Skip to main content
Sixth College Sixth College
  1. HOME
  2. Culture, Art, and Technology
  3. Courses
  4. CAT 2

CAT 2

CAT 2 courses (six units, winter quarter) are writing-intensive, foregrounding argumentation, revision, and writing as process by examining case studies of culture, art, and technology interacting in the present moment. Students must have passed CAT 1 in order to enroll in CAT 2.

Learning Objectives

Building off the teachings of CAT 1, CAT 2 aims to help students learn the following:

  • Practice clear prose that advances the rhetorical purpose and choose a tone that is appropriate to the subject and audience.

  • Craft and organize a compelling argument and support it with relevant and carefully-evaluated evidence.

  • Synthesize a variety of sources and points of view on a single topic (i.e. in service of an argument).

  • Practice proper citation and documentation of sources, including in multimodal assignments.

  • Develop an individual writing voice, using revision to hone arguments and reflect on the writing practice.

Writing Skills

CAT 2 fosters the following skills:

  • Thesis statements.

  • Recognition and deployment of parts of an argument.

  • Synthesis of differing viewpoints.

  • The ability to compare and contrast.

  • Analysis.

  • Revision.

Core Concepts

By the end of CAT 2, students should be able to understand and define the below terms and ideas:

  • Genre and medium/mode.

  • Interdisciplinarity.

  • Form and content.

  • Parts of an argument.

Common Readings

All CAT 2 students will read these texts:

Winter 2024 Courses

Art and Brain

Pinar Yoldas

Assistant Professor, Visual Arts
Tuesday/Thursday 11:00 a.m.-12:20 p.m.

Our topic is brains, and the study of brains which is neuroscience. Neuroscience is one of the most rapidly developing areas in biological sciences with major projects like the White House BRAIN Initiative or the Allen Brain Atlas. It is no surprise that many subfields of neuroscience have emerged within the last decade such as neuroeconomics, neurophilosophy, and neuroaesthetics. In this class we will be focusing on the interactions between neuroscience and art, primarily looking at studies that focus on how art is represented in the brain. The course will focus on perception, emotion, memory, and creativity to offer a scientific understanding of art.

To Infinity and Beyond: Media Narratives of Earth and Outer Space

Phoebe Bronstein

Associate Teaching Professor, CAT
Monday/Wednesday/Friday 11:00-11:50 a.m.

From The Jetsons (1962-1987) to David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet (2020), this CAT 2 class explores media narratives that center and intertwine earth and outer space—how is planet earth (our home) narrated in popular media? And, outer space/space exploration? How do these conversations frame, represent, and engage conversations about environmental protection, stewardship, and climate change? The first part of the class will focus on narratives of planet earth in both past and contemporary media, with particular attention to how these stories intersect and engage with the race, gender, place, and the climate crisis. How do these stories narrate humans, technology, and the environment here on earth? The second half of the class will look at narratives of space travel and exploration (starting with the space race), in TV shows and films like Lovecraft Country, Guardians of the Galaxy, and The Martian, asking how both past and present investment in space travel inform and engage narratives about our environment, the planet, and our places here.

Disability Rhetoric

Jennifer Marchisotto

Lecturer, CAT
Tuesday/Thursday 12:30-1:50 p.m.

From "lame" to "insane," the language of disability is consistently tied to negative opinions, often without thought. Much of popular culture's depiction of disability is underpinned by ableist assumptions; however, in recent years we have seen increased critical attention to the way popular media talks about disability. In this class, we will analyze the different ways popular culture invokes disability as a way of reinforcing or challenging ableist histories of representation. We will read and discuss work from contemporary disability scholars and use those ideas as a framework through which to understand the multifaceted way disability appears in popular culture. In keeping with the goals of CAT 2, we will read and watch creative texts that draw on the language of disability for entertainment purposes to think critically about the relationship between public media and cultural understandings of ability. Students will be required to complete both formal and informal writing assignments throughout the quarter to better hone their skills as critical thinkers and develop their own analytical voice. Possible authors and texts include Catherine Prendergast, Nirmala Erevelles, Melanie Yergeau, Roxane Gay, Rivers Solomon, Ellen Forney, Glee, Crip Camp, and Game of Thrones.

To Infinity and Beyond: Media Narratives of Earth and Outer Space

Phoebe Bronstein

Associate Teaching Professor, CAT
Monday/Wednesday/Friday 10:00-10:50 a.m.

From The Jetsons (1962-1987) to David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet (2020), this CAT 2 class explores media narratives that center and intertwine earth and outer space—how is planet earth (our home) narrated in popular media? And, outer space/space exploration? How do these conversations frame, represent, and engage conversations about environmental protection, stewardship, and climate change? The first part of the class will focus on narratives of planet earth in both past and contemporary media, with particular attention to how these stories intersect and engage with the race, gender, place, and the climate crisis. How do these stories narrate humans, technology, and the environment here on earth? The second half of the class will look at narratives of space travel and exploration (starting with the space race), in TV shows and films like Lovecraft Country, Guardians of the Galaxy, and The Martian, asking how both past and present investment in space travel inform and engage narratives about our environment, the planet, and our places here.

Fiction of Psychosocial Experience

Liz Popko

Lecturer, CAT
Seminars: Monday/Wednesday 9:00-10:50 a.m.
Fieldwork: Friday 9:00-10:50 a.m.

This CAT 2CE course is restricted to students who have applied for and been accepted to the Community Engagement Program.

This small, seminar-style course will examine how fiction has and continues to imagine the psychology of the self and society. In a world reeling from any number of tragedies—school shootings, wars, the pandemic, among many others—what can fiction teach us about mental health? How does fiction inform our understanding of the psychological make-up of ourselves and our communities? How might fiction help us achieve and maintain mental wellness? In this class we'll look at a variety of fictional texts—short stories, novels, and plays—and how those texts interact with human psychology.

As part of this course, you will be required to participate in a number of experiential opportunities related to mental health and wellness. These experiences may include conducting interviews with local communities, trying various wellness exercises, attending university and local events, and volunteering. You'll be looking at these experiences through the lens of our fiction to analyze the intersection of storytelling and mental health.

Writing Support

There are a variety of writing resources around campus for students to take advantage of. In addition to CAT TAs' office hours, students may visit the Writing Hub in the Teaching and Learning Commons for help with their writing assignments. The Office of Academic Support and Instructional Services (OASIS) also offers a variety of tutoring programs, including the Language Arts Tutorial Services (LATS).