BRUCE J. BERGERWriter
Teacher

Occasionally, I’m tasked with teaching College Writing 101 at American University, the second semester of the two-semester College Writing sequence that almost all undergraduates are required to take. College Writing 101 is a “themed” course, meaning that each professor selects a theme for the course, typically a subject about which the professor knows more than a little. In the four or five times I’ve taught College Writing 101, my theme has been “Famous American Jury Trials.” As a trial lawyer for forty years, it was a subject about which I knew more than a little. So I started with the Scope Monkey Trial, using Inherit the Wind as reading and watching material, then moved to the study the insanity defense, using the John Hinckley, Jr. trial (if you recall, Hinckley was the man who attempted to assassinate President Reagan in 1981), then (most recently) discussed the trial of the men who conspired in the Mississippi Burning case (involving the murder of three civil rights workers in 1964). These were the main cases, but I used other cases intermittently throughout the semester.

Did this theme work? Yes and no, I’d say. Yes, as the course provided a lot of learning about our American jury system, as I could create assignments that gave me multiple opportunities to comment on the students’ research and writing, and as it served as a prep – or a warning – for those students who had a mind to continue their educations at law school. No, as the subject matter was a bit too complicated for the typical student, i.e., a freshman, and no, as after teaching this course more than once, I found the paper distressingly repetitive, student to student. But even without these negatives, I think it’s time to consider what other theme I might use if I were to teach College Writing 101 again.

So how about baseball? (feel free to leave me your comments)

What issues could possibly arise with the larger topic of baseball that would lead to thinking, research, and writing? Here are a few I have thought of, but you might think of additional sub-themes: baseball and community, baseball and race, baseball and history (as perhaps seen through a particular team in a particular year or decade), baseball and women, baseball as a religion, minor league baseball and the history of a particular city or region, baseball and technology (who knew that you could ever be able to challenge a plate umpire’s call?), baseball and labor relations/big business. What else haven’t I thought of? Each student could pick one or more areas to do research in and write scholarly works about.

Of course, a College Writing course must have required books. So far, I’ve thought of The Boys of Summer (after all, I am still a Brooklyn Dodgers fan), Ball Four! (I always wanted to read that), and any number of biographies and autobiographies, books of anecdotes written by baseball personalities (including players, coaches, managers, agents, etc.). What else would you recommend?

No course can be complete without a list of likely assignments. Let’s start with the main scholarly essay. I would direct students to develop a thesis and write a scholarly article on any of the baseball subtopics mentioned above. (Of course, if students want to develop their own subtopic, they can do that with my permission). But what else beside the main scholarly essay? I am working on the following list of additional assignments:

Write a review of a nonfiction book on baseball that’s been published within the last two years.

Analyze admissions to the Baseball Hall of Fame (over the past 20 years). Identify one player who was elected to the Hall of Fame but whom you think should not have been and explain why. Likewise, identify one player who did not earn Hall of Fame recognition (and whose eligibility expired during the past 30 years whom you feel should have been elected and explain why. Make sure your analysis is consistent between the two players.

Select a book about a particular team or player. Identify statements that should have been sourced but were not. Do a fact check on 10 of these statements and present your results.

And since my grading is based on points, I have the possible following Extra Point project in mind:

• Write a short story re baseball game
• Summarize the development of a piece of baseball gear
• Write a personal narrative about a sporting event and its connection to one of the baseball themes of the class
• Analyze the career of someone who appeared in fewer than 20 MLB games
• Analyze the career of a baseball journalist
• Analyze the career of a baseball announcer

So there it is, my work-in-progress for the next time I’m asked to teach College Writing 101.

What do you think?