Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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and submitting a write-up of the experience, developing an annotated bibliography and position
statement, constructing an academic argument based on research from the annotated bibliography and
position statement, and composing and end-of-semester writing reflection and the significant revision of
an earlier major project for a new audience and purpose.
English 3663: Creative Nonfiction I (Spring 2013, Spring 2015, Spring 2016independent
studies).
This writing-intensive workshop course focuses on the production of nonfiction text as well as the
analysis of published nonfiction pieces. The course focuses on popular nonfiction genres: personal
essays, literary journalism, lyric essays, and craft essays. In addition, the student crafts and develops a
professional online writing persona through an online blog and presence on social media platforms such
as Twitter and LinkedIn. The intersection between creative nonfiction writing and digital texts is also
emphasized in discussions and written responses (description adapted from course catalog information).
English 4003: Writing the E-book (Spring 2013independent study).
This writing-intensive course has a two-pronged focus: part of the workload is devoted to the
development of a novel while the rest of the workload focuses on learning about and exploring online
publication options for authors, including e-book options and other online venues for authors to
establish and develop a professional persona. By the end of the semester, the student has a finished draft
of her novel as well as an e-publishing analysis of 3 different e-publishing platforms. The student also
develops an online professional persona through ongoing use of social media such as Twitter, LinkedIn,
and a blog devoted to her writing work.
English 4013: Seminar in Peer Tutoring (Fall 2012; Spring 2013; Fall 2013; Spring 2014; Fall
2014; Spring 2015; Fall 2015; Spring 2016; Fall 2016).
This upper-level seminar course focuses on training potential peer tutors to work in the campus
Writing Center. The course divides its time between reading theoretical and practical texts focused on
college-level writing center work and applying those readings through a tutoring practicum in which
students observe writing center consultations and then conduct their own tutoring sessions. Students in
this course also compose a variety of assignments, including a Case Study of Yourself as a Writer, in
which they reflect upon and explain their own writing processes; a reflective text focused on their
experiences observing and tutoring in the writing center; a series of reading responses; and a final
project, which the student designs to demonstrate their understand of popular writing center theories
and practices.
English 4453: Advanced Composition (Fall 2016)
This writing-intensive course will focus on an introduction to rhetoric, with special emphasis on
developing rhetorical analysis skills and terminology. Major projects include creating a handout on a
rhetorical term for classmates, composing a rhetorical analysis of a written text, composing a rhetorical
analysis of a visual text or creating a visual argument, and reflecting on the writers own rhetorical
strategies and techniques in a reflective project. Weekly reflective responses and informal writing are
also a significant part of the class, as is large and small group discussion.
English 4653: Writing for Multimedia (Spring 2013independent study)
This writing-intensive course focuses on practicing professional writing genres for a variety of media,
with an emphasis on writing for web-based genres (blogs, websites, podcasting, slideshows, etc.). By the
end of the semester, the student creates a feature story written for a web audience, a podcast and/or
slideshow to accompany the feature story, and a professional website and blog focused on establishing a
professional presence as a web-based writer. Readings and discussion focus on writing text for webbased (and mobile) audiences, the interaction between other design elements & text, and web-based
editing techniques.
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English 4663: Creative Nonfiction II (Spring 2012; Summer 2015independent study; Spring
2016independent study ).
This upper-level creative writing course is designed around the theme Essaying in the Twenty-First
Century, and is structured using a contract-grading system. Over the span of the semester, we discuss
four different genres currently popular in creative nonfiction writing: flash nonfiction, lyric essays,
digital essays, and craft essays. Students compile a portfolio of pieces, which they turn in at the end of
the semester after workshopping drafts throughout the term. Other projects include discussion launches
(in which one or two students lead discussion on an assigned reading), publication presentations (which
require students to research and present one nonfiction-related publication or writing contest
opportunity to classmates), peer response feedback sessions, and keeping a commonplace book over the
course of the semester. Course goals include developing conventional nonfiction techniques (such as
constructing scenes and dialogue exchanges) while also encouraging students to experiment with the
ways in which the style of a text influences its content. Other goals include developing a professional
writing persona via class discussions and feedback sessions as well as practicing close reading skills on
unconventional essays from the anthology The Next American Essay.
Literature 2333: Intro to Film (Fall 2015; Spring 2016; Fall 2016all sections taught online).
This general education course, which fulfills the universitys humanities requirement, offers a general
introduction to the film industry, film terminology, and film studies as a field, with a special emphasis on
American cinema. The course moves from early Hollywood history into various genres of films, and
ends with discussions of filmmaking in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Assignments include
regular weekly discussion boards, 5 movie reviews, 2 essays (a cultural analysis and a genre analysis),
and 3 multiple choice exams. Course goals include helping students learn and use film terminology
when watching films critically, better understanding how the film industry is situated within American
cultural history, developing critical thinking and analytical skills, and learning how to write about film
for both popular and academic audiences.