Master of Professional Writing Program

University of Southern California

Spring 2009

Master of Professional Writing Program

MPW 999: Life is on the Record: Literary Nonfiction in Print and Online

Class # 39215

Units: 3

Day, Time, and Location: Thursdays, 7 - 9:40 PM, in WPH 204

Professor: Dana Goodyear

Email:

Phone: 323-656-0173 (home/office); 323-252-4303 (cell)

Office hours: By appointment, Thursdays, 5-7 PM

Introduction and Objectives

This course stems from the premise that writing online can be just as sophisticated as writing that is intended for print. In the first part of the semester, we will look at great print stylists and attempt to emulate the way they shape their narratives, establish perspective, claim authority, and, above all, exercise voice. Students will write short responses to reading assignments, in preparation for discussion; they will also write a 2500-4000 word nonfiction essay on a subject of their choosing, which we will workshop in class.

From there, the class will move to an examination successful literary writing online. We will contemplate the creation of a persona, the cultivation of an aesthetic, the promulgation of an argument or point of view. Each student will start his or her own blog, which the class will critique. We will also experiment with the possibilities and limitations of micro-blogging through Twitter, and, in the last weeks of the semester, students will maintain day-long micro-blogs, followed by cell phone or Web by the rest of the class.

We will discuss the freedoms and responsibilities of self-publishing, with regard to ethics, fact-checking, grammar, tone, and form. We will also discuss the blog as a gateway medium to print (and vice versa), and as a support to your print work.

It is strongly recommended that you have or have access to a laptop; the room where we will meet has wireless Internet, and it will be most convenient for critiquing blogs if each student can bring a laptop to class.

Texts (available at USC Bookstore and on reserve at Leavey Library)

Writing Los Angeles: A Literary Anthology, edited by David L. Ulin

The White Album, by Joan Didion

The Inland Sea, by Donald Richie

Reader (available at the USC bookstore)

Course Requirements and Grades

1. Essay (30%). 2500-4000 word essay establishing voice, perspective, persona and demonstrating engagement with a landscape (social, political, literal, etc).

2. Written responses (10%). Short responses to reading material.

3. Active Participation (15%). Crucial! The Internet is an experimental medium whose lifeblood is reader response. You need to help each other understand what works and what doesn’t and why.

4. Blog (40%). You will be publishing this in “real time.” It should be well written and engaging.

5. Micro-blog (5%). As the online world begins to shift from PC to cellular, short, episodic writing is becoming increasingly relevant. We want to see what this short-short form can do.

Schedule of Readings and Assignments

Jan. 15: In class: introduction, and discussion of Andrew Sullivan’s “Why I Blog”

(The Atlantic Monthly, November, 2008). For next class: read Janet Flanner, Paris Journal 1956-64 (selections) and write a one-page response; read Christopher Isherwood, “The Shore” and the except of Isherwood’s Diaries in Writing Los Angeles and write a one-page response.

Jan. 22: In class: discussion of Flanner and Isherwood. Possible screening of “Chris & Don: A Love Story.” For next class: read Joan Didion, “In the Islands,” and write a one-page response; read Donald Richie, The Inland Sea (selections), and write a one-page response. Formulate essay topic or setting; bring a one-paragraph description to class.

Jan. 29: In class: discussion of Didion and Richie; discussion of essays. For next class: first 1500 words of essay (email to class by Tuesday, January 27).

Feb. 5: In class: workshop first 1500 words of essay. For next class: finish essay (email to class by Tuesday, February 3).

Feb. 12: In class: workshop finished essay. Discussion of successful, engaging blog writing. For next class: Bring in a list of three sites you visit (be prepared to say why). Revise essay and bring it to class.

Feb. 19: In class: discussion of blogs. For March 5 class: set up blog on Feb. 20 and start writing, at least one post per day. (Email URL to class on Feb. 20.) Come to class prepared to discuss one another’s blogs.

Feb. 26: Honor Moore reading.

Mar. 5: In class: workshop blogs. For next class: blog (try to maintain a pace of at least 3 times/week); read LA Observed blogs (Chicken Corner, Here in Malibu).

Mar. 12: In class: workshop blogs, discuss reading. Focus on place and setting (Chicken Corner, Here in Malibu). For next class: blog; read No Impact Man.

Mar. 19 (no class, spring break)

Mar. 26: In class: workshop blogs, discuss reading. Focus on project/narrative (No Impact Man). For next class: blog; read The Wit of the Staircase and associated articles, and selections from Writing Los Angeles.

Apr. 2: In class: workshop blogs, discuss reading. Focus on persona (Theresa Duncan, The Wit of the Staircase). For next class: blog; read Slate Diaries (Demetri Martin, Hilton Als, and August Kleinzahler) and selections from Writing Los Angeles.

Apr. 9: In class: workshop blogs, discuss reading. Focus on voice (the Slate Diaries of Demetri Martin, Hilton Als, and August Kleinzahler). For next class: blog; read Disgrasian.com.

Apr. 16: In class: final thoughts on blogs. Visit from Jen of Disgrasian.com: what it actually takes to launch and sustain a blog, and where it fits into a writing career. For next class: start a micro-blog on Twitter and “tweet” 140 characters, seven times a day for one day.

Apr. 23 In class: workshop micro-blogs. For next class: micro-blog; look at Plodt.com, Quill Pill, and multi-media micro-blogging sites.

Apr. 30 In class: workshop micro-blogs, closing thoughts.

Statement for Students with Disabilities

Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to me (or to TA) as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in STU 301 and is open 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The phone number for DSP is (213) 740-0776.

Statement on Academic Integrity

USC seeks to maintain an optimal learning environment. General principles of academic honesty include the concept of respect for the intellectual property of others, the expectation that individual work will be submitted unless otherwise allowed by an instructor, and the obligations both to protect one’s own academic work from misuse by others as well as to avoid using another’s work as one’s own. All students are expected to understand and abide by these principles. Scampus, the Student Guidebook, contains the Student Conduct Code in Section 11.00, while the recommended sanctions are located in Appendix A: Students will be referred to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs and Community Standards for further review, should there be any suspicion of academic dishonesty. The Review process can be found at: