Graduate Courses in Writing, Literature, & Publishing

4 Credits
This course will focus on multi-genre texts by American Indian writers. I use the term "Native Lives" because these texts are not exactly autobiographies or memoirs, in the expected senses of those words, though they have important elements in common with those genres.  Most importantly, the texts we'll study simultaneously tell individual and communal stories, and do so by interweaving diverse genres.  They thus invite consideration of how texts and genres work internally, in relation to other texts and genres, and in relation to "external" realities (traditional cultures, history, other people's lives . . .).  We'll be considering our texts in terms of style, structure, story, and context; what they say or do, how they say or do it, and where, in what context(s). Texts will include: N. Scott Momaday, The Way to Rainy Mountain (mythology and other oral tradition, documentary history, personal memory, illustration); Irvin Morris, From the Glittering World (mythology, documentary history, fictionalized history, "personal" memoir, short stories); Carter Revard, Winning the Dustbowl (poetry, nonfiction prose); Nora Marks Dauenhauer, Life Woven with Song (several nonfiction genres, poetry, drama); Leslie Marmon Silko, Storyteller (mythology and other oral tradition, poetry, fiction, memoir, photography).  

(FALL08) Robin Riley Fast 

4.00 Credits
We will study selected poems and ten of Shakespeare's plays, spanning his creative life from the early 1590's until the approach of his retirement from the stage.  The main focus will be on Shakespeare's language as symbolic action in theatrical performance, but we will also explore the uniquely Shakespearean features of character representation and dramatic form.  Our aim will be to approach Shakespeare's genius as a convergence of personal, social and institutional meanings.  This course is designed to be of value for graduate students in writing, theater and communication.  Previous study of Shakespeare is not required. 

(FALL08) Murray Schwartz 

4 Credits
The course surveys novels and short fiction from multicultural traditions in the Anglophone 'center' (the US, Britain, etc.) in tandem with works from respective places of cultural 'origin' (Mexico, India, Japan, etc.). An exemplary pairing might be Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake with Amitav Ghosh's The Shadow Lines. Focus will be on the analysis of formal, stylistic, thematic, and cultural responses to the challenges of writing in and for overlapping local and global readerships and traditions.

(FALL08) Robert Dulgarian 

4 Credits
This course will examine a range of contemporary American short story writers, with an eye toward  what we can learn as writers as well as students of literature. Each of the chosen texts may be looked at as a model for a particular aspect of technique or thematic concern. We will be looking at short story elements in order to hone our critical sense of what makes a story good or bad, successful or unsuccessful, memorable or non-.  We will be considering the short story from both the level of individual stories and collections as a whole.

(FALL08) Frederick Reiken 

4 Credits
A course exploring the problem of aesthetic judgment and the relation between aesthetics, ethics and politics. Through a series of readings across periods (from the 18th century to today) and across disciplines (from philosophy, to film, to fiction, to poetry , to art) the course will examine what it means to be a member of an aesthetic community, as well as how communities shape aesthetic values and impact political repsonsiblities. In other words, the course will look at how "taste" constructs us as we construct it.

(FALL08) Maria Koundoura 

4 Credits
An examination of the arto narrative in storytelling from both a practical and theoretical standpoint, with particular attention paid to writers and theorists who discuss mechanics, form, and overall aesthetic effects of individual narrative genres and sub-genres. The focus of the course may include point of view and focalization, chronology, exposition and other formal or structural qualities of literary texts, alongside theoretical questions of what it means to craft a story one way rather than another. Primary works of literature from different periods, genres and national literatures may be used to illustrate different narrative strategies, together with theoretical texts on narrative art.

(SPRG09) Yu-jin Chang 

4 Credits
A course on the history and theory of the novel that focuses on one or more aspects of its development from the classical Greek Romance through eighteenth-century realism, its evolution in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The focus may include prose fiction in other non-Western cultures (Japan, China), the Renaissance (Boccaccio), the importance of Cervantes, the rise of manifest fiction in the Enlightenment, or the formalist turn of Modernism. Readings may include theoretical work from Adorno, Kant, Bernstein, Luhmann, Derrida and others, and representative readings in fiction from different periods.

(FALL08) William Donoghue 

4 Credits
Analytical and critical study of a variety of poets and/or schools of poetry, modern and contemporary, that explores their approaches to craft, form, and theme, as well as their aesthetic, cultural, and historical assumptions for and about the art

(FALL08) Christine Casson 

4 Credits
Analytical and critical study of a variety of short stories, mostly modern and contemporary, that explores their approaches to form, theme, and technique

(FALL08) DeWitt Henry 

4 Credits
A literature course that focuses on the nonfiction narrative. We will examine memoir, the personal essay, biography, travel writing, nature writing, and other nonfiction writing from various periods, with particular attention paid to issues of craft and structure, as well as historical and cultural contexts.

(FALL08) Richard Hoffman 

4 Credits
A magazine publishing course designed to give students experience in developing magazine feature stories. Students will brainstorm, report, and write their own magazine-style stories, with emphasis on the shaping and editing stage. They will also read and discuss published work by professionals. Class will be conducted as a writing workshop in a style that mimics a magazine atmosphere. Nonfiction students may take this course once as a substitute for WR613. 

(FALL08) William Beuttler 

4.00 Credits
A course designed to give students an understanding of the ethical decisions editors and writers face in magazine publishing today. The course will draw on current issues in magazine publishing and will focus on these as well as historical readings and class discussions as a means of trying to understand the ethics behind the decisions and actions that take place in magazine publishing.

(FALL08) Jeffrey Seglin 

4.00 Credits
A course designed to give students an understanding of the magazine editing process; it will cover topics ranging from focus, direction, topicality, structure, sense of audience, and voice. Practical application of editing skills as well as historic examples of editors and their magazines will be explored. (Prerequisite: Completion of WP 680 or Permission of Instructor.)

(SPRG09) William Beuttler 

4.00 Credits
A course designed to give students an understanding of the magazine writing and editing process. The course will cover topics ranging from idea generation and story selection to the mechanics of editing and how the editorial process works. (Prerequisite: Completion of WP 680 or Permission of Instructor.)

(FALL08) William Beuttler 

4.00 Credits
A course designed to give students an understanding of the magazine field from the perspective of writers and editors. Editorial and business operations of magazines will be explored; the editorial mix and magazine geography will also be examined.

(FALL08) Leslie Brokaw  Deblina Chakraborty  Gian Lombardo  (SPRG09) Leslie Brokaw  Gian Lombardo 

4.00 Credits
This course covers magazine design fundamentals: design, typography, image research and assignment, and prepress and manufacturing. Each student produces a sample magazine through a workshop process of presentations and revisions. This course is not a computer lab course and assumes necessary computer skills.

(FALL08) Lisa Diercks 

4.00 Credits
An introduction to the book publishing industry, including a detailed examination of the editorial, marketing, and design and production stages of the book publishing process. The course also looks at important developments and issues within the field, such as online publishing, and at various jobs in book publishing.

(FALL08) David Emblidge  Gian Lombardo  (SPRG09) Gian Lombardo  Daniel Weaver 

4.00 Credits
This course will review alternative, independent and small imprint book publishers in the United States, and their role in publishing, society and culture today. We will examine these independent publishers, their markets and targeted audiences and discuss how they compete with large, corporate publishing houses. The course will review alternate presses, political books on the right and left, eBooks, digital books and the social & business responsibilities of the press.

(FALL08) James McCormack 

4.00 Credits
This course considers book editing skills, tasks, and responsibilities from initial review and acquisition of a book manuscript through project development; the course emphasizes trade book editing, but also considers editorial work at scholarly and professional presses. (Prerequisite: WP 683 or Permission of Instructor.)

(FALL08) Fred Francis  (SPRG09) David Emblidge 

4.00 Credits
This course covers book and book jacket design fundamentals: design, typography, image research and assignment, and prepress and manufacturing. The class will edit, design, and produce a book (content to be decided in class). This is not a computer lab course and assumes students have necessary computer skills. 

(SPRG09) Lisa Diercks 

4 Credits
A magazine publishing course designed to give students an understanding of the process of researching, writing, and revising magazine columns with an understanding of the importance of audience. This course can count for one workshop credit for nonfiction students.

(FALL08) Jeffrey Seglin  (SPRG09) Jeffrey Seglin 

4.00 Credits
A practical course that covers the process of editing and preparing manuscripts for publication. Together with hands-on assignments, the course considers the relation of editor to author, the nature of copyediting in various publishing environments, and other topics.

(FALL08) Karen English  Daniel Weaver  (SPRG09) Karen English 

4 Credits
A book publishing course designed to familiarize students with trade book promotion to the media. The course starts with an overview of book publicity and then covers the publicity process, as well as the type of freelance help available, crafting the press material, the aughor-publicist dynamic, how to secure and promote bookstore events, the art of the interview, and the art of the pitch. Prerequisite PB683

(SPRG09) Lissa Warren 

0.00 Credits
Internships involve work in writing and publishing. Internships in other areas should be undertaken through the appropriate department. Students are expected to attend class meetings during the internship semester and may not register for another course whose meeting time coincides with that of the internship course. A 4-credit internship requires 16 hours a week over a 12-week period and an 8-credit internship requires 32 hours a week over a 12-week period. No more than eight credits of internship and no more than 12 credits of any combination of internship, directed project, and directed study may be applied to the total graduation requirements. Please consult the Academic Calendar for registration deadlines.

(FALL08) Gian Lombardo  (SPRG09) Gian Lombardo 

4.00 Credits
In this course students master the page layout and image creation software used in the publishing industry. Students will also learn related computer-based skills, such as type and image sourcing; image acquisition, including scanning; and copyright issues. Although some design issues will be addressed, the primary focus is on software skills. This course assumes the student has basic Macintosh skills.

(FALL08) Melissa Gruntkosky  (SPRG09) Melissa Gruntkosky 

4.00 Credits
An introduction to electronic and new media publishing formats, including but not limited to the Web, online publishing, CD-ROM, and DVD. This course assumes student has basic computer skills.

(FALL08) John Rodzvilla  (SPRG09) John Rodzvilla 

4 Credits
This course will provide students with a base knowledge of the business aspects of publishing in the three publishing sectors: book, magazine and the Internet. The course will help students to develop a basic understanding of the financial management and economic levers of publishing and will analyze the importance, contributions and methods of advertising, marketing, distribution, circulation, operations and customer service to each publishing segment. At the conclusion of the course, students should have a base knowledge of the business of publishing, the departments that drive the business of publishing, the ability to create and use the basic financial documents, profit & loss statements and budgets for a publishing enterprise and how their proper usage and analysis can drive decision making and allow publishers to be successful in the competitive market of today.

(FALL08) James McCormack 

4 Credits
This course is designed as an extension of Emerson's Book Publishing Overview course for students who want to further explore the sales and marketing sides of the business.  It starts with where marketing and sales fit into the life of a book, the differences between the two areas (since they are so often lumped into the linguistic catch-all "salesandmarketing"), and the distinct effect that each, done well or badly, has on a book's success.  It then tracks the marketing and sales process through a book's publication with specific assignments at each stage based on real-world publishing tasksfrom sales forecasting to planning (and budgeting for) marketing campaigns, writing catalog copy and title information sheets, conceiving and writing promotional materials, including advertisements, sales conference preparation and planning, sales calls and the retailers' buying processes.  The work of the marketing and sales teams don't end when a book is published, and one of the last segments of the class will focus on what goes on after the ship and publication dates have passed.  And finally: career planninghow to choose between marketing and sales and the different pathways to get where you want to go in the publishing business.

(FALL08) Beth Ineson 

4.00 Credits
Survey and analysis of current composition theories and the study of teaching methods and assignment and syllabus preparation. Students report regularly in class on their responses to the texts they read. They also observe and participate in ongoing freshman writing classes. At the end of the semester they produce a detailed critical appraisal of what they have read and discussed, along with a full prospectus describing the course they may go on to teach.

(FALL08) John Trimbur  (SPRG09) John Trimbur 

4.00 Credits
In-class discussion of original poems with the aim of helping students learn strategies for generating and revising work. The workshop asks you to consider your work in light of the essential issues of the poet's craft, and to articulate your individual sensibilities as poets.

(FALL08) Anne Cameron Thomas  Christine Casson  John Skoyles  (SPRG09) Jonathan Aaron 

4.00 Credits
This workshop will use student manuscripts as its main texts, supplemented by published stories, to illustrate the fundamental aspects of fiction writing, mainly in the short story form. The course explores the complexities of narration, characterization, scene, dialogue, style, tone, plot, etc. The emphasis will be on the generation of fictional works and on their revision.

(FALL08) DeWitt Henry  (SPRG09) Michael Heppner 

4.00 Credits
Explores the complexities of dialogue, scene, narrative, and style.

(FALL08) Bernard Brooks  Maria Flook  Pamela Painter  (SPRG09) Maria Flook  Pamela Painter  Ladette Randolph 

4 Credits
This workshop explores how poems are shaped by attention to metrical lineation and rhythm, stanza structure, and the forms of poetry, such as the sonnet, sestina, villanelle, renga, ballade, ghazal, etc. Students are expected to write original poems in forms, as well as to develop their practical knowledge of prosody.

(SPRG09) Daniel Tobin 

4.00 Credits
Stresses the writing of many forms of nonfiction, such as informal essays, autobiography, profiles, travel writing, or literary journalism, coupled with in-class reading for criticism and suggestions.

(FALL08) Joseph Hurka  Douglas Whynott  (SPRG09) Richard Hoffman  Megan Marshall 

4.00 Credits
A detailed exploration of the playwright's craft for the medium of the stage. Each student undertakes to write a major dramatic work and submits a draft for critique and discussion.

(FALL08) William Orem 

4.00 Credits
For students with screenplays-in-progress and for writers wishing to start new scripts.

(SPRG09) Christopher Keane 

4.00 Credits
A workshop in structuring and writing the opening chapters of a first novel. The course explores story premise, stylistic approaches, point-of-view system, and other structural parameters, as well as revision.

(FALL08) Frederick Reiken  (SPRG09) Lise Haines 

4.00 Credits
A workshop for students with novels-in-progress and for writers wishing to start new novels. This course examines the development, organization, and revision of a novel beyond its initial stages.

(FALL08) Kimberly McLarin  (SPRG09) Kimberly McLarin 

4.00 Credits
A writing workshop focusing on the extended narrative, with discussions of organizing the research, developing an outline and devising a structure, carrying out the plan, and writing the book proposal. Students submit their own work and read from a list of nonfiction books of various approaches.

(FALL08) Megan Marshall  (SPRG09) Douglas Whynott