Course code:

HS2076

Level:

I - Introductory

Class size limit:

12

Lab fee:

20

Typically offered:

Yearly

One of the deepest human instincts is to tell our life stories, to figure out who we are. This course will use a workshop approach with a particular focus on memoir writing rooted in an exploration of family and place. We will study the writing process and matters of craft by reading and responding to memoirs by contemporary writers (e.g., Terry Tempest Williams’ When Women Were Birds: Fifty-Four Variations on Voice), practical guides to memoir writing (e.g., Bill Roorbach’s Writing Life Stories), and essays on memoir and memory (e.g., Patricia Hampl’s I Could Tell You Stories: Sojourns in the Land of Memory). Class time will include discussion of readings, writing exercises designed to help students with matters of language and technique in their own writing, and group critiques of work-in-progress. Student work will be publicly shared through a reading and exhibit on campus. Students will be evaluated on the effort and quality of their writing, their commitment to the writing process, their participation in peer review and workshops, a final portfolio of all their writing, and a public presentation of their finished work.

Prerequisites:

None.

Always visit the Registrar's Office for the official course catalog and schedules.