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Lasell University
Lasell University

2014 - 2015 Academic Catalog

Creative Writing Minor

The Creative Writing Minor consists of six courses beyond Writing I and Writing II. One course must be at the 300 level.
Course Code Course Title Credits
Core Courses
ENG209 Intro to Literature & Literary Studies 3
ENG219 Creative Writing 3
Choose 2 from the following:
COM305 Screenwriting 3
COM314 Magazine & Feature Writing 3
ENG307X Creative Nonfiction Writing Workshop 3
ENG308 Fiction Writing Workshop 3
ENG310 Poetry Writing Workshop 3
ENG402 Advanced Writing Workshop 3
Choose 1 from the following:
ENG201 Eng Lit/Themes & Writers 3
ENG210 Survey of American Literature 3
ENG218 British Literature 3
ENG340 Classics of World Literature 3

Choose 1 English Elective (may also include COM 209 Journalism, COM 314 Magazine & Feature Writing, COM 316 Publication Editing): 3 credits

Credit Requirements for minor: 18 credits

ENG209 - Intro to Literature & Literary Studies

This is a foundations course required for the major and the minor in English. The course provides an introduction to a variety of forms and styles in poetry, drama, short story, fiction, memoir, and essay; European, African, North American, Central and South American, and Asian literatures are considered. The focus is on interpreting texts; students are introduced to various schools of interpretation and to standards for supporting an interpretation. Students become familiar with the conventional elements of each genre and with the terminology of critical interpretation. The course introduces print and database tools for research on literature. Prerequisite: ENG 102.

ENG219 - Creative Writing

In this course, students explore various types of creative writing including fiction, poetry, and screenwriting. Students do a wide range of in-class and out-of-class writing assignments, and they have the opportunity to select one form for a major project. Prerequisite: ENG 102.

COM305 - Screenwriting

This course includes writing techniques for series and stand alone productions in television and film. Students work both independently and collaboratively in order to understand industry procedures. Students experiment with several different genres and then develop a major project. Prerequisite: COM 105.

COM314 - Magazine & Feature Writing

This course is focused on the longer pieces of magazine writing, such as feature articles and interview profiles, and other forms of narrative, nonfiction journalistic writing. The course includes reading, analyzing, and modeling well-written newspaper and magazine articles that entertain as well as inform readers. Students have the opportunity to provide editorial support for and submit feature articles for publication to Polished, a Lasell College produced magazine. Prerequisites: COM 101, COM 209.

ENG307X - Creative Nonfiction Writing Workshop

In this course, we consider creative nonfiction by reading and discussing personal essays and memoir and by writing our own creative nonfiction. We discuss the difference between journalism and creative nonfiction, as well as the different approaches writers take to the “fourth genre.” Work by class members is read and discussed in a positive, supportive environment, as are other works that illuminate the use of such literary tools as imagery, metaphor, diction, sentence rhythms, and structure. Reading assignments involve the close examination of personal essays and memoir; written assignments include in-class exercises, short essay annotations and/or creative assignments, and the crafting and revision of personal essays that will be workshopped during class. Prerequisite: ENG219 or COM209.

ENG308 - Fiction Writing Workshop

In this course students write various types of fiction. They work on different types of short stories and may have the opportunity to work with longer forms such as the novella or the novel. Students will analyze the work of professional writers in order to understand a variety of writing strategies, including the uses of and approaches to plot, dialogue, point of view, and description. Students work on short and longer assignments to develop technique and also have the opportunity to structure some of their own assignments. Students' analysis of one another's writing is an extremely important component of the course. Prerequisite: ENG 219 or COM 209.

ENG310 - Poetry Writing Workshop

In this course, we consider English verse by exploring lyric poetry and engaging in its practice. Work by class members is read and discussed, as are other example poems whose study illuminates the use of tools such as imagery, diction, sound device, structure, lineation, and figurative language in the construction of poetic meaning. Reading assignments involve the close examination of poems; written assignments include short poetry annotations and the creation of a portfolio of original poetry. Prerequisite: ENG 219 or ENG 222.

ENG402 - Advanced Writing Workshop

This is the capstone course for creative writing majors and minors. In consultation with the instructor, each student develops and completes a major writing project that focuses on the student’s writing interests. A major component of the course is students’ analysis of one another’s work. The course includes reading assignments that relate to the writing projects. Prerequisite: ENG 308 or ENG 310.

ENG201 - Eng Lit/Themes & Writers

This course offers a special thematic approach to the study of English literature. Various authors, such as Chaucer, Shakespeare, Shaw, and Yeats, are studied within such contexts as convention and revolt, the hero and the heroine, or evil and decadence. Prerequisite: ENG 102.

ENG210 - Survey of American Literature

This course surveys representative periods, authors, or genres in American literature from beginnings in Native American oral literatures through contemporary works. Individual sections organize study of classic and contemporary texts around particular themes, such as Queering American Literatures, American Migrations, Hemispheric American Literature, or Americans on the Edge: "Frontiers" in the American Imagination. Individual sections also trace twentieth- or twenty-first-century movements to their roots in or resistance to earlier movements or forms. This is a writing-intensive course. Prerequisite: ENG 102.

ENG218 - British Literature

This course surveys British writing in poetry, fiction, and drama, with a focus on key periods in the development of British literature. Emphasis is on representative writers in each period. Periods and movements surveyed include Anglo-Saxon, Medieval, Renaissance, Restoration and the Eighteenth Century, Romanticism, Victorian, Modern, and Contemporary or Postmodern. This is a writing-intensive course. Prerequisite: ENG 102.

ENG340 - Classics of World Literature

This course explores representative fiction, poetry, or drama by major figures in world literature, centering on a theme such as love, tragedy, comedy, immortality, madness, wasteland, quest for knowledge, voyages, or exploration. This is a presentation-intensive course. Prerequisite: Any 200-level English course.