The Western tradition of essay-writing is usually said to have begun with Michel de Montaigne in 16th century France. As the writer John King has said, “The essay in its most classic form [is] saying, ‘Well, here’s an idea, let’s just see where the hell it goes.’” In this course, we read Virginia Woolf and Jia Tolentino, Zadie Smith and Annie Dillard, James Baldwin and George Owell. We things and write about them; we will reflect on our own reading and writing; and we will conduct our own tests, assessments, attempts. We’re not talking about academic essays, or the loathed and derided “five-paragraph essay.” In her book about Montaigne, Sarah Bakewell describes the essay as “writing about oneself to create a mirror in which other people recognize their own humanity.” That’s our goal.