Introductory Survey Course (required)
MCW 610: Textual Strategies
Introduction to the craft of writing focusing on: narrative and alternative structures; developing language and style; and the importance of active reading in enhancing one’s own craft. In addition to reading and writing exercises, students produce a creative work which reflects their mastery of these tenets.
Introductory Seminars (also available as electives)
MCW 630: Seminar in Fiction
Students write and critique each other’s work in a workshop-style format. Through presentation and critique of published and student-generated work, students will advance their understanding of the genres’ many forms and styles, strengthen their own writing, and broaden their understanding of literature and various modes of literary writing.
MCW 645: Seminar in Poetry
A poetry workshop where students will learn the craft of poetry by writing their own original work and offering feedback to their peers. Students will be introduced to contemporary poetry though readings and discussions of poems from a poet’s point of view.
MCW 650: Seminar in Creative Nonfiction
Students write and critique each other’s original work in a workshop-style format. Through presentation and critique of published and student-generated work, students will advance their understanding of the genre’s many forms, including memoir, autobiography, nature writing, literary journalism, and the personal essay, while strengthening their own writing.
MCW 685: Basics of Screenwriting
Introduction to the craft of screenwriting, particularly in regards to the principles of narrative and storytelling, traditional three-act structure, character, and dialogue. Through intensive reading and writing exercises, along with workshop critiques, students produce a finished treatment and the beginning of a feature-length screenplay.
Advanced Writing Workshops (available as electives)
MCW 635: Writing for Young Adults
Two-month advanced writing workshop for students interested in writing for younger audiences. Students will write original works for young adult readers and survey the history of young adult literature with an emphasis on learning the craft of writing for young adult audiences.
MCW 630A: Advanced Workshop in Fiction
Prerequisites: MCW 630
Intensive writing workshop in which students work closely with an established writer to further their development as creative writers and critical thinkers. Students will read classic and contemporary works of fiction, submit original manuscripts for peer and faculty review, and critique the manuscripts of peers.
MCW 630B: Adv Workshop in Fiction
Prerequisites: MCW 630
Intensive writing workshop in which students work closely with an established writer to further their development as creative writers and critical thinkers. Students will read classic and contemporary works of fiction, submit original manuscripts for peer and faculty review, and critique the manuscripts of peers.
MCW 636: Genre Fiction Workshop
An advanced workshop focusing on genre fiction. Genres will change by class offering. Genres may include: sci-fi, fantasy, horror, romance, mystery, adventure, among many others. Current focus: “Writing the Fantastic” with a focus on the Speculative genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror.
MCW 640A: Advanced Workshop in Poetry
Prerequisites: MCW 645
Intensive workshop on the practice of poetry that includes reading a selection of contemporary poems, doing exercises to generate original poems, critiquing each other’s writing in a workshop setting, and creating a portfolio of original poetry.
MCW 640B: Advanced Workshop in Poetry
Prerequisites: MCW 645
Intensive workshop on the practice of poetry that includes reading a selection of contemporary poems, doing exercises to generate original poems, critiquing each other’s writing in a workshop setting, and creating a portfolio of original poetry.
MCW 650A: Adv Workshop in Lit Nonfiction
Prerequisites: MCW 650
This intensive writing workshop will explore the artist’s quest for truth and address the question: how do we as writers in a post-modern age where memory, image and testimony are all suspect, know what we know? This course includes reading a selection of classic and contemporary literary nonfiction with selections from memoir, personal essay, travel writing, and literary journalism. Students will submit original manuscripts, critique the manuscripts of peers, and will submit revised work for peer and faculty review. (May not duplicate content of MCW 650B)
MCW 650B: Adv Workshop in Lit Nonfiction
Prerequisites: MCW 650
Intensive writing workshop that includes reading a selection of classic and contemporary literary nonfiction, with selections from memoir, personal essay, travel writing, and literary journalism. Students will submit original manuscripts, critique the manuscripts of peers, and will submit revised work for peer and faculty review.
MCW 680A: Adv Workshop in Screenwriting
Prerequisites: MCW 685
Intensive writing workshop designed for students to use professional screenwriting techniques in the creation of their own original screenplay. Readings of both classic and contemporary films reinforce students’ knowledge of three-act structure and cinematic storytelling. Peer review and instructor feedback provide writers a mode of creative support.
MCW 680B: Adv Workshop in Screenwriting
Prerequisites: MCW 685, and MCW 680A
Intensive writing workshop designed for students to use professional screenwriting techniques in the creation of their own original screenplay. Readings of both classic and contemporary films reinforce students’ knowledge of three-act structure and cinematic storytelling. Peer review and instructor feedback provide writers a mode of creative support.
Required Pedagogy Course
MCW 600: Pedagogy of Creative Writing
Examines the practical and theoretical models of teaching and learning creative writing with particular attention to the developments of the last twenty years. An introduction to and overview of contemporary theories, practices, texts, professional organizations and web sites will be the primary focus of this course.
Thesis Courses
MCW 660 Thesis I (Practicum)
Prerequisites: Requires completion of MFA CW portfolio, all core, specialized study and elective courses. Students are required to work one-on-one with a faculty mentor in their particular field to develop their thesis proposal and an initial first draft of a full length, publishable manuscript. Grading is by S or U only. Course is eligible for an “IP” grade.
MCW 670 Thesis II (Revision)
Prerequisites: MCW 660
Capstone course, each student will submit a body of original work of publishable quality, appropriate length to the chosen genre, along with a preface in which the writer discusses her/his evolution as an artist and the evolution of the work. Grading is by S or U only. Course is eligible for an “IP” grade.
Approved Electives From the MA English Program
ENG 600: Seminar in Literary Theory
Historical and current issues in literary criticism and theory with particular attention to developments of the last fifty years. Emphasizes both reading and writing literary criticism in order to develop vocabulary and skills necessary to participate in scholarly literary debate.
ENG 610: Multicultural Literature
Course Description
Examines core concepts of race, ethnicity, culture, and multiculturalism from the standpoint of recent developments in American literary canon formation. Students will synthesize current multicultural literary theories with a corpus of significant literary texts.
ENG 620 A Literary Period or Movement I
Advanced, historically oriented study of a literary period, such as English Medieval, Romantic, or Victorian literature, or a movement, such as The Beat Generation. Variable topic selected by the instructor. (May not duplicate content of ENG 620B.)
ENG 620B: Literary Period or Movement II
Advanced, historically oriented study of a literary period, such as American Romanticism, or of a movement such as American Modernism, the Harlem Renaissance, or the Lost Generation. Variable topic selected by the instructor. (May not duplicate content of ENG 620A.)
ENG 640: Seminar in Poetry
Advanced study of the history and practice of poetry. Close reading of a major poet or school of poetry, poetic forms and theories.
ENG 655: Composition Pedagogy
Prepares the students for the practical and theoretical challenges of teaching English composition and other writing courses. Topics include process theory, cognitive studies, visual analysis, discourse studies, and best practices.
ENG 665: Film Theory
An overview of film theory designed to give students the critical tools necessary to describe and evaluate various aspects of cinema art. This course introduces concepts from a variety of approaches, including deconstruction, existentialism, Marxism, phenomenology, and psychoanalysis.
ENG 667: Film History: American Film
This course offers an in-depth study of the development of cinema in the United States that takes a broad overview of American film making. Topics include film genre and the relationship of film to art, politics, religion and society. Additionally, the course considers Hollywood’s treatment of ethnic groups, women, and systems of class structure.
ENG 668: Film Genre Studies
Film Genre Studies is a content-variable course that may be repeated for credit. Each iteration of the course focuses on a specific genre of film in an international- or American-historical context, including the Western, the Epic, the Biblical Epic, Film Noir, the Crime Story, Science-Fiction Adventure, Agitprop, or other film genres. This is an intensive study of the conventions, artists, and styles associated with specific genres and the historical circumstances in which the genre appeared.
ENG 669: World Film
World Film is a content-variable course that may be repeated for credit. Each iteration of this course is a study of the film tradition of a specific nation or group of nations other than the United States. Students in this course will engage in an intensive study of the elements of filmmaking and theory, as well as the contrasting visual styles of directors, artists, and themes prominent in the particular tradition or traditions surveyed. Trans-cultural and transcendental film categories, universals values, and the fundamental principles of film art are also important topics of discussion.
ENG 670: Comparative Literary Studies
Analysis of literary texts across national and linguistic as well as temporal, cultural, and disciplinary lines.
ENG 680A: Seminar in a Theme I
Study of a literary motif or theme over time and/or across cultures. Variable topic chosen by instructor. Examples of themes are: the gothic, utopia/distopia, vampires, the road, and gender in literature.
ENG 680B: Seminar in a Theme II
Study of a literary motif or theme over time and/or across cultures. Variable topic chosen by instructor. Examples of themes are: the dark gothic, meta-fiction, the home, and war in literature.
ENG 685: Great Directors: American
This seminar in great American directors is a content-variable course that may be repeated for credit. Each iteration of this course is a comprehensive study of the artistic achievements of an American director. Students will engage in detailed interpretations and analyses of the techniques and concepts employed by a particular director, paying special attention to literary works as they relate to the filmmaking efforts of the director studied.
ENG 686: Great Directors: International
This seminar in great international directors is a content-variable course that may be repeated for credit. Each iteration of this course is a comprehensive study of the canon of work of a specific director, excluding American directors. Students will engage in detailed interpretations and analyses of the techniques and concepts employed by a particular international director, paying special attention to literary works as they relate to the filmmaking efforts of the director studied.
ENG 690A: Major Author Seminar I
A critical study of the work of a single author, such as Jane Austen, Walt Whitman, Charles Dickens, William Faulkner, Jack London. Special attention given to biography, culture, and literary context.
ENG 690B: Major Author Seminar II
A critical study of the work of a single author, such as Shakespeare, George Eliot, Garcia Lorca, Ernest Hemingway, James Baldwin. Special attention given to biography, culture, and literary context.