Themed 102 Ideas

Themes are not automatically assigned for EN 102 Courses, but teachers may choose a
unifying theme for the semester to help engage students and guide their essay topics.
Teachers should think about themes that would appeal to the freshman student audience
and help students achieve the course outcomes.

In the past, EN 102 courses were assigned one of five broad themes. These themes and
associated resources are provided below as a resource for teachers.Some textbook publishers offer small, themed readers that might be helpful.

Potential Approaches

  • Future of health care (national or global)
  • America’s hunger/obesity dichotomy
  • Medical ethics
  • Parenting techniques
  • Professional sports (injury, recovery, health issues, medical treatments, etc.)
  • Michelle Obama’s new childhood obesity plan
  • Food (slow food movement, organic eating, school lunch programs, food pantries, etc.)
  • Biology subtheme (animal extinction, preservation, evolutions, etc.)
  • Psychology subtheme (talk versus drug therapy)
  • Sociology subtheme (class consciousness, etc.)
  • Kinesiology subtheme (various healing techniques, etc.)

Websites

Films / TV Series

  • The Future of Food
  • Food Inc.
  • Super Size Me
  • Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution
  • Killer at Large: Why Obesity is America’s Greatest Threat
  • What the #%$* do we know?
  • Wordplay
  • The Beautiful Truth
  • Richard Linklater films:  SlackerWaking Life
  • Charlie Kauffman films:  AdaptationBeing John MalkovichSynecdoche, New York
  • The Botany of Desire

Newspapers / Magazines

  • The Science Section of The New York Times

Articles / Essays

 

Potential Approaches

  • Cultural geography
  • Southern food ways (barbeque, soul food, etc.)
  • Southern folk ways
  • Sports in the south
  • Southern pop culture in the mass media (film or TV or music–one or all)
  • Southern coastal economy (oil, fishing, tourism)
  • Southern identity (through education, history, economy, sports, pop culture, etc.)
  • Political history

Websites

Films / TV Series

  • America Beyond the Color Line
  • Little Girls
  • Kill a Mockingbird
  • Mississippi Burning
  • Prom Night in Mississippi
  • Junebug
  • A Streetcar Named Desire
  • David Gordon Green films:  George WashingtonUndertowAll the Real Girls

Newspapers / Magazines

Articles / Essays

Potential Approaches

  • Globalization issues
  • Entertainment industry
  • Business ethics
  • Dealing with international disasters (like BP, Dupont disaster in India, etc.)
  • Economic policies
  • The Business of Higher Education

Films / TV Series / Radio

  • The Apprentice series
  • Mad Men series
  • Into the Wild
  • NPR series:  Low-Wage America
  • Inside Job
  • Waiting for Superman

Newspapers / Magazines

  • Harvard Business Review
  • Business section of New York Times

Articles / Essays

Potential Approaches

  • Urban challenges (infrastructure, architecture, poverty)
  • Improving cyberspace
  • Digital/visual rhetoric
  • Educational technologies
  • Generational distinctions
  • Future of communication (text, skype, blogs, technology)
  • Future of advertisement
  • Future of jobs/job security
  • Effects of global economy
  • Newspapers / Magazines
  • Wired magazine (wired.com)
  • New Yorker magazine

Articles / Essays

Potential Approaches

  • Arguments for peace
  • Urban challenges (recycling, green building, green space, traffic/pollution, noise pollution, etc.)
  • Future of water
  • Modes of transportation
  • Arguments for green living/eating
  • Green businesses

Films / TV Series

  • Planet Earth documentary series
  • Life documentary series
  • The 11th Hour
  • Food Inc.
  • The Cove
  • Water: The Great Mystery
  • No Impact Man: The Documentary
  • American Experience: Earth Days
  • Ken Burns: The National Parks: America’s Best Idea
  • The Yes Men Fix the World
  • Winged Migration
  • Blue Planet: Seas of Life
  • Flow

Newspapers / Magazines

Articles / Essays