E N G L I S H    3 1 0

A D V A N C E D    C O M P I S I T I O N

C A L E N D A R

S P R I N G    2 0 0 7

 


 
 
 

 

 

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Department 
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 to English 
Department 
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to course syllabus

 

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Department 
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to course syllabus

 

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Department 
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One

1/16

  • Introductions.  Discuss reading / writing experience w/ the essay genre.

  • Memory chain exercise.

  • Assignment for Thursday: detailed observation (see Writing True 23).

1/18 

  • Workshop exercise.  Overview of Writing True Chapter Three

  • Detail walk (dress warm!): carrying a notebook, walk for 20 minutes collecting details either from the physical world around you, or details drawn from memory. 

 

Two

1/23

  • Readings: Annie Dillard, "Death of a Moth" (139) and Virginia Woolf, "The Death of the Moth" (467)

  • Daily Work due: compare the use of detail in Dillard and Woolf.

  • Discuss results of the detail walk.  What good are these details?

  • Grizzly Man descriptive exercise.

  • Assign vignette--very short (200-500 word) non-fiction piece, evoking an event in a significant way, but favoring descriptive techniques over commentary--worth 20 points in daily work.

1/25

  • Key concepts from Writing True Chapter Four:

  • beginning / middle / end (46)

  • scene / summary / reflection (50) and (61-62)

  • riffs (53)

  • a repertoire of forms (54-58)

  • Workshop vignette

Three

1/30

  • Readings: David Sedaris, "Me Talk Pretty One Day" (340) and Scott Russell Sanders, "The Inheritance of Tools" (331)

  • Quiz questions:  1) How does David Sedaris learn French?  2) Why, according to Sanders, are carpenters obligated to cut straight lines?  3) What distinguishes a tool from a machine, according to Sanders? 

  • Discuss proposal for essay 1--memoir or personal essay:  your proposal should answer the following questions: 1) what descriptive scenes will anchor the essay?  1a) what's the main story of the essay?  2) what significance do you think will emerge from your reflection on those scenes and story elements?  3) how do you plan to structure or organize the essay?

2/1

  • Proposal for essay 1 due.  Questions for pair discussion:  1) what perspective does the writer seem to have on the events and ideas, here?  2) what other perspectives can you imagine?  3) what subject areas are suggested by the story materials of the proposal?  4) what kinds of primary or secondary research would be useful for this piece?  

  • Creative non-fiction definition on Wikipedia

  • David Sedaris: "The SantaLand Diaries"

Four

2/6

  • Humanities symposium events 1) Free lunch at 12:30 in the RC boardroom (1st floor); 2) "Immigration Close to Home" at 1:15 in the FAC lobby.

 

2/8

Five

2/13

  • Readings: Chapter Nine of Writing True and Gerald Callahan's "Chimera" (219 of WT)

  • Readings: pages 80-105 of Writing True

  • First draft workshop of Essay 1--please bring to class four copies of at least 4 double-spaced pages of material for your essay.

 

2/15 

  • No class: instructor away

  • Extra credit opportunity: attend Sarah Fox's reading at 7:00 PM at the Pump House.  Corner of King and Front Streets in downtown La Crosse.  Open mic follows featured reading.  2$ suggested donation.

Six

2/20

  • Essay 1 due

  • Assign observation essay one (35 points):  this short essay of 400-800 words should focus on an individual person or place in a particular time and setting (see "profile" or "essay of place" in ch. 1 of Writing True).  Based on close observation of this person or place in time, the observation essay should render something essential about the character of this person or place.  The piece should be both factual and resonant, with the qualities of voice and artistry that separate "creative" non-fiction from journalism.  You may use this essay as a stepping stone for your second formal essay.

  • Begin second formal essay: your second formal piece should work in one of the following subgenres: portrait, essay of place, opinion essay, or literary journalism.  Review chapter 1 for characterizations of each type of work.  

 

2/22 

  • Readings: Henry David Thoreau, "Where I Lived, and What I Lived For" (in 50 Essays)

  • Gretel Ehrlich "Island" (285 in Writing True)

  • Quiz question:  Gretel Ehrlich writes that "a view is something our minds make of a place," while Thoreau writes "Time is but the stream I go afishing in."  Both writers are working from specific places, but arriving at ideas about human perception.  Drawing from specific passages in each piece, write a short essay (100-200 words) that synthesizes Ehrlich's and Thoreau's reflections on human perception.  How do our tools of perception influence our experience of the world, for better or worse?  How should we try to adjust those faculties?

Seven

2/27

  • Readings: Li-Young Lee, from The Winged Seed (264 in Writing True) and Tracy Kidder, from Among Schoolchildren (309 in WT)

  • Workshop draft of observation essay

3/1

  • Observation essay due

SPRING BREAK

  • Watch for my responses to your observation essays in your email

Eight

3/13

  • No class: instructor away

  • Proposals for Essay Two due by class time--portrait, essay of place, literary journalism, opinion essay--due in email.  Please paste your proposal directly into the body of an email.  Your proposal should answer the following questions: 1) what is the style and subject of your essay (i.e., a piece of literary journalism on a theater major's senior show)? 2) what are the main creative elements of the piece?  In other words, what elements of description, or voice, or style, will make this a creative piece?  3) what is the significance of this piece to the reader?  In other words, what kind of topical or thematic appeal does your subject offer?

3/15

  • Readings (from 50 Essays):  Amy Tan, "Mother Tongue"; N. Scott Momaday, "The Way to Rainy Mountain"

Nine

3/20

  • Readings (from Writing True): Susan Allen Toth, "Going to the Movies" (280); Gretchen Legler, "Moments of Being: An Antarctic Quintet" (289)

  • Revisions for essay 1 due

3/22

  • Draft workshop for essay two

  • EXTRA CREDIT--attend Pump House Reading by Bruce Taylor (7:00 PM, corner of King and Front Streets, downtown La Crosse)

Ten

3/27

  • in-class writing time for essay two (bring materials necessary to work on the piece electronically).  Essay two due at end of hour.

  • Assign observation essay 2--open topic and style.  The piece should offer a brief but illuminating portrayal of people, places, things, ideas, acts, events… etc.  It should represent its subject in imaginative ways, based on some sort of intense (though perhaps brief) attention—perhaps watching, listening, tasting, remembering, or even reading.  The assignment is designed to create a space for students to engage in primary research that might lead to a larger essay.  Even if it doesn't, the assignment should be provide valuable practice in paying close attention to the world.

     

 

3/29

  • Readings: (from Writing True): All the pieces in the section entitled "Short Shorts" (363-374

Eleven

4/3

  • Observation essay two due

 

4/5: EASTER BREAK 

 

Twelve

4/10

4/12 

  • Proposals due for Essay Three--open topic, open style.  Your proposal should clearly explain what your subject will be, what the creative elements of the piece will be, and how the piece will appeal topically or thematically to an audience.

Thirteen

4/17

  • No class: instructor away

4/19 

  • 4 Observation presentations:  Katrina, Kara, Anna, Lee

  • Revisions for essay 2 due

Fourteen

4/24

  • Draft workshop for Essay Three

Wednesday, 4/25:

  • Attend Touchstone opening--7:00 PM in FAC 3rd floor gallery

4/26

  • 4 observation presentations: Tom, Nathan, Ryan, Jessica

Fifteen

5/1

  • In-class work day

5/3

  • Essay Three due

  • Remaining observation presentations: Matt, Eric

Final Exam Period

  • Monday, May 7, 9:50-11:50--return essay three drafts for possible revision

 

 

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