Program Description
The Creative Writing Minor examines emphasizes student creativity, expression, and production through intensive reading from a variety of cultural backgrounds and time periods, extensive writing and revising, and active discussion. Courses offered for the minor introduce students to the major literary genres of prose and poetry, and sharpen their writing skills. Students learn to contextualize literary styles and find their own voice within them.
Students who complete the creative writing minor learn to analyze and practice major literary devices pertinent to fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction prose, and nature writing; discover the possibilities inherent in various literary genres and find their own voice within them, and develop and hone their writing skills. By the completion of the minor, students have compiled a portfolio of stories, essays, and poems.
Core Requirements: 9 Credits
• ENG 2252: Introduction to Poetry Writing
Designed to help students develop their voices and styles as poets and to discover and utilize the various poetic devices and forms through writing exercises, reading and discussing poems, discussing one another’s poems in a supportive atmosphere and through revising poems. Offered Fall and Spring Semester. This course is approved for General Education: Unity and Diversity of Humanity - Themes - Arts & the Human Experience.
• ENG 2254: Introduction to Fiction Writing
Designed to help students find their true voice and true concerns as writers while mastering the essentials of the art. Emphasis is on writing exercises and then complete works, but also on becoming better readers. In-depth discussion of student work, the assigned readings, and the process of writing. (Offered Fall and Spring Semester). This course is approved for General Education: Unity and Diversity of Humanity - Themes - Arts & the Human Experience.
• Choose one of the following:
ENG 3252: Advanced Poetry Writing
Students further develop their skills as poets by teaching contemporary poetry by a wide diversity of writers and writing their own poems. Emphasis will be on students developing a body of work to be edited into a chapbook. Students will give presentations over a "poet mentor," learn how to evaluate literary markets and how to submit poetry manuscripts for publication, and give a reading of their poems. (Offered Spring Semester). This course is approved for General Education: Unity and Diversity of Humanity - Themes - Arts & the Human Experience. Prerequisite: ENG 2252.
ENG 3254: Advanced Fiction Writing
Through writing exercises, reading the work of published writers, and workshopping original manuscripts, students will work on creating a portfolio of short fiction or the first three chapters of a novel. Students will also learn how to market their work. (Offered Spring Semester). This course is approved for General Education: Unity and Diversity of Humanity - Themes - Arts & the Human Experience. Prerequisite: ENG 2254.
Electives: 9 Credits
Choose three of the following courses:
ENG 3316: Creative Nonfiction Writing
Students will read and analyze published nonfiction, including essays, magazine articles, and electronic media, and experiment with form and subject matter. Genres explored will include memoir, literary journalism, and sociopolitical commentary. Small group workshops will help students revise and edit their own and each other's writing while learning a variety of editing skills. The emphasis of the class is on in-depth discussion of student work, the assigned readings, and the process of writing. This course is approved for General Education: Unity and Diversity of Humanity - Themes - Arts & the Human Experience. Prerequisite: ENG 1112.
ENG 3332: Nature Writing
Based on reading, observation, and experience, students will write creative non-fiction prose about nature and discuss each other’s work. The course will deal with such issues as the importance of place, the role of science in personal responses to nature, the nature of Nature, and the meaning of “nonfiction” in nature writing. This course is approved for General Education: Unity and Diversity of Humanity - Themes - Environmental, Economic, Social, and Personal Sustainability. Prerequisite: ENG 1112.
ENG 3252: Advanced Poetry Writing (if not taken as a core course)
Students further develop their skills as poets by teaching contemporary poetry by a wide diversity of writers and writing their own poems. Emphasis will be on students developing a body of work to be edited into a chapbook. Students will give presentations over a "poet mentor," learn how to evaluate literary markets and how to submit poetry manuscripts for publication, and give a reading of their poems. (Offered Spring Semester). This course is approved for General Education: Unity and Diversity of Humanity - Themes - Arts & the Human Experience. Prerequisite: ENG 3314.
ENG 3254: Advanced Fiction Writing (if not taken as a core course)
Through writing exercises, reading the work of published writers, and workshopping original manuscripts, students will work on creating a portfolio of short fiction or the first three chapters of a novel. Students will also learn how to market their work. (Offered Spring Semester). This course is approved for General Education: Unity and Diversity of Humanity - Themes - Arts & the Human Experience. Prerequisite: ENG 2254.
ENG 3328: Lesbian & Gay Literature
In this 3-credit class we will read literature by writers who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgendered (LGBT), and we will also talk about what it is to be LGBT in our society, bringing in film, music, art, history, television, as well as current news and articles (both online and print). The emphasis of the course will be on active discussion and close introspection into the literature, our society, and ourselves. Students should feel free to bring new books, films, journals, Internet resources, news items, etc., to the attention of the class. Course requirements include active participation, quizzes, online discussion forums, in-class writing and activities, a final memoir project, a midterm and a final exam. Prerequisite: ENG 1112.
ENG 3400: Copy Editing
Focuses on copyediting skills and application of editorial style in a variety of contexts, including print and electronic media. Prerequisite: ENG 1112.
ENG 3404: Writing for the Web and Social Media
Teaches students to analyze and compose informative, persuasive, and creative Web texts based on rhetorical principles and with user-experience design in mind. Prerequisite: ENG 1112.
ENG 3371: Professional Writing
Teaches students to write for various purposes in professional contexts. Particular attention will be paid to issues of audience awareness and style. Students will write texts for various contexts, including, but not limited to, letters, resumes, memos, press releases, reports, analyses, and grants. Prerequisite: ENG 1112.
ENG 3386: Readings in Young Adult Literature
This course focuses on analyzing literature written for the young adult audience, with a focus on the characteristics of the genre, emerging themes, and contemporary trends. This course is approved for General Education: Approaches to Knowledge - Humanities.
ENG 3389: Graphic Novel
This course focuses on analyzing and creating graphic literature, also referred to as "comics". Potential topics include specific genres, important time periods, major or minor authors, and comparative multicultural contexts. Students hone their critical reading skills as well as their creative skills in this important and growing area of literature. This course is approved for General Education: Unity and Diversity of Humanity - Themes - Arts & the Human Experience, Languages and Literature.
ENG 4416: Novel Writing
Students will read and discuss published novels and work on writing their own, critiquing and discussing one another’s work. Includes the first 3 chapters and a synopsis of the novel. Prerequisite: ENG 3254 or permission from the instructor.