The Undergraduate Curriculum
OVERVIEW
The Creative Writing Major: (30 total hours)
- Creative Writing Gateway Courses: (6 hours)
- Creative Writing Junior-Senior Block: (15 hours)
- Creative Writing Literature Component: (6 hours)
- Creative Writing Capstone (Senior Seminar): (3 hours)
The Creative Writing Minor: (18 total hours)
- Creative Writing Gateway Courses: (6 hours)
- Creative Writing Upper Division Courses: (12 hours)
DETAILED UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM
The Creative Writing Major: (30 total hours)
Gateway Courses: (6 hours)
The Gateway Courses are prerequisites for, and should be taken prior to any Junior-Senior Block classes. Usually taken in the sophomore year, these two classes are required for all CRW majors and minors.
- CRW 3362 Introduction to Creative Writing (3 hours)
- CRW 3363 Foundational Techniques (3 hours)
Junior-Senior Block: (15 hours)
Take a total of five courses selected from the classes below, usually beginning in junior year, after prerequisite Gateway courses are fulfilled. Courses below may each be repeated one time, as long as the course subtopic for the repeated class is different the second time.
- CRW 3371 Reading and Writing Fiction
- CRW 3372 Reading and Writing Poetry
- CRW 3373 Writing in Society
- CRW 3374 Narrative Techniques
- CRW 3375 Poetics
- CRW 3376 Teaching Creative Writing
- CRW 4301 Playwriting
- CRW 4302 Screenwriting
- CRW 4303 Nonfiction
- CRW 4304 Literary Translation
- CRW 4307 Poetics & Performance
- CRW 4308 Oral History, Ethnography & Field Techniques
Literature Courses: (6 hours)
Select two courses from upper-division ENGL or SPAN literature or any of the Creative Writing courses listed below:
CRW 3373, 3374, 3375, 3376, 4307. CRW 4306 Honors Seminar may be included with approval.
ENGL 3301, 3306, 3310, 3311, 3312, 3315, 3316, 3319, 3320, 3321, 3323, 3330, 3333, 3337, 3343, 3360, 4308, 4309, 4315, 4325, 4340, 4347, 4348, 4349.
SPAN 3300, 3301, 3302, 3303, 3304, 3325, 4324, 4328, 4335, 4339, 4341, 4358, 4360, 4361, 4363.
Capstone Course: (3 hours)
- CRW 4305 Senior Seminar
The Creative Writing Minor: (18 total hours)
Gateway Courses: (6 hours)
The Gateway Courses are prerequisites for, and should be taken prior to any upper-division CRW classes. These two classes are required for all CRW majors and minors.
- CRW 3362 Introduction to Creative Writing
- CRW 3363 Foundational Techniques
Any Four Classes from the Following List: (12 hours)
- CRW 3371 Reading and Writing Fiction
- CRW 3372 Reading and Writing Poetry
- CRW 3373 Writing in Society
- CRW 3374 Narrative Techniques
- CRW 3375 Poetics
- CRW 3376 Teaching Creative Writing
- CRW 4301 Playwriting
- CRW 4302 Screenwriting
- CRW 4303 Non-Fiction
- CRW 4303 Literary Translation
- CRW 4305 Senior Seminar
- CRW 4307 Poetics & Performance
- CRW 4308 Oral History, Ethnography & Field Techniques
Creative Writing (CRW) Courses
3362 Introduction to Creative Writing
Study and practice of essential techniques of creative writing in at least two genres. Required for all Creative Writing majors and minors.
3363 Foundational Techniques
Study of the literary devices, techniques, and aesthetic ideas that inform the writing of poetry and narrative fiction. Required for all Creative Writing majors and minors.
3371 Reading and Writing Fiction
Intensive study, reading and practice in the various forms and approaches of fiction writing, including workshop discussion and individual student manuscripts.
3372 Reading and Writing Poetry
Intensive study, reading and practice in the various forms and approaches within poetry writing, including workshop discussion and individual student poems.
3373 Writing in Society
Study of the creation of literature and literary movements as responses to historical moments and societal changes, e.g. war poetry, the development of literary magazines, the Harlem Renaissance, the Latin American Boom.
3374 Narrative Techniques
Analysis of techniques, methods, and theories employed in the making of fiction and/or non-fiction. Writings may include critical reflections and short exercises in style.
3375 Poetics
Analysis of techniques, methods, and theories employed in the making of poetry. Writings may include critical reflections and short exercises in style.
4301 Playwriting
Intensive study, reading and practice in the various forms and approaches of playwriting, including workshop discussion of individual student plays.
4302 Screenwriting
Intensive study, reading and practice in various forms and approaches of screenwriting, including workshop discussion of individual student screenplays.
4303 Non-Fiction
Intensive study, reading and practice in the various forms and approaches of non-fiction, including workshop discussion of individual student non-fiction.
4304 Literary Translation
Theoretical consideration, reading and practice in various forms and approaches to literary translation, including individual projects.
4305 Senior Seminar
Small-group focus on a specific literary topic of relevance to creative writers, alongside individual projects leading to a senior research paper.
4306 Honors Seminar
Individual creative manuscript projects under the direction and structured guidance of the honors instructor, including weekly meetings with the other seminar students.
4307 Poetics & Performance
Examination of the relationship between poetry and performance. Discussions will include the role of the poetry reading, the influence of musical forms on poetry, and approaches to performance poetry. Students will develop exercises that help them engage with the historical models related to performance and poetry.
4308 Oral History, Ethnography & Field Techniques
This course will engage students in basic techniques and theoretical concepts of oral history compilation and ethnography as they pertain to imaginative literature. Students will be asked to use interviews and archival material as the genesis of a creative process. Research into historical examples then will help students correlate field study and writing practice with their own imaginative work.