Undergraduate

This course explores the characteristics and features of non-democratic regimes and tyrannies as they are reflected in literature and film: how and why they come about, what sustains them, why some resist them and others do not, and how/why they fall. Analyzing films, novels, and articles left in the wake of dictatorships like those of Julius Caesar, Hitler, and Rafael Trujillo, we will investigate the effects of absolute authority, how ordinary people react to repression, and the shaky transition from despotism to freedom. We will consider a diverse range of writers including Suetonius, Shakespeare, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Hannah Arendt, and George Orwell. Assignments include critical essays, creative exercises, and a final creative piece. 

Literary Nonfiction Thesis Workshops are open to Creative Writing Intensive Majors, Creative Writing Legacy Majors and Minors completing an optional thesis, and MAPH Creative Writing Specialists. Students will build off a project already in-progress to complete 15-30 pages of polished prose—typically in the form of essays or an excerpt from a longer work. Students are expected to have at least 50% of an initial draft of their project completed prior to the first day of class. 

Ever since humans were drawing on cave walls, the ways in which we communicate meaning through stories has been evolving. This class will look at three forms of narrative—fiction, narrative poetry, and film—and explore their “grammars” (i.e. the modes, tools, elements of craft, etc. that a particular genre uses to convey meaning or achieve certain effects). How does film (a visual medium that offers a voyeuristic experience) tell a story differently than does fiction (which invites the reader to participate more in an act of shared imagination), differently than poetry (which condenses a story to its essences)? How is meaning or emotion conveyed differently through each? How do different grammars influence the effects they achieve? Students will look at and discuss various works of fiction, poetry, and film, read critical and craft-oriented texts, complete weekly reading responses, and write creative exercises. A hybrid creative/analytical paper will be due at the end of the course. 

Fiction Thesis Workshops are open to Creative Writing Intensive Majors, Creative Writing Legacy Majors and Minors completing an optional thesis, and MAPH Creative Writing Specialists. Students will build off a project already in-progress to complete 15-30 pages of polished prose—typically in the form of short stories or an excerpt from a longer work. Students are expected to have at least 50% of an initial draft of their project completed prior to the first day of class.  

Beginning a novel can be daunting, but this class aims to remove some of the mystery behind the process and get students started on that long journey into the unknown. We will examine the early stages of developing and writing a novel: choosing the POV and narrative voice, establishing the setting, developing the main characters and the dynamics between them, setting up the conflicts and seeding themes, choosing areas to research, etc. As a class we will read, break down, and discuss the openings of a handful of published novels as you work on your own opening chapters, which will be workshopped as part of the course. Students are expected to submit two opening chapters of a novel-in-progress (and a revision of one) as well read and critique chapters from your peers for workshop. 

Writing fiction is in large part a matter of convincing worldbuilding, no matter what genre you write in. And convincing worldbuilding is about creating a seamless reality within the elements of that world: from setting, to social systems, to character dynamics, to the story or novel’s conceptual conceit. And whether it be within a genre of science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, or even contemporary realism, building a convincing world takes a good deal of research. So while we look closely at the tools and methods of successful worldbuilding, we will also dig into the process of research. From how and where to mine the right details, to what to look for, to how to implement them. We will also focus on how research can make a fertile ground for harvesting ideas and even story. Students will read various works of  fiction with an eye to their worldbuilding, as well as critical and craft texts. In addition to readings and creative exercises each student will also be expected to make a brief presentation and turn in a final paper for the class.

This creative writing course, focused on the art of writing and reading fiction, addresses the fundamentals of craft. Through creative writing exercises and assignments, students will explore characterization, point of view, plot, scene work, and worldbuilding. Students can expect to read deeply, respond creatively, and to engage with their peers in a workshop setting. This course is designed both for writers with a passion for the genre and those who are interested in gaining experience. Successful completion of a Fiction Workshop I is a prerequisite for enrollment in Fiction Workshop II.

This creative writing course, focused on the art of writing and reading fiction, addresses the fundamentals of craft. Through creative writing exercises and assignments, students will explore characterization, point of view, plot, scene work, and worldbuilding. Students can expect to read deeply, respond creatively, and to engage with their peers in a workshop setting. This course is designed both for writers with a passion for the genre and those who are interested in gaining experience. Successful completion of a Fiction Workshop I is a prerequisite for enrollment in Fiction Workshop II.

While aspiring writers usually grasp quickly how to write direct dialog—we hear it all around us, in public and private spaces—narration is a trickier enterprise. In this writing workshop, we will look at the narrator as personality, a voice that exists to tell the story, but not always to enter it. The narrator can be a constant, like an elbow in the side, or effaced, touching down to only give us the basics of time and place. They can be all knowing and judging, summarizing scenes, people and events from a distant, God-like vantage, or reportorial, speaking in present tense as events unfurl. Some narrators make us laugh but are conning us with their charm; others explain the psychology of events like a great therapist or moralize like a member of the clergy. We will look at a wide range of examples from writers such as Anton Chekhov, Louise Erdrich, Nicholai Gogol, Jhumpa Lahiri, Yiyun Li, ZZ Packer, and Edith Wharton. Students will be encouraged to experiment with narrative voice in both writing exercises and story revisions. By the end of the course, you will have generated significant raw material and workshopped one story, which you will revise for the final. 

This creative writing course, focused on the art of writing and reading fiction, addresses the fundamentals of craft. Through creative writing exercises and assignments, students will explore characterization, point of view, plot, scene work, and worldbuilding. Students can expect to read deeply, respond creatively, and to engage with their peers in a workshop setting. This course is designed both for writers with a passion for the genre and those who are interested in gaining experience. Successful completion of a Fiction Workshop I is a prerequisite for enrollment in Fiction Workshop II.