Category: Stuff You Oughta Know
The latest events, opportunities and any other news that is applicable to our program.
Writing Studies Summer 2020 Course Offerings
Summer I: (CRN 20123)
ENG 620: Special Topics in Literature/Culture: Crime and Media
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6:00 p.m. – 8:55 p.m.
Instructor: Dr. Mike Lyons
(Area I) 5 slots reserved for Writing Studies students
One out of five people imprisoned in the world is in a prison in the United States. This country incarcerates more people—by a long way—than any other country in the world. Yet we don’t know much about who is in our prisons or why they are there. We think we do because journalistic (Fox News and CNN) and fictional depictions (Law and Order and Orange is the New Black) tell us stories about crime, justice and incarceration. But are those trustworthy? In this class we’ll find out by meeting people who are in prison, talking with them and their families and creating our narratives.
Media narratives have impacted our understanding of crime, justice and incarceration. We will produce new narratives, stories of redemption inside the walls through work with men and women who serve life sentences and their families. The course includes work outside of class, meeting with these folks. Our work will include audio, video and prose. Media production experience is helpful but not required.
This course will include undergraduate students and graduate students from the Writing Studies program in the Department of English. For more info, write Dr. Mike Lyons at jlyons@sju.edu
Summer II: (CRN 20283)
ENG 620: Special Topics in Literature/Culture: Horror in Literature & Film
Hybrid class – Online/ Tuesdays in person, 6:30 p.m. – 9:15 p.m.
Instructor: Dr. Paul Patterson
(Area I)
Have you ever asked yourself: “Why do I like to be scared?” When the novel came into being in the middle of the eighteenth century, its most popular genre was the Gothic—the novel of horror. In fact, the modern era—the era of science, reason, and democracy—has been obsessed with terror, fear, and the unknown since its very inception. So, why do we like to be terrified? What is it about horror fiction that so appeals to modern culture? We often avoid delving into such questions because they reveal to us that our pleasures often seem woefully uncivilized and unseemly. Beginning with one of the earliest Gothic horror novels, the course will trace out a literary, philosophical, and filmic history. Each unit of the course will explore how a different psychological/cultural concept of terror plays out in an aesthetic context.
Info Letter from Director Tenaya Darlington
Spring registration, The Avenue, future course suggestions and more!
Dear Writers,
We’re approaching registration, and I’d like to share a little information to help you choose your spring classes. As you can see, we’re offering two of our regular Writing Studies offerings, along with a special course on Crime & Media. If you’re interested in this course, please register for it ASAP on Nov. 4. This is an extremely popular Communications class, taught by the incredible blogger and podcaster Mike Lyons, who has helped several of our former grad students break into writing/producing for radio. I have negotiated 5 spots in this course for Writing Studies students. If you have questions about it, please email Mike (jlyons@sju.edu) or me.
Call for Avenue Board Members
Interested in serving as editor or a board member for Avenue, our literary journal? This annual publication comes out each spring and is funded by Writing Studies. Each year, a new board creates its look, chooses submissions, handles the editing process, and oversees printing. If you’d like to gain experience being part of a publication, please email me (tenayadarlington@gmail.com) by November 15, 2019.
Got News?
We post job openings, updates, and info about writing events on our Facebook page and on Twitter. If you’ve got something you’d like us to share, please let us know. And consider following us so you can connect with others!
Future Classes
We love your input, so if there are courses you hope to see on the books in Summer 2020 or in 2021, please let us know!
Best wishes and happy writing,
Tenaya
Spring 2020 Writing Studies Course Offerings
ENG 688: Creative Nonfiction Workshop (Areas I & III)
Mondays – 6:30 – 9:15 p.m.
Dr. Melissa Goldthwaite
Creative Nonfiction will explore literary diaries and journals, memoir (including graphic memoirs), the personal essay, cultural criticism, and literary journalism. We’ll analyze and practice different forms of creative nonfiction with attention to both student and professional writing. This class will provide a context in which students can learn the conventions of the genre—from finding a topic to creating a structure, from scene making to fact finding and more; participate in the process of discovery and research; and work with others in crafting, drafting, revising, and seeking a larger audience through publication. Assignments include discussion of assigned readings, keeping a writer’s notebook, participating in weekly writing exercises, and writing, workshopping, and revising short (2-pages), medium (5-7 pages), and longer (20-pages) creative nonfiction pieces. (Areas I & III)
ENG 620: Special Topics in Literature/Culture: Crime & Media (Area I)
Tuesdays – 6:30 – 9:15 p.m.
Dr. Mike Lyons
One out of five people imprisoned in the world is in a prison in the United States. This country incarcerates more people—by a long way—than any other country in the world. Yet we don’t know much about who is in our prisons or why they are there. We think we do because journalistic (Fox News and CNN) and fictional depictions (Law and Order and Orange is the New Black) tell us stories about crime, justice and incarceration. But are those trustworthy? In this class we’ll find out by meeting people who are in prison, talking with them and their families and creating our narratives.
Media narratives have impacted our understanding of crime, justice and incarceration. We will produce new narratives, stories of redemption inside the walls through work with men and women who serve life sentences and their families. The course includes work outside of class, meeting with these folks. Our work will include audio, video and prose. Media production experience is helpful but not required.
This course will include undergraduate students and graduate students from the Writing Studies program in the Department of English. For more info write Dr. Mike Lyons at jlyons@sju.edu. (Area I)
ENG 679: Special Topics in Journalism: Writers at Work (Area III)
Wednesdays – 6:30 – 9:15 p.m.
Professor Tenaya Darlington
This course is designed to set your professional life as a writer in motion. Over the course of 15 weeks, you’ll meet a series of working writers from around Philadelphia who will visit our class. During these visits, you’ll have the opportunity to network with professional writers and learn about possible career paths, from public relations to publishing. Each writer’s visit will tie into a different writing assignment so that you can begin building a portfolio of professional work (likely assignments will include: a press release, a review, a book proposal, an edited manuscript, plus a professional resume and bio.) At the end, you’ll develop an online portfolio that you can use as a calling card. (Area III)
Questions? Email Director Tenaya Darlington (tdarling@sju.edu) or Heather Foster at hfoster@sju.edu.
Fall 2019 Writing Studies Course Schedule
ENG 642: Style (Area II)
(CRN 42602)
Mondays – 6:30 – 9:15 p.m.
Dr. Melissa Goldthwaite
In this course, we will consider the history of style from a rhetorical perspective and then move to the work of 20th and 21st century writers to explore the use of style in contemporary writing, including your own. A discussion-based seminar with a workshop component, this course depends on a high level of participation. In addition to reading, you will write a series of short papers and conduct a semester-long project exploring style. (Area II)
ENG 676: Writing for Publication (Area III)
(CRN 42603)
Wednesdays – 6:30 – 9:15 p.m.
Staff
Successful freelance publishing begins with an awareness of what editors and their readers want. It demands knowledge of the manuscript market and familiarity with the requirements of specific publications: subject, length, organization, style. Unpublished writers can perfect their skills by analysis and imitation of authors who already write for the publications in which learners wish to appear. The course requires that assignments be composed—from the beginning—for specific publications and that completed work will be submitted for publication. Content can be fiction, nonfiction, or journalism and varies with the instructor. (Area III)
ENG 550: Practice of Writing (Core Class)
(CRN 42600)
Thursdays – 6:30 – 9:15 p.m.
Professor Tenaya Darlington
This course is designed as an Introduction to the Writing Studies Program, and it allows students to explore a variety of genres while they explore career options within the writing/publishing world. Students will literally “walk in the shoes” of different writers, playing the role of columnist, reporter, editor, poet, and fiction writer. At the end of the course, students will reflect on these different roles and begin brainstorming a possible thesis project in one area. (Core Course)
Questions? Email Director Tom Coyne at tcoyne@sju.edu or Heather Foster at hfoster@sju.edu.