Critical Reading and Writing 1 and Critical Reading and Writing 2 are each one-semester courses that develop students' abilities to analyze design from multiple perspectives. Close examinations of writings about design help students to sharpen their critical thinking skills as they become familiar with key approaches within design studies. Extensive work on the mechanics of writing and the practice of presenting and defending arguments provides students with the basic skills they need for upper-level courses offered by the School of Art & Design History & Theory. Each semester addresses three frameworks for analyzing design. Critical Reading and Writing 1 engages design in terms of forms and functions, histories and genealogies, and signs and symbols. Critical Reading and Writing 2 approaches design in terms of ethics, production and consumption, and race and gender.

Critical Reading and Writing 1 and Critical Reading and Writing 2 are each one-semester courses that develop students' abilities to analyze design from multiple perspectives. Close examinations of writings about design help students to sharpen their critical thinking skills as they become familiar with key approaches within design studies. Extensive work on the mechanics of writing and the practice of presenting and defending arguments provides students with the basic skills they need for upper-level courses offered by the School of Art & Design History & Theory. Each semester addresses three frameworks for analyzing design. Critical Reading and Writing 1 engages design in terms of forms and functions, histories and genealogies, and signs and symbols. Critical Reading and Writing 2 approaches design in terms of ethics, production and consumption, and race and gender.