Can writing change the world? In this course we will explore how writing about social and ethical issues can be used for change. We will study authors who use writing to give personal testimony, to bear witness to issues in the community, and to achieve social change. We will also practice the writing process ourselves, including drafting, revising, getting feedback and (if you want) publishing. This course has a practical purpose. By the end of the course, you will have written four different articles. Previous students in this course have published their work successfully. You will practice writing in the rhetorical modes of narration, description, exposition, and argument. You will learn how to write effective sentences, as well as how to persuade the reader with images, stories and data. The classes will be a mixture of seminars in which we discuss influential books of social critique and workshops in which we give feedback on each other’s essays. Find out how writing can help us develop critical thinking, and how, through writing, we can learn about ourselves, our community and the world.