GLS Sampler Courses

Graduate School of Liberal Studies classes attract the kind of people who want to think deeply about their world. People like you who love to encounter new ideas and explore diverse perspectives. Whether you have graduated from the GLS or Hamline, sampled a class with us before or have been out of the classroom for twenty years, sampler courses offer a way explore a rigorous, intellectual, creatively challenging environment with accomplished, supportive faculty.

Our course sampling opportunities are varied and easily accessible for those looking to get a feel for one our degree programs, to work with a specific professor or, as for many, just to dip a toe back into the classroom setting. Should you decide to apply to the program down the road, credits earned can be applied to your degree.

FALL TERM Sampler Courses:

     Creative Nonfiction Classics  (online)

     Real Magic: Magical Realism and Realistic Magic in Native American Literature

     The Graphic Novel for Writers    

     Real to Reel: The Elements of the Nonfiction Film
 

FALL TERM 2009

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

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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

The Graphic Novel for Writers
GLS 8067-18697. 4 credits.

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

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

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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HOW TO REGISTER:

Simply print the Sampler Registration Form and return it to the Graduate School of Liberal Studies via mail, fax or in person. (Return information is on the form.)

POLICIES & PROCEDURES:

Sampler students must have a bachelor’s degree. Complete registration forms may be sent via fax, mail or brought to the Student Administrative Services Office in person. Sorry, online registration is not available for non-degree seeking students. Courses are open on a space-available basis.

Fees/Payment: 
Fall 2009: $416 per semester credit for MALS courses; $428 per credit for MFA courses.

All credits in graduate semester credits. Courses range from 2-4 credits. Texts and course packets at additional cost may also be required. Those considering a payment plan should call Student Administrative Services 651-523-3000 for details.

Withdrawal: In accordance with the Official Academic Calendar, restrictions on refunds apply. Please call Student Administrative Services at 651-523-3000 for details.

Cancellation: If a course does not reach minimum enrollment, it will be canceled at least seven days prior to the first session. Tuition paid will be refunded or held for another course.

Evaluation: Letter grade or Pass/No Pass option must be specified at the first class. Outside assignments will be required of all registrants, regardless of grading system.

Application to degree program: Only sampler courses taken for a letter grade may be considered for future transfer into a Hamline University degree program. Grades earned must be a B- or better. Application and admission to a degree program are required.

Parking Information: Free in St. Paul campus lots after 4:30 p.m. and on weekends. Free parking at the HU Minneapolis Center.

Special Assistance: Please notify Student Administrative Services when you register.

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