The Scriptorium: Monsters! (WRI2159.01, section 1)

Camille Guthrie

The Scriptorium, a “place for writing,” is as a class for writers interested in improving their critical essay-writing skills. We will read to write and write to read. Much of our time will be occupied with writing and revising—essai means “trial” or “attempt”—as we work to create new habits and productive strategies for analytical writing. As we write in various essay structures with the aim of developing a persuasive, well-supported thesis statement, we will also revise collaboratively, improve our research and citation skills, and study grammar and style. Our learning goals include practicing to write with complexity, imagination, and clarity, as we read and look at model examples of form and content on the theme of Monsters. We will study short stories, a novel, essays, and theory on monsters. Our readings may include the following authors: Shirley Jackson, Ted Chiang, Edgar Allen Poe, Octavia Butler, Manuel Gonzalez, Angela Carter, Jeffrey Jerome Cohen, Donna Haraway, bell hooks, Franz Kafka, Nina MacLaughlin, Noël Carroll, Michel Foucault, Laura Mulvey, Mary Douglas, Guy de Maupassant, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Paul La Farge, Ovid, and Riki Anne Wilchins.


Learning Outcomes:
• Closely read and analyze a variety of texts of literature and essays about or pertinent to monster theory, representing a range of voices and styles
• Learn about and practice grammar, revision, and research and citation skills
• Write in various styles, including personal reflections, explications, and longer, revised essays
• Engage with your colleagues to create a productive writing community
• Use inquiry to create a persuasive, well-supported thesis statement
• Use the resources, including databases, in Crossett Library
• Work collaboratively with your colleagues to revise and edit your writing
• Try new and productive habits of reading and writing




Delivery Method: Fully in-person
Course Level: 2000-level
Credits: 4
T/F 10:30AM - 12:20PM (Full-term)
Maximum Enrollment: 16
Course Frequency: Every 2-3 years

Categories: 2000 , All courses , Four Credit , Fully In-Person , Writing
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,