alleviate such pain to some degree. Everyone has to take CWP, so be nice to yourself and choose Dr. Iler as your instructor.
5/12/2024
Really nice professor! Approachable and always accessible during office hours. Gives useful feedback on assignments. Not a harsh grader, the lowest grade for me is an A- (I'm not good at writing at all). Readings are kind of long but manageable. There are some small assignments but they are preparatory for essays.
12/26/2023
around 30% of the work is graded on completion. Needs to participate in class. Easy to reach out outside the classroom
12/22/2023
Great professor who genuinely cares about her students and offers lots of valuable feedback. Tough grader, so go to office hours if you are struggling, she will guide you in the right direction. Also, the class is a lot of work and a lot of writing, so be prepared to put in the work. Participate in class, keep up with the work and you'll be fine.
12/20/2023
I think most people don't want to take college writing, but as a professor she is pretty good. She gives you good advice on what to do; the only thing that is a deterrent is that she is not an easy grader. I have not yet gotten an A on my assignments and her essays are required to be 4-5 pages, with the last one being 10. Also lots of busywork.
4/13/2023
Professor Waters is kind, understanding, and overall a good teacher. She is a harsh grader, though.
1/15/2023
Hes overall good. he grades pretty tough compared to other college writing professors but a better professor to relate to and become close with. I have largely no complaints other than the lack of rubrics for assignments and no clear guidelines for what is considered enough participation
12/18/2022
She has an ok average grade as a professor based on very old reviews. She is old and a very bad prof. Do not take! Also, there is literally a review about how she talked too much to be effective on Sep 19, 2001! 8 days after 9/11. Like wow. 9/11 just happened and someone was like I need to get on the internet and complain about Ruth Berson.
1/18/2022
Dr. Iler is one of my favorite professors at WashU. He really cares about his students and helped me become a much better writer. He's an honest grader but is helpful and if he sees improvement will give you good grades. Participation is important but he will not call you out. If you're taking college writing I highly highly recommend Dr. Iler!!
7/20/2021
Professor Iler was an amazing professor who truly cares about what he is teaching. He is also very open to you coming up with your own topic - I ended up writing about memes for one paper and Minecraft for another. He wants to make the material engaging for everyone. Readings can be a bit long but all were interesting. He will help if you reach out
11/13/2020
Dr. Iler is great. Writing Technology is a really interesting class and his feedback on papers is very helpful. Revisions/drafts for papers are a good experience.
5/11/2020
Classic English teacher. Assigns lots of reading without realizing how much work she's actually giving, comes off as a bit snarky at times, will probably never give you a full A, and relatively disorganized. However, she gives good feedback on papers and promotes a good environment for in-class discussions. As far as CWP profs go, she's alright.
5/5/2020