Organized around individual instructors' chosen topic or theme, this course will focus on the development of students' skills in writing thesis-driven analytic essays about literary and cultural texts. Students will strengthen their reading and analytic abilities, using those skills to construct sophisticated arguments. Students will also develop and enhance their skills in academic writing by composing and revising essays in response to assigned readings. Satisfies Communication: Literature GenEd requirement; satisfies SEEDS Effective Writing I student learning outcome in alignment with Educated Citizenry value.