writ 1633

human rights / humans write

tiedemann
spring 2019

• the prompt
Lynn Hunt argues that cultural artifacts not only represent the human
condition; they teach us new ways to be human. In this essay, you’ll apply
Hunt’s concepts to a contemporary cultural artifact of your choosing
(pending my approval) in order to develop an original interpretation:
What new way of being human does your chosen artifact teach its users?
And specifically how does it teach that lesson to them?
• audience
Imagine that you’re submitting this essay to a journal of undergraduate
writing. The editors are an art historian, a philosopher, and a literary
critic. They’re broadly familiar with the philosophy and history of human
rights; however, they haven’t read Hunt’s work, and so they’re not
familiar with her arguments. And although it’s possible that one of them
is somewhat familiar with the cultural artifact you’ve chosen to analyze,
the others are not.
• format
You are to format your essay in MLA style (including a Works Cited
page). See the “Formatting your work” tab on the blog.
• due dates
You’ll write this essay in stages over a period of several class meetings, in
a single document named “Last name, first name — WRIT 1133 — Essay
1.” First, you’ll draft a summary of Hunt’s argument (due by the start of
class on Wednesday, 4/13); then you’ll draft a thesis paragraph
(Wednesday, 1/20); and you’ll add a draft of the body of your paper
(Monday, 1/28). A revised draft of the complete essay is due on
Wednesday, 1/30. And your final draft will be due on Friday, March 19
9.

essay 1:
writing humanity