[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.

[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.