CRWR 207 - Introduction to Creative Nonfiction

The Personal Essay
For many of us, our first impression of the personal essay is that it’s basically autobiography, or maybe memoir. And this is often the case. But “personal” is also about a tone, a relationship with the reader, a sense of intimacy established through the use of the first person. Which is to say that the personal essay may look outward as much as it looks inward. In this workshop students will write personal essays that cover a range of genres (such as memoir, analytic meditation, and portrait) and discuss the work of writers such as Montaigne, Didion, and Baldwin, as well as more contemporary essayists. Students will also read and discuss the work of their peers. We will consider and employ various strategies when reading and responding to student work. Class sessions will be used for discussion of assigned readings and student work in progress, along with exercises and broader discussions.

Unit(s): 1
Group Distribution Requirement(s): Distribution Group I
Prerequisite(s): Sophomore standing and a writing sample of three to five pages, and instructor approval.
Instructional Method: Conference
Grading Mode: Letter grading (A-F)
Notes: Enrollment limited to 15. Not all topics offered every year. Review schedule of classes for availability.
Group Distribution Learning Outcome(s):

Understand how arguments can be made, visions presented, or feelings or ideas conveyed through language or other modes of expression (symbols, movement, images, sounds, etc.).
Analyze and interpret texts, whether literary or philosophical, in English or a foreign language, or works of the visual or performing arts.
Evaluate arguments made in or about texts (whether literary or philosophical, in English or a foreign language, or works of the visual or performing arts).