printer friendly pageENGLISH 10AX: Fiction Writing
"Of the many definitions of a story, the simplest may be this: it is a piece of writing that makes the reader want to find out what happens next. Good writers, it is often said, have the ability to make you keep on reading them whether you want to or not¿the milk boils over, the subway stop is missed." - Bill Buford, former fiction editor of The New YorkernThis course will introduce students to an assortment of short stories by past and contemporary masters, from Ernest Hemingway to ZZ Packer. We will explore the basic elements of fiction writing, including story structure, point of view, dialogue, and exposition, always keeping in mind the overarching goal of trying to get the reader to turn the page in anticipation. Some summer reading and participation in an online blog will prepare us for discussions we'll have together when the class begins. The course will indeed be "intensive," as we will write a complete draft of a short story in the first week and then distribute these stories for feedback sessions in the second week. Along the way, we'll write additional short exercises to stimulate our imaginations and to practice elements of craft. Field trips will include visits to some of the vibrant literary hotspots in San Francisco as well as a conversation with Stephen Elliott, editor of The Rumpus and a writer and member of the Writer's Grotto collective.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 2
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE
Instructors:
Tanaka, S. (PI)
ENGLISH 15SC: The New Millennium Mix: Crossings of Race & Culture
Recently, The New York Times and the National Geographic have hailed the "new face of America" as young, global, and hybrid. The NY Times gave this demographic a name: Generation E.A. (Ethnically Ambiguous). Our course examines the political and aesthetic implications of Generation E.A., and the hot new vogue for all things mixed. Galvanized by the 2000 census with its "mark one or more" (MOOM) racial option, dozens of organizations, websites, affinity and advocacy groups, modeling and casting agencies, television pilots, magazines, and journals--all focused on multi-racial/multi-cultural experiences--have emerged in the last few years. We will analyze representations of mixed race and multiculturalism in law, literature, history, art, performance, film, comedy, and popular culture. These cultural and legal events are changing the way we talk and think about race. nImportantly, our seminar also broadens this discussion beyond race, exploring how crossings of the color-line so often intersect with other aspects of experience related to gender, religion, culture, or class.nField trips, films, communal lunches, and interactive assignments help us explore the current controversies over mixed-race identification and, more generally, the expressive and political possibilities for representing complex identities. Requirements include three two- to three-page analytical writing assignments, a presentation that can include an optional artistic or media component, and a final group-designed project. nIf you are a citizen of the 21st century, this class is for and about you. Sophomore College Course: Application required, due noon, April 7, 2015. Apply at
http://soco.stanford.edu.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 2
Instructors:
Elam, M. (PI)
ENGLISH 90: Fiction Writing
The elements of fiction writing: narration, description, and dialogue. Students write complete stories and participate in story workshops. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite:
PWR 1 (waived in summer quarter).
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE, WAY-A-II
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 10 units total)
ENGLISH 91: Creative Nonfiction
(Formerly 94A.) Historical and contemporary as a broad genre including travel and nature writing, memoir, biography, journalism, and the personal essay. Students use creative means to express factual content.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE, WAY-A-II
ENGLISH 142C: The Hollywood Novelists
Why is it that watching a movie rarely raises questions about the poor soul who has written it? Looking to the few screenwriters who have managed to transcend the murky oblivion of their profession, we will ask: how did they do it? What does their success teach us about style? What does their prominence as writers allow them to do, and what are the limitations that their stylistic idiosyncrasies impose on them? Through short responses, creative writing assignments and a research paper into the work of one cinematic "author" students will explore these questions in detail.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 3-5
Instructors:
Tevel, A. (PI)
ENGLISH 167: Contemporary Science Fictions and Technofutures
How do visions of the future shape the way we think about the present, and even the past? How does science fiction interrogate technological and scientific innovations as a versatile pop culture medium? We will consider the techniques the genre uses to creatively respond to ecological crisis, biologically engineered organisms, artificial intelligence, and information technology. Where does science fiction draw the line between humans and machines, technology and nature, and fact and fiction? This course will trace the genre¿s evolution, from its origins in Mary Shelley¿s
Frankenstein, to more recent examples in contemporary literature, film, television and digital media.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 3-5
Instructors:
Felt, L. (PI)
ENGLISH 172F: Growing Up Different: Coming-of-Age Stories in a Diversifying America
Young people searching for identity are iconic in American literature. But when America is transforming radically, what happens to the genre of finding one¿s place there? What if there is no place for you? This seminar examines the diversity of American coming-of-age stories from 1960 to today, a period when issues of personal identity, socialization, and national identity collide with Civil Rights struggles, identity movements, and upheavals in immigration. As America grapples with differences of race, class, sexuality, and nativity, these stories register the trials and hopes. Authors include Junot Díaz, Toni Morrison, Harper Lee, Monique Truong, and Noviolet Bulawayo.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 3-5
Instructors:
Le-Khac, L. (PI)
ENGLISH 186F: Heroic Traitors: The Whistleblower in American Literature and Culture
Edward Snowden¿s leak of classified government documents has provoked mixed reactions: is Snowden hero or traitor, patriot or coward? It has also foregrounded the notion of whistleblowing, and drawn our attention to America¿s longstanding cultural interest in the character of the whistleblower across contemporary literature, film, and television. We will compare cultural representations of whistleblowing to recent historical examples of it. What does the difference between ¿fictional¿ and ¿real¿ whistleblowers say about how we feel about whistleblowers? Why do they repeatedly crop up in American culture? What makes whistleblowers such memorable characters, yet such contentious real people?
Terms: Sum
| Units: 3-5
Instructors:
Landry, N. (PI)
ENGLISH 194: Individual Research
See section above on Undergraduate Programs, Opportunities for Advanced Work, Individual Research.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 5
| Repeatable
for credit
ENGLISH 198: Individual Work
Undergraduates who wish to study a subject or area not covered by regular courses may, with consent, enroll for individual work under the supervision of a member of the department. 198 may not be used to fulfill departmental area or elective requirements without consent. Group seminars are not appropriate for 198.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 1-5
| Repeatable
for credit
Instructors:
Antopol, M. (PI)
;
Boland, E. (PI)
;
Castle, T. (PI)
...
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Instructors:
Antopol, M. (PI)
;
Boland, E. (PI)
;
Castle, T. (PI)
;
Clark, H. (PI)
;
Elam, M. (PI)
;
Evans, J. (PI)
;
Fields, K. (PI)
;
Fishkin, S. (PI)
;
Frisch, S. (PI)
;
Hutchins, S. (PI)
;
Johnson, A. (PI)
;
Jones, G. (PI)
;
Karnes, M. (PI)
;
Kealey, T. (PI)
;
Kletter, D. (PI)
;
Kline, P. (PI)
;
Lunsford, A. (PI)
;
McGurl, M. (PI)
;
Michas-Martin, S. (PI)
;
Moya, P. (PI)
;
Orgel, S. (PI)
;
Perham, B. (PI)
;
Phelan, P. (PI)
;
Pufahl, S. (PI)
;
Quade, K. (PI)
;
Rovee, C. (PI)
;
Schloesser Tarano, N. (PI)
;
Shloss, C. (PI)
;
Soileau, S. (PI)
;
Staveley, A. (PI)
;
Tallent, E. (PI)
;
Tanaka, S. (PI)
;
Treharne, E. (PI)
;
Vermeule, B. (PI)
;
Wolff, T. (PI)
;
Wrenn, G. (PI)
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