COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This interdisciplinary writing workshop employs the city of Rome as its muse
and offers instruction in several genres of creative writing. By examining a
variety of works inspired by the Eternal City, students will learn how to
evaluate literature in light of an aesthetic and historic precedent, as well as
participate in the long tradition of international writers who have recreated
Rome on the page. The course will also problematize Rome, exploring the ancient
city’s contemporary contradictions and complexities and the way writers both
perpetuate and dismantle certain myths, such as the illusory idea of l
a dolce vita. Writing workshops will
acquaint students with the techniques and tools used to critique and
incorporate critical feedback into their own revision process. Through studied
writing practice and the examination of the Roman setting as a vital literary
component, students will generate a final portfolio of textual interpretations
in response to the Eternal City.
SUMMARY
OF COURSE CONTENT:
Students will engage in studied writing practice and keep a journal in which
they will document the city of Rome, so they may later shape entries into
more substantive, polished work, regardless of genre. The course will
move between writing workshops, traditional lectures, discussions of the
assigned readings, student presentations of journal assignments, and in-class
writing. Some meetings will incorporate a field trip or site visit; some
assignments will require outings within the city of Rome to be made during
the student’s own time. Readings will correspond to the specific genres
and the assignments connected to them. The final portfolio will include a
combination of the following forms: poetry, fiction, and creative
nonfiction such as diary, memoir, personal essays, and travel
writing. Born of the philosophy that all writing benefits from
careful critique and thoughtful revision, the workshops will aid students in
the development of critical thinking and editorial skills, helping to foster
an aesthetic sensibility about their own writing, the writing of others, and
ultimately a more thorough understanding of several genres encompassed by the
term “creative writing.” |
LEARNING
OUTCOMES:
Students completing this workshop will have spent an entire semester
exploring the rich literary tradition inspired by the city of Rome and they
will have featured Rome in their own writing, whether fiction, nonfiction, or
poetry. They will be familiar with the writing techniques employed when
producing works within various genres of creative writing and they will have
gained experience through generating a portfolio of their own work.
Lastly, they will have acquired the editorial skills necessary to offer
critique and to self-edit, and taken their own work through various stages of
revision. |