This course will be preoccupied with the dynamics and implications of nonfiction writing that uses literary stylistics to advance compelling arguments. We'll ask why creative prose can be so effective in reaching large audiences. We'll wonder how the affective qualities of more literary-minded pose provide provoking contrasts to the established conventions of academic argumentation. We'll wonder if creative nonfiction is less "rigorous" than scholarly "rigor." We'll also consider why those who write on race, gender, class, and/or sexuality have often found the literary register more useful, inviting, and necessary.