University Curriculum Committee
Proposal for New Course
1. Is this course being proposed for Liberal Studies designation? Yes NoIf yes, route completed form to Liberal Studies.
2. New course effective beginning what term and year? (ex. Spring 2009,
Summer 2009) See effective dates schedule. / Spring 2010
3. College / Undergraduate Studies / 4. Academic Unit /Department / Undergraduate Studies
5. Course subject/catalog number / SENG 200 / 6. Units/Credit Hours / 3
7. Long course title / Creative Writing
(max 100 characters including spaces)
8. Short course title(max. 30 characters including
spaces) / Creative Writing
9. Catalog course description (max. 30 words, excluding requisites).
Elements of writing that will entice readers to participate viscerally in the experiences and notions that the writer creates.
10. Grading option:
Letter grade / Pass/Fail / or Both
(If both, the course may only be offered one way for each respective section.)
11. Co-convened with / 11a. Date approved byUGC
(Must be approved by UGC prior to bringing to UCC. Both course syllabi must be presented)
12. Cross-listed with
(Please submit a single cross-listed syllabus that will be used for all cross-listed courses.)
13. May course be repeated for additionalunits? / yes / no
a. If yes, maximum units allowed?
b. If yes, may course be repeated for additional units in the same term?
(ex. PES 100) / yes / no
14. Prerequisites (must be completed before
proposed course) / Member of Siena Study Abroad Student Group
15. Corequisites (must be completed with
proposed course)
16. Is the course needed for a new or existing plan of study
(major, minor, certificate)? yes / no
Name of plan?
Note: If required, a new plan or plan change form must be submitted with this request.
17. Is a potential equivalent course offered at a community college (lower division only) yes / no
If yes, does it require listing in the Course Equivalency Guide? yes / no
Please list, if known, the institution and subject/catalog number of the course
18. Names of current faculty qualified to teach this course: / Jeff Shapiro
19. Justification for new course, including unique features if applicable. (Attach proposed
syllabus in the approved university format).
Course is part of curriculum at Siena School of Liberal Arts. NAU will become School of record of these courses.
For Official AIO Use Only:
Component Type
Consent
Topics Course
35. Approvals
Department Chair (if appropriate) DateChair of college curriculum committee Date
Dean of college Date
For Committees use only
For University Curriculum Committee DateAction taken:
Approved as submitted / Approved as modified
SienaSchool for Liberal Arts, Department of Fine Arts
ART205 Creative Writing: Truth, Lies, and In Between
Instructor, Jeff Shapiro
Course description:
As Robert Louis Stevenson pointed out, a work of art must accomplish more than technical competence; it must also enchant. Every piece of writing, be it an essay or a poem or a work of fiction, owes enchantment to its reader. Otherwise, why should the reader bother?
This practical-minded course focuses on elements of writing that will entice readers to participate viscerally in the experiences and notions that the writer creates.
The two sessions of each week focus on at least one issue crucial to Creative Writing. Literary passages demonstrating the issues at hand are read aloud and discussed. As weekly homework, students write original pieces in search of personal solutions to the specific challenges that all writers face.
At the end of the semester, students hand in a final project.
Prerequisities: There are no prerequisities for this course.
Course hours: The course meets twice a week for a total of 3 ½ hours.
Student expectations: Attendance is mandatory. Each student will be allowed one excused absence for the semester without penalty. Every unexcused absence will incur an academic penalty of 10% off the overall grade of the class missed. Students having more than 3 unexcused absences will earn an “F” in their course work.
Course Outline:
Week 1 "Vicarious Experience": What is Creative Writing? Why write at all? Is there a difference between fiction and fact? What “idea” does a piece of writing seek to express? How many ideas should any single piece of writing try to convey?
Week 2 "Appealing to the Senses":How is writing made more effective by its use of reference to the various physical senses? How many senses can the writer call into play?
Week 3 "Point of View": Through whose eyes does the writer invite the reader to see the world?
Week 4 "Character and Camera Lens": How far inside a character’s head does the writer want to take the reader?(Filmmakers and photographers choose different lenses—wide-angle, zoom, macro—to show their subjects from a distance or in closeup. Which “lenses” may a writer use?)
Week 5 "Dialogue": How do people reveal their truth in what they say?
How much respect do writers owe the characters they describe? What's the difference between character and caricature? What endows characters, real or imagined, with the third dimension of full humanity?
Week 6 "Interaction": How do characters, real or imagined, relate to one another? How do various psychological analyses address the question of human interaction?
Week 7 "Plot and Chronology":Should stories have a beginning, a middle, and an end? How important is the element of surprise? How vital is the architectural structure of a piece of writing?
Week 8 "Love, Sex, and Sensuality": Is it possible to write about sex without giggling? How may the writer communicate intimacy?
Week 9 "Myths, Fables, and Archetypes":Can myths and fables serve as an inexhaustible source of material to be drawn from?
Week 10 "Word, Sound, Meaning, and Music": How may rhythm and sound be used to convey meaning?
Week 11 "The Importance of Communication": Final considerations.
Week 12 Final project due
Assignments: Weekly original writing assignments and a final project, to be discussed in individual meetings with the teacher.
Bibliography:
Texts read and discussed in class include passages from: Raymond Carver and Tom Jenks, Introduction to "American Short Story Masterpieces"; Mark Strand, “Dog Life”; Hiromi Ito, “Intercourse”; Koko Yamagishi, “Portraits of the Body”; Elizabeth Tallent, “No One’s a Mystery”; Faubion Bowers, Foreword to "The Classic Tradition of Haiku: An Anthology"; Sardou, Illica & Giacosa, Libretto to Giacomo Puccini’s "Tosca"; Pär Lagerkvist, "Barabbas"; Ernest Hemingway, “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” and “Cat in the Rain”; Roy Blount, Jr., “Five Ives”; James Joyce, "Ulysses"; James Baldwin, “Sonny’s Blues”; Evan S. Connell, “The Fisherman from Chihuahua”; H.E. Francis, “Sitting”; Sherwood Anderson, "Winesburg, Ohio"; James Thurber, “The Macbeth Murder Mystery”; Kyra Ryan, “Sugar Bowl”; Henry Miller, "Tropic of Cancer"; Jeff Shapiro, “Head”; Elizabeth Barrett Browning, "Sonnets from the Portuguese"; Robert Herrick, “To the Virgins, to make much of Time” and “Delight in Disorder”; Adrian Mitchell, “Celia, Celia”; Dorothy Parker, “Unfortunate Coincidence”; Oscar Wilde, “The Ballad of Reading Gaol”; Junichiro Tanizaki, "Diary of a Mad Old Man"; John Updike, “Pygmalion”; Francesco Petrarca, “Zefiro torna”; Torquato Tasso, “Dolcemente dormiva la mia Clori”, “Ecco mormorar l’onde” and “Mentr’io miravo fiso.”
Interdisciplinary activities include explorations of the psychoanalytical concepts of Sigmund Freud, the Transactional Analysis of Eric Berne, the “I and Thou” philosophy of Martin Buber, the filmmaking techniques used in "Sea Bisquit," the operas of Giacomo Puccini, the madrigals of Claudio Monteverdi, Thomas Morley, and John Bennet, the Masses of Josquin des Prés, the photography of Edward Steichen and Miyako Ishiuchi, plus the occasional taste-treat from the pastry counter of the bar up the road.
Grading system:
The final grade will reflect student punctuality and presence in class, participation in discussions, completion and quality of homework assignments and of the final project.