A way to start?

The draft intro below begins a bit abruptly, so I've been thinking over ways to ease into it a little. Mike, you mentioned that the Houghton Mifflin editor was impressed that 235 was so old--that it had been on the books for so long. That's exactly the kind of pregnant fact that can draw readers in and simultaneously authorize our historical/reflective inquiry.

Why don't we start with a little chronology of the course, bringing it up to the "present," in which we're revising it for the major. Example first line: "In 19XX, the University of Rhode Island's Faculty Senate approved a course designated WRT 235, ". . .," as an English department offering for URI's undergraduate students." I mean, that's just a stab at it, but still. . .