Advocacy journalism allows writers to impart truth through the use of facts and persuasive argument, often invoking their personal experiences and concerns for social justice. Journalists who bring a strong point of view to social, political, and cultural issues can influence the times in which they live, a tradition that thrives today in the work of Perry Bacon, Jr., Adam Serwer, Gabriel Sherman, Masha Gessen, and Benjamin Wallace-Wells, among others. Students will learn from readings of the craft’s exemplary practitioners, past and present, and astute observers of our current political scene like columnists Eugene Robinson, Sarah Kendzior, Michelle Goldberg, Dana Millbank, Charles Blow and Heather “Digby” Parton. The course immerses students in current events; discusses the use of humor and satire as advocacy (Alexandra Petri; Andy Borowitz); and considers writers who blend fiction, memoir, and journalism (such as Alice Walker). In a workshop environment, students will try their hand at opinion and advocacy writing. Students emerge from the class both as discerning readers of advocacy or opinion-driven journalism, and as writers better prepared to shape their own arguments into cogent editorials and essays. This course satisfies the Reporting and Craft Elective requirement for the Journalism+Design major.

[Elective] Advocacy journalism allows writers to impart truth through the use of facts and persuasive argument, often invoking their personal experiences and concerns for social justice. Journalists who bring a strong point of view to social, political, and cultural issues can influence the times in which they live, a tradition that thrives today in the work of Thomas Frank, Rebecca Solnit, Masha Gessen, Matt Taibbi, and Naomi Klein, among others. Students will learn from readings of the craft’s exemplary practitioners, past and present -- muckrakers Ida B. Wells and Upton Sinclair; social critic H. L. Mencken; writers on science, environmental, and peace issues such as Atul Gawande, David Wallace-Wells and Jonathan Schell; and astute observers of our daily political scene like Sarah Kendzior, George Packer, Michelle Goldberg, Roxane Gay, Elizabeth Drew, and Charles Blow. The course also immerses students in current events; discusses the use of humor and satire as advocacy (Andy Borowitz, Gail Collins); and considers writers who blend fiction, memoir, and journalism (such as Alice Walker). In a workshop environment, students will try their hand at opinion and advocacy writing. This course satisfies the Reporting and Craft Elective requirement for the Journalism+Design major.