English: Writing

The undergraduate writing major offers students disciplined training in creative writing. Writing courses are conducted as workshops to provide feedback, foster peer review skills, and nurture talent. Writing majors examine poetry, fiction and nonfiction with a writer's eye while developing their own work. Students' creative development is guided by instructors who are respected writers themselves. The specific course of study in the writing major is based on genre — fiction, creative nonfiction or poetry – while literature courses provide a substantial grounding in analyzing literary texts and using literary theory. In introductory and advanced writing workshops, writing students develop their craft and technique and gain facility in giving and receiving constructive feedback through peer critique and the workshopping process.

English: Writing Courses

ENGLISH 206-CN Reading and Writing Poetry (1 Unit)  

Forms and techniques of verse. May not be audited or taken P/N. Advanced composition course or equivalent writing experience strongly recommended.

ENGLISH 207-CN Reading and Writing Fiction (1 Unit)  

Forms and techniques of fiction. May not be audited or taken P/N. Advanced composition course or equivalent writing experience strongly recommended.

ENGLISH 208-CN Reading and Writing Creative Nonfiction (1 Unit)  

Forms and techniques of creative nonfiction. May not be audited or taken P/N. Advanced composition class and strong basic writing skills highly recommended.

ENGLISH 300-CN Seminar in Reading and Interpretation (1 Unit)  

Close reading of literary works in the light of various perspectives in literary study.

ENGLISH 307-A Advanced Reading and Writing Fiction I (1 Unit)  

For students who have taken courses in fiction writing or who have been writing fiction on their own, further practice and study in the development of short stories. May not be audited or taken P/N.

Prerequisite: ENGLISH 207-CN or permission of instructor. Students should have previous creative writing experience in an academic setting. Instructor's consent and confirmation of the prerequisite course or appropriate writing experience is required for enrollment in this course.

ENGLISH 307-B Advanced Creative Writing: Fiction II (1 Unit)  

For students who have completed at least one course in fiction writing, further study of matters of technique and structure, with an emphasis on the exploration of character and discovery of plot through the process of revising. Short stories by contemporary authors will be read as models. The course builds on the premises, assignments, and goals of ENGLISH 307-A, but students may enroll without having completed that course. May not be audited or taken P/N.

Prerequisite: ENGLISH 207-CN or ENGLISH 307-A or comparable courses in creative writing with permission of instructor. Instructor's consent and confirmation of the prerequisite course or appropriate writing experience is required for enrollment in this course.

ENGLISH 308-A Advanced Reading and Writing Creative Nonfiction I (1 Unit)  

For students who have taken courses in creative nonfiction or who have been writing creative nonfiction on their own, further study in developing command of creative writing techniques and forms to frequent short writing exercises and essays. Class discussion of published essays and excerpts from longer works and student drafts may address such topics as voice, style, structure, the uses of research, and truth. May not be audited or taken P/N.

Prerequisite: ENGLISH 208-CN or permission of instructor. Students should have previous creative writing experience in an academic setting. Instructor's consent and confirmation of the prerequisite course or appropriate writing experience is required for enrollment in this course.

ENGLISH 308-B Advanced Reading and Writing Creative Nonfiction II (1 Unit)  

For students who have completed at least one course in fiction writing, further study of the analysis and writing of creative nonfiction, emphasizing close reading of assigned selections and careful writing and revision of student work. The course builds on the premises, assignments, and goals of ENGLISH 308-A, with focus on the writing of a longer work; students may enroll without having completed that course. May not be audited or taken P/N.

Prerequisite: ENGLISH 208-CN or ENGLISH 308-A, or comparable courses in creative writing with permission of instructor. Instructor's consent and confirmation of the prerequisite course or appropriate writing experience is required for enrollment in this course.

ENGLISH 310-CN Studies in Literary Genre: (1 Unit)  

Topics vary. May be repeated for credit with different topic. Students who enroll should have fulfilled the SPS writing requirement or taken equivalent writing courses.

ENGLISH 312-CN Studies in Drama: (1 Unit)  

Topics vary. May be repeated for credit with different topic. Students who enroll should have fulfilled the SPS writing requirement or taken equivalent writing courses.

ENGLISH 313-CN Studies in Fiction: (1 Unit)  

Topics vary. May be repeated for credit with different topic. Students who enroll should have fulfilled the SPS writing requirement or taken equivalent writing courses.

ENGLISH 323-CN Chaucer (1 Unit)  

The Canterbury Tales, read in Middle English. Students should have fulfilled the SPS writing requirement or completed equivalent writing courses prior to enrolling. Meets the pre-1830 literature requirement for English Writing majors.

ENGLISH 324-CN Studies in Medieval Literature: (1 Unit)  

Topics vary. May be repeated for credit with different topic. Students who enroll should have fulfilled the SPS writing requirement or taken equivalent writing courses.

ENGLISH 338-CN Studies in Renaissance Literature (1 Unit)  

Topics vary. May be repeated for credit with different topic. Students who enroll should have fulfilled the SPS writing requirement or taken equivalent writing courses.

ENGLISH 339-CN Special Topics in Shakespeare: (1 Unit)  

Topics vary. May be repeated for credit with different topic. Students who enroll should have fulfilled the SPS writing requirement or taken equivalent writing courses.

ENGLISH 348-CN Studies in Restoration and 18th-Century Literature (1 Unit)  

Topics vary. May be repeated for credit with different topic. Students who enroll should have fulfilled the SPS writing requirement or taken equivalent writing courses.

ENGLISH 353-CN Studies in Romantic Literature: (1 Unit)  

Topics vary. May be repeated for credit with different topic. Students who enroll should have fulfilled the SPS writing requirement or taken equivalent writing courses.

ENGLISH 357-CN 19th-Century British Fiction (1 Unit)  

Topics vary. May be repeated for credit with different topic. Students who enroll should have fulfilled the SPS writing requirement or taken equivalent writing courses.

ENGLISH 358-CN Dickens (1 Unit)  

Representative works of Charles Dickens. Students who enroll should have fulfilled the SPS writing requirement or taken equivalent writing courses.

ENGLISH 363-CN 20th-Century Fiction (1 Unit)  

Topics vary. May be repeated for credit with different topic. Students who enroll should have fulfilled the SPS writing requirement or taken equivalent writing courses.

ENGLISH 365-CN Studies in Postcolonial Literature (1 Unit)  

Topics vary. May be repeated for credit with different topic. Students who enroll should have fulfilled the SPS writing requirement or taken equivalent writing courses.

ENGLISH 368-CN Studies in 20th-Century Literature (1 Unit)  

Topics vary. May be repeated for credit with different topic. Students who enroll should have fulfilled the SPS writing requirement or taken equivalent writing courses.

ENGLISH 369-CN Studies in African Literature (1 Unit)  

Topics vary. May be repeated for credit with different topic. Students who enroll should have fulfilled the SPS writing requirement or taken equivalent writing courses.

ENGLISH 371-CN American Novel (1 Unit)  

Writers such as Cooper, Alcott, Chopin, Hawthorne, Melville, Poe, Twain, James, Howells, Crane, Dreiser, and Wharton. Content varies. May be repeated for credit with different topic.

ENGLISH 377-CN Topics in Latina and Latino Literature (1 Unit)  

Topics vary. May be repeated for credit with different topic. Students who enroll should have fulfilled the SPS writing requirement or taken equivalent writing courses.

ENGLISH 378-CN Studies in American Literature: (1 Unit)  

Topics vary. May be repeated for credit with different topic. Students who enroll should have fulfilled the SPS writing requirement or taken equivalent writing courses.

ENGLISH 383-CN Studies in Theory & Criticism: (1 Unit)  

Topics in theory and criticism related to the study of literature and culture. Topics vary. May be repeated for credit with different topic. Students who enroll should have fulfilled the SPS writing requirement or taken equivalent writing courses.

ENGLISH 385-CN Topics in Combined Studies (1 Unit)  

Special topics in literature and related disciplines. Students should have fulfilled the SPS writing requirement or completed equivalent writing courses.

ENGLISH 385-DL Topics in Combined Studies (1 Unit)  

Special topics in literature and related disciplines. Students should have fulfilled the SPS writing requirement or completed equivalent writing courses.

ENGLISH 386-CN Studies in Literature and Film (1 Unit)  

Topics vary. May be repeated for credit with different topic. Students who enroll should have fulfilled the SPS writing requirement or taken equivalent writing courses.

ENGLISH 392-CN The Situation of Writing (1 Unit)  

The sociology of writers, writing, publication, dissemination of literature, and reading. Students should have fulfilled the SPS writing requirement or taken equivalent writing courses.