English 590
ENGL 590
SUMMER WORKSHOP
English 590. Summer Workshop
Credit Hours (3).
Designed to give students concentrated study in a specialized area of English. Grading on Pass/Fail basis. May be taken twice for credit. Approved for graduate credit: appropriate requirements for students taking this course for graduate credit will be established by the instructor.
Detailed Description of Content of Course
Not applicable. Varies from summer to summer. Recent visiting authors-professors and their works have included Denise Giardina, Storming Heaven and The Unquiet Earth; David Huddle, Only the Little Bone and Stopping by Home; Marilou Awiakta, Selu and Abiding Appalachia; Peter Stillman, Gilead and Families Writing; Jim Wayne Miller, The Mountains Have Come Closer and Newfound; George Ella Lyon, Borrowed Children and Who Came Down That Road?
Detailed Description of Conduct of Course
As the umbrella course for the Highland Summer Conference, the Summer Workshop offers a two week intensive study with a visiting writer or scholar in creative writing and/or Appalachian Studies. The creative writing workshops in poetry, fiction drama, and essay provide practical instruction in the preparation and criticism of manuscripts. Typically the students share their work with the visiting artist, their classmates, and on occasion the public. The Appalachian Studies component of the workshop generally focuses on the area of expertise of the visiting scholar, which may range from literature to folklore to the culture as a whole. Typically students read widely from Appalachian literature, view videotaped programs featuring leading Appalachian writers and scholars, and complete projects on their own special interests to share with the other workshop participants. Generally Appalachian Studies and creative writing interests are combined within a single workshop’s scope.
Goals and Objectives of the Course
1. Students will become acquainted with publishing, authors who also serve as teaching practitioners in writing workshops designed to critique the students’ own work.
2. Students should learn how to write creatively in a supportive environment peopled by their workshop peers, staff members of the summer workshop, and the visiting authors-professors.
3. Students should refine skills necessary to continue writing beyond the workshop, especially those who aspire to publication.
Assessment Measures
Because this course is taught by visiting authors-professors and is outside the realm of conventional college courses, assessment measures will vary widely. However, the typical pattern is for the student to produce a portfolio of writing during the workshop. Selected pieces are shared orally and critiqued by other students in the workshop, as well as by the professor. Finally, the portfolio is passed to the professor who judges the total effort on a pass/fail basis.
Other Course Information
None
Review and Approval
December 13, 2011