Browse Fall 2009 GLS Courses.
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Scroll down to see class listings, categorized by program requirement.
MALS Core: Changing Values in Western Civilization
MALS Only/MALS Required. Mondays.
In this class, we will examine recent paradigmatic value changes in a wide range of cultural, historical, literary, spiritual and psychological contexts. Our explorations will include issues of religion, race, gender, personal responsibility, learning and belief systems, narrative form, and historical truth. Our goal will be to broaden our understanding of the diverse frameworks by which we assess the world and ourselves. There will be two long essays required. Readings will include works by authors such as Jon Kabat-Zinn, W. G. Sebald, George Orwell, Zadie Smith, Marjane Satrapi and others. Instructor: Larry Sutin
The Essay
MALS Requirement (for students enrolled after fall 2005)
MFA: Elective. May count as writing course with instructor permission.
ATTN: MFA students may register on a space available basis after May 15.
Saturdays. 9:30am-12:30pm
One of the most open and provocative of prose forms, the essay derives its name from the French word essai, to attempt. In this course, writing will be considered as a tool for inquiry, and students will read and write from the broad range of forms that comprise the critical and personal essay. The course will focus on critical essays based in research/analysis and cultural/ literary criticism, as well as personal essay forms including the meditation and the persuasive essay. We will study structure and organization, research and citation methods, and aspects of style and voice appropriate for a scholarly, literary, or general audience. Readings will include classic and contemporary essays as well as selections from periodicals such as American Scholar, Harpers, and Orion. Students will be encouraged to submit essays for publication and course time will be devoted to examining publishing outlets and procedures. Instructor: Patricia Weaver Francisco
Creative Nonfiction Classics l ONLINE
MALS & MFA Elective
NOTE: This class will take place in a completely online environment.
Contemporary writers frequently talk about Creative Nonfiction as a new, evolving, genre-defying form, but the origins of this literature are actually quite old and extraordinarily diverse. The roots of today's creative nonfiction include a myriad of time-honored writings of witness, testimony, and lyric musing that critique, confront and comment on circumstances of the actual world. In this class we read literary nonfiction works, published before common usage of the term Creative Nonfiction. These are works some (but not all) may deem "classic" because of the unforgettable ways they merge individual sensibility with attention to community and culture. Our focus might include: captivity and immigration narrative; personal rumination on nature, travel, race, identity, justice or atrocity; literary documentary and the nonfiction novel; nostalgic recollection and meditation on the political necessity of memory. Authors might include: St. Augustine, Sei Shonagon, Montaigne, Harriet Jacobs, Black Hawk, Mary Antin, W.E.B Dubois, John Hersey, Vladamir Nabokov, Primo Levi, Rachel Carson, Mary McCarthy, Truman Capote, Peter Matthiessen, Maxine Hong Kingston, Susan Griffin, Eduardo Galeano, Patricia Hampl, Audre Lorde, Gloria Anzaldua, and others.
This course is for anyone interested in reading, writing and teaching creative nonfiction in the context of the broad origins of the form, or anyone interested in the ways literary works bear witness to historical, cultural, social, and literary change. Students will share critical and/or creative writing via asynchronous online discussion and blog-style posts, as well as write a substantive course synthesis commentary at the end of the term.
Instructor: Barrie Jean Borich
Environmental Literature: Imagination, Ethics and Action l ONLINE
MALS & MFA Elective
Sorry, this class has been canceled due to low enrollment.
NOTE: This class will take place in a completely online environment.
In this course, we’ll explore the intersections between contemporary environmental issues and the world of literature. We’ll read from a variety of genres and a diverse group of writers that may include Margaret Atwood, Gary Snyder, Joseph Bruchac, Jorie Graham, Robert Hass, bell hooks, Jamaica Kincaid, Elizabeth Kolbert, Cormac McCarthy, Leslie Marmon Silko, Terry Tempest Williams, Juliana Spahr and others. The main goal of this course is to deepen our understanding of the human role in nature and the environment. How can our experience as readers and writers bring depth and perspective to our knowledge of the natural world? How can we deepen our appreciation for the ways in which our actions affect those with whom we share the planet? What are the limitations of language as a response to the environment and what role can literature play in environmental stewardship? These are some of the questions we’ll explore through readings, discussions, term research and literary projects. Instructor: Juliet Patterson
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NEW! The Graphic Novel for WritersMALS/MFA Elective, Interdisciplinary. Mondays.
What can writers learn from the graphic novel? What do graphic novels teach us about story, structure, pacing, dialogue, and the handling of themes and tropes? We’ll study graphic novels with a primary focus on writing—therefore, we won’t cover the frequently-taught works by creators who both draw and write (e.g. Art Spiegelman, Frank Miller, Alison Bechdel, Marjane Satrapi). Instead, this class will concentrate on several works each from some of the most noted writers in the field: Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore, and Grant Morrison.
We will also examine: how graphic novel scripts are formatted; writing for serialized publication; how writers reinterpret pre-existing characters or titles; how Gaiman’s SANDMAN graphic novel work was a precursor to his current Newberry Award-winning THE GRAVEYARD BOOK; and adapting stories from text to film (e.g. the reworking of Moore’s WATCHMENT, V FOR VENDETTA, or FROM HELL for movies) or vice versa (Eric Shanower’s interpretations of The Wizard of Oz in graphic novel form)
Whether you’re interested in writing your own graphic novel one day or just eager to read more in the genre, this interdisciplinary-credited class will allow you the opportunity to
immerse yourself in the literary art of graphic novels. Instructor: David Marshall Chan
Real Magic: Magical Realism and
Realistic Magic in Native American Literature
MALS & MFA Elective. Thursdays (note, this course was incorrectly listed as a Wednesday course.)
This course is about how writers write about their spiritual experiences. It is about the sacred in the ordinary. Subjects such as dreams, ghosts, revelation, prayer, ritual, magic and tradition will come alive through course readings and student writing. The emphasis will be on fiction, but poets and creative non-fiction genres will be explored as well. Susan is skilled at introducing readers and writings to Native literature and expanding their point of view. Readings may include: Blond Indian, Ernest Dean Haines: To The Mountaintop, Shell Shaker; Joy Harjo's The Woman Who Fell From the Sky; Louise Erdrich's The Painted Drum. Instructor: Susan Power
Composition Theory and Pedagogy
Cross-listed w/CLA (10 grad students max)
Open to grad students who have completed 8 or more credits.
MALS & MFA Elective . Tuesdays.
This course introduces students to the theory and practice of teaching writing at the college level. Students will examine a range of composition philosophies and pedagogies, including expressive, rhetorical, collaborative, cultural, and critical approaches. Through extensive reading and peer-reviewed demonstrations, students will learn and practice a process-based approach to teaching critical thinking, reading, and writing skills in the writing classroom. Students will learn strategies for designing courses and assignments, facilitating discussions and peer reviews, integrating technology and research methods, and responding to writing through tutorials and written evaluations. Readings and presentations by practitioners will also introduce students to the philosophies and practices of Writing Across the Curriculum, the Writing Center, and second-language and basic writing instruction.
Instructor: Mark Olson
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The Great Stories
MALS & MFA Elective, Interdisciplinary. Mondays.
Stories are the loom upon which the meanings of our lives are woven, and mythic stories are always about soulmaking and the pathos that accompanies it. In the Great Stories, universal themes and patterns emerge across time and culture; creation, the wrestling of order from chaos, love, loss, the battle between good and evil, exile, descent to the under-world, the road of tests and trials, threshold crossings, homecoming, transformation. In this course we examine parallels between Great Stories, old and new, as well as the need for re-storying in our rapidly changing global community and withering planet, asking: what new stories need to be woven in our time?
Readings may include: The Hero and the Goddess, Jean Houston; The Penelopiad, Margaret Atwood; The Best Day, The Worst Day, Donald Hall; Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed, Philip Hallie; Pushing the Bear, Diane Glancy; Inanna, Wolkstein and Kramer; American Requiem, James Carroll; Woman Warrior, Maxine Hong Kingston; The Life of Pi, Yann Martel. Instructor: Julie Neraas
Good, Evil and Personal Responsibility:
Historical, Philosophical and Psychiatric Perspectives
MALS & MFA Elective, Interdisciplinary. Saturdays.
This course presents an interdisciplinary overview and comparison of various models of individual responsibility. We begin with an overview of the theological frameworks of good and evil posed by biblical and Buddhist perspectives. We also analyze key ethical formulations by philosophers including Kant, Nietzsche, and Buber. The contributions of twentieth century psychiatry will be examined by way of Freud and Robert Jay Lifton. The issues posed by violence and war will be considered through the writings of Gandhi and others. Two long critical essays will be required. Instructor: Larry Sutin
Real to Reel: The Elements of the Nonfiction Film
MALS & MFA Elective, Interdisciplinary. Wednesdays.
While large budget feature films continue to dominate the world of American entertainment, the small scale documentary film endures. Once the terrain of a few trained professionals, new technologies have made the documentary landscape more and more egalitarian, with an ever-increasing diversity of filmmakers, subjects and styles.
This course will explore the American documentary film from its birth at the turn of the 20th century to the present. From the historical to the contemporary and from Robert Flaherty to Michael Moore, we will consider the methods and context in which these films were produced, and the effects that technology and invention have had on them. We will discuss the interview process, interpretation, and objectivity as well as the use of the camera, research editing, audio and lighting. A minimum of four films will be screened with short reviews and a critical paper on the student’s film of choice. Instructor: Mick Caouette
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MFA Core: Writers and Readers Creators Both
MFA Required/MFA Only. Mondays
What does a writer do? What do writers and readers have in common? How do they relate to other artists and to their audience? Designed as an introduction to the MFA in Writing, this reading-intensive course is an examination of the relationship between writing and reading. Students examine their own creative processes as they generate and revise creative works and reflect on the works of other writers and artists. In an age when criticism and literature, theory and practice often seem at odds, students consider how these contradictions can help their own work. Students will participate in humane and respectful discussions, commit to seeking inspiration and writerly techniques from a diverse group of writers and thinkers, and will complete regular reading assignments and writing exercises.
Instructor: Deborah Keenan or Mary Rockcastle (two sections)
Groundings in the Craft: Elements of Fiction
MFA Only, MFA Writing, Prerequisite for Advanced Fiction. Thursdays.
The focus is on the fundamentals of writing fiction: character development, scene, plot, narrative voice, structure, setting, and dialogue. Through reading and written exercises, students explore questions such as: How do you create a three-dimensional character? What are the possibilities and the limitations of point of view? How do you create vivid, authentic settings? How do you move around in time? What's the connection between structure and content? What's the difference between narrative summary and scene? Classes combine lecture, discussion, exercises, and workshopping of student writing. Readings include a textual guide to narrative craft and short fiction.
Instructor: Sheila O'Connor
Groundings in the Craft: Poetry
MFA Only, MFA Writing, Prerequisite for Advanced Poetry. Wednesdays.
In this course, students study important elements of poetry: metaphor, simile, voice, forms and structures for poems, free-verse structures, and the image. Students consider some of the categories that live under the umbrella of poetry: narrative, lyric, meditation, elegy, prose poem, and the vast number of hybrids that have been born and flourish as these various categories come together. Students experiment with many forms, and with a wide range of options for the content of their poems. They have the opportunity to respond to one another's work and receive written responses from the instructor. Basic poetic terms and techniques are present; exemplary anthologies are used; and there is in-depth focus on several poets. This course grounds students in the basics of poetry so that, as students move into the many multi-genre courses offered in the MFA program, they feel comfortable in the discussion about and creation of poems. Instructor: Deborah Keenan
Groundings in the Craft: Elements of Creative Nonfiction
MFA Only, MFA Writing, Prerequisite for Advanced Creative Nonfiction. Wednesdays.
This foundation class explores the broad multi-genre of creative nonfiction, also called literary nonfiction, lyric nonfiction, imaginative nonfiction, narrative nonfiction, and the literature of fact. We study the fundamentals of craft and form through reading and writing essays, memoirs, and literary journalism--considering everything from straightforward reportage, where a fact is a fact, to the exploratory essay, to lyric nonfiction that looks like prose but moves like a poem, to memoir that pushes the boundaries between fact and imagination. This skills immersion explores prose approaches such as story, lyric, essay reportage, and hybrid as well as craft and content concerns such as time, portraiture, point of view, place, structure, deep subject, process, and revision.
Readings might include work by Annie Dillard, Judith Ortiz Cofer, Patricia Hampl, Scott Russell Sanders, Bernard Cooper, Maxine Hong Kingston, John Edgar Wideman, Jamaica Kincaid, Mary Cappello, Jo Ann Beard, Mary Clearman Blew, Philip Lopate, David Sedaris, Linda Hogan, Albert Goldbarth, Gretel Ehrlich, Naomi Shihab Nye, Judith Kitchen, Ander Monson, Lia Purpura, Brenda Miller, Susanne Antonetta, and others. Students write responses to readings; creative drafts and revision, on which they receive critique; and participate in face-to-face and Web site discussions and workshops.
Instructor: Barrie Jean Borich
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Form & Vision in Poetry
MFA Only, MFA Writing. Tuesdays.
This course will offer students a chance to examine a variety of poets working in a range of contemporary poetic traditions in order to understand the intimate connection between tradition and a poet's vision. The goal of the course is to consider the rich diversity of approaches that are available as poets work to claim and develop their own unique approaches to poetry, and to find ways for the students in the class to build on these approaches. Students will read deeply as well as broadly, from both individual collections. We will also look at prose statements by poets (as well as interviews with the poets) about why they work as they do. Within the limitations of a semester we will create our own traditions as a small poetry community, working together to explore the many options available to poets today. Students will be expected to try their hand at writing a number of different kinds of poems and also to produce a diversely portfolio at the end of the class. They will also be asked to write a short prose “Poetics”, which will give a sense of their own aesthetics as working poets. The class will involve critiquing of student work. Instructor: Jim Moore
Advanced Fiction: Craft
MFA Only, MFA Writing (Prerequisite: Groundings: Fiction). Wednesdays.
This is an advanced-level, thesis preparation class designed for students who have had substantial coursework and who are ready to begin the serious work of shaping a book-length fiction thesis. Through reading of creative and critical work, as well as exercises and discussion, students will engage in a rigorous study of craft intended to further their knowledge and authority as writers. We will consider craft issues such as authorial voice; urgency; creating multi-layered work; the relationship between setting and story; the artistry and impact of structure and plot development. Emphasis will be on creative exploration and experimentation within our work. In a non-workshop format, students will establish an independent artistic process and generate 10-15 pages of new fiction per week. Final projects (40-50 pages of revised thesis material) will be reviewed by peer groups at the end of the semester. Instructor: Sheila O'Connor
The Contemporary Short Story
MFA Only, MFA Writing. Tuesdays.
This course will focus equally on both reading and students’ own writing. We will examine the contemporary short story, reading both established and new writers and looking at why the short story remains a vital and engaging genre, especially for emerging writers. Students will workshop and revise at least one piece of short fiction to a point where it is ready for submission, and begin the process of submitting the work for publication. We will investigate the current marketplace for short fiction, including which journals and magazines and publishers are most appropriate for debut writers. The course will include recent readings from Best American Short Stories, The O. Henry Prize Stories, The New Yorker, McSweeney’s, and other publications, and stories from writers such as Chris Adrian, Roberto Bolano, Michael Cunningham, Junot Diaz, Stuart Dybek, Louise Erdrich, Amy Hempel, Miranda July, Kazuo Ishiguro, Kelly Link, Steven Millhauser, and Wells Tower. Instructor: David Marshall Chan
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Questions? Contact GLS at 651/523-2047 or send an e-mail
