SUNY Geneseo Department of Mathematics

INTD 105 17, Writing Seminar: Secrets and Secret Codes

Fall 2021
Prof. Doug Baldwin

Man in medieval clothes with book

(Detail of https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Unibibliotek_Salzburg_Artes_liberales_Retorica.jpg, “The Seven Liberal Arts. Rhetoric and Tullius,” public domain.)

Welcome to Prof. Baldwin’s “Secrets and Secret Codes” writing seminar (or, more formally, SUNY Geneseo’s INTD 105 17, Writing Seminar: Secrets and Secret Codes) for Fall 2021. Use the links below to access the main course materials.

Introduction
- Topic: Course Organization
- Topic: Writing as Conversation and Revision
“The Gold Bug,” Race, and Substitution Ciphers
- Topic: The Gold Bug
  - 09/10 - Introduction to “The Gold Bug”
- Topic: Racial Caricatures
- Topic: Author’s Voice
  - 09/22 - Voice
- Topic: Theses
  - 09/24 - Thesis Statements
- Topic: “Race” Essay
  - 09/27 - Race Essay Peer Editing
- Topic: Substitution Ciphers
Enigma and the Enigma Cipher
- Topic: Enigma the Novel
- Topic: Research
  - 10/15 - Introduction to Library Research
  - 10/18 - Library Research Lab
- Topic: Incorporating Others’ Ideas
- Topic: Enigma Essays
  - 10/27 - Peer Editing
- Topic: Enigma the Cipher
  - 10/29 - Using Enigma
Breaking the Code and Alan Turing
- Topic: Breaking the Code
- Topic: Turing’s Math and Science Contributions
- Topic: Argument
- Topic: Turing Essay Peer Edit
  - 11/19 - Turing Essay Peer Editing
- Topic: Conclusions
  - 11/22 - Conclusions
Miscellaneous Topics in Cryptography
- Topic: The Beale Papers
  - 11/29 - The Beale Papers
  - 12/01 - Book Ciphers
- Topic: Modern Cryptography
- Topic: Reflective Essay
  - Reflective Essay Assignment
- Topic: The Navajo Code-Talkers
  - 12/10 - The Navajo Code-Talkers
  - 12/13 - Code Talker Discussion