Conversations are a storied process of how we make sense of the world and ourselves. In this course, students will analyze the emotional, structural, and sociocultural factors that draw us to particular styles of conversations and how these conversations change us in various modalities: from internal conversations with ourselves, to discussions with friends, to asynchronous conversations with colleagues, strangers, and generative AI, and to conversations that we observe occurring between real and fictional characters in art and media. The aim is to empower students to reflect critically on the conversations that they choose to engage in and to foster a deeper awareness of their own role and actions in contextually different conversations. In what ways can conversations connect and transform us, and what makes a conversation interesting to us? These key guiding questions will ground students in their deconstruction of narratives that are created, reinforced, and challenged in everyday conversations.
Course Outline:
For the current draft course outline, please visit: Draft Course Outlines – Intersession 2026.
Course outlines are still in development and are subject to change ahead of May 1st. Final course outlines will be available on Simple Syllabus prior to the start of the term.