Who is this course for?
355:301 is an upper-level writing course that is open only to transfer students who have received WC core credit for College Writing from their previous institution.
Course content:
Students will write two four-page essays that emphasize the writing, reading, and critical thinking skills valued by Rutgers, and then complete an 8-10 page research paper on a subject of personal interest.
To enroll in 355:301, students must:
- request a Special Permission Number (SPN) at
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . - SAS students can also contact
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Section Topics & Descriptions: Semester-Specific
Fall 2026
Conspiracy Theory
Instructor: Will Schwartz
In this course, students will have the opportunity to build skills in critical reading and thinking, scholarly research, and analytic writing within the larger topic of conspiracy theories. What is a conspiracy theory? We all acknowledge that conspiracies exist; in organized crime, corporate fraud, covert politics and war. So when we call something a conspiracy theory, what are we really saying about it? How are we using the notion of the “conspiracy theory” to police or subjugate different narratives, knowledges, and forms of dissent? Our aim in this class isn’t to prove or disprove individual conspiracy theories, but to use conspiracy theories and the discourse around them to investigate the production of knowledge itself. Research topics to consider include: sociologies of power, how individual governing bodies function conspiratorially, how conspiracy theories generate, social panic around conspiracy theories, the role of the media in subjugating knowledge or enforcing political consensus, how conspiracy theories are formed through memes and folkways, the role of the internet in all of these processes. But ultimately, you’ll follow your interests to determine a topic of your own.
Constructing Identities
Instructor: Dawn Lilley
If asked to describe your identity, what aspects would you emphasize? Would you focus on your political views, the music you love, family bonds, religious beliefs, or your class, race, or gender? How much of you has been influenced by the stories, cultures, and communities around you? This course examines the forces that shape who we become and how we are seen by others—how our identities are constructed, performed, and transformed.
Possible areas of research include everything from TikTok trends, fashion sub-cultures, and slam poetry, to romantic chatbots, body modification, and extremist political groups.
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Instructor: Peter Morrone
From Jules Verne and H.G. Wells to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, popular science fiction and fantasy narratives, marketed as entertainment that allow escape from everyday life, also are capable of shaping values and visions of new ways to live. This course examines how fantasies, whether utopian, dystopian, or somewhere in-between, inform and influence our identities, our ideas, and our real-world experiences and relationships.
Taboos and Transgressions
Instructor: Sara Blomquist
'Taboos and Transgressions' invites students to explore forbidden and stigmatized ideas and behaviors. Among other questions, it asks why some practices are shunned, and how unpopular beliefs can fight for greater legitimacy and acceptance. The course is curious about what cultural taboos signify, who makes the rules, and how the rules might be overturned. Subjects for student research projects can be drawn from the political, religious, social, cultural, and art-and-entertainment realms; the only requirement is that students be open-minded about the forbidden places their research journey might take them.