A course inquiry includes questions that frame readings and assignments; it also provides enough specificity or focus to enable academic and perhaps public contributions to the questions, not just open-ended consideration or writing “about” topics. A course inquiry is cross-disciplinary—the readings and assignments invite inquiry and work that reflects concerns, approaches, and vocabulary from disciplines beyond just English. Course inquiries can have subtopics and digressions. There’s room for experiment and play.

For a step-by-step explanation of how to design a course inquiry, see this slideshow (PLEASE NOTE: You must be logged in under your UConn email to access all links on this page).

We’ve also created this template for you to work out your course inquiry, readings, and assignments. To access other supplementary materials regarding the course inquiry, see this Google Drive folder.