ENGL 298 B: Intermediate Writing Social Sciences   Autumn 2011, University of Washington

Kohl, Herbert. “I Won’t Learn From You.” ‘I Won’t Learn From You’: And Other Thoughts on Creative Maladjustment. New York: The New Press, 1995. 1-34.

In Week 2, we’ll also be looking at a short essay written by a student who took POL S 201/ENGL 298 last year — but other than that, this is the last supplementary reading I expect you to be responsible for during the next several weeks.

I recommend that you read this essay before you start work on the “My Learning Profile” essay assignment. We’ll talk about the essay on Monday during class, and our discussion will be guided by the following questions:

1. What did you learn from reading this essay? What parts of it stood out, surprised you, or made you uncomfortable?
2. According to Kohl, in what way is being a student political? What assertions does he make, and how does he support them?
3. Based on your developing (e.g., unfinished) understanding of political theory, how might this essay be relevant to the subject? Why would a political theorist be interested in this article?
4. What challenges do you see yourselves facing as students?