In keeping with the course title, for this assignment from my freshman writing course, “Image and Text”, students analyzed a poem or collection of poems from a class-provided packet. The aim was to extend discussion beyond rhetorical analysis alone and instead explore how text and image interact in the selected piece(s). My essay considers how form and content interact in a selection of urn-shaped poems by Sally Wen Mao to drive Mao’s redefinition of porcelain — a proxy for eastern resistance against the western exorcized gaze.

The CSI effect refers to the idea that "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and similar crime TV shows can lead juries to inflate the importance of forensic evidence in criminal trials, impeding their ability to fairly assess a case and arrive at a just verdict. Drawing on several academic studies, I conduct a meta-analysis of the existing scholarly literature surrounding the CSI effect in order to develop a conclusion as to the effect's validity. This paper was written, and its results were presented, as the final individual project for my freshman writing seminar on true crime.

As the first project of my freshman year true crime seminar, students were divided into groups, each selecting a true crime book or podcast from the provided list to review and present an evaluation on. This essay, the written portion of the assignment, concisely considers the impactful messaging in Dave Cullen’s book “Columbine” — an in-depth investigation into the 1999 Columbine High School Massacre — and the rhetorical methods through which Cullen developed that message.

Claudia Rankine’s “Citizen: An American Lyric” employs a combination of images — photographs, graphics, and paintings — poetry, and essays to craft a striking portrait of racism in modern America. Written for my freshman writing course, this essay examines the impact of context on visual interpretation, highlighting how Rankine’s decision to integrate visual art — this essay casts a specific spotlight on Joseph Mallord William Turner’s painting “The Slave Ship” — alongside her written work alters the meaning of the art itself.