ENGL 584 W: The Art of the Informal Essay
Spring 2015
Instructor: Jenny Minniti- Shippey
Meeting Time: W 4:00-6:40 pm
Email: jmshippey@mail.sdsu.edu
Room:
AH 3130
Teaching Assistant: Allison Lynn
T.A. Email: allisonmlynn@gmail.com
Office & Hours: AL 220 12:30- 1:30pm & by appt.
Course Prerequisites:
Three lower division units in literature and/or creative writing and English 280.
Course Description:
To Essay: to test something; to determine its composition; to discover the nature
of something; to make an attempt. (Oxford Dictionary)
“Style is a very simple matter: it is all rhythm. Once you get that, you can’t use
the wrong words.” (Virginia Woolf, in a letter, 1926)
Style is a fluid notion, Virginia Woolf’s description to the contrary. Style—
voice—personality—can draw a reader to an essay, no matter the subject. When
we read an essay, we see as the writer sees. We learn to speak about the world in
the writer’s voice. An accomplished essayist brings her reader along as she
attempts to discover the nature of something—whether that thing is fandom,
history, memory, or grief.
Over the course of the semester, we’ll study ways that essayists engage readers,
through argument, structure, and technique. We’ll try our hands at developing a
style that is true to our individual nature as we write into a variety of subjects.
We’ll work as editors of each other’s work, offering critique and praise in a
workshop model, then transitioning to copyediting as you prepare your final
pieces for potential publication.
Digital publishing platforms lend essayists audience and immediacy. We’ll
study how an essay intended for digital publication differs from one intended for
print, and we’ll incorporate strategies from both models.
This is a writing-intensive course; you’ll do weekly in-class writing, and develop
three full-length essays for workshop. Brief weekly reading responses will also
be assigned.
** Disclaimer: This syllabus, and the course itself, is subject to evolution and
revolution at short notice. Your interests and goals will help to shape it, and our
work may lead us down tangential paths, in which case we will revise as
necessary.
Course Objectives:
* Read and analyze contemporary essays for their concepts and techniques
* Practice techniques for communicating personal experience
* Write in diverse genres from a first-person perspective
* Critique classmates’ writing effectively
* Analyze strategies for writing digitally-published essays
Required Texts & Materials:
* The Best American Non-Required Reading 2013. ed. Dave Eggers, Houghton
Mifflin, 2013.
* Various digitally-published essays, available via links on BB.
* Reliable access to internet, digital reading device, printer
* Copying expenses for workshop essays
Grading:
For a “C” in the course:
* Complete all assignments with satisfactory work.
* Miss no more than 3 classes, and participate in class.
* Complete 2 “Level One” essays, and 1 “Level Two” essay (descriptions
follow) for a total of 3 essays.
* Revise 1 essay for potential publication.
For a “B” in the course:
* Complete all assignments with satisfactory work.
* Miss no more than 2 classes, and participate consistently in class.
* Complete 1 “Level One” essay, and 2 “Level Two” essays (descriptions
follow) for a total of 3 essays.
* Revise 1 essay for potential publication.
For an “A” in the course:
* Complete all assignments with satisfactory work.
* Miss no more than 1 class, and participate actively in class.
* Complete 2 “Level Two” essays, and 1 “Level Three” essay (descriptions
follow) for a total of 3 essays.
* Revise 1 essay for potential publication.
A Note on Evaluations: While students will tailor their essay choices based on
their interests and the final grade towards which they’re working, the course
expectation is that each essay submitted for workshop will show care and
attention to craft in both its concept and execution. “A” students will
demonstrate: a professional engagement with the class projects; consistent
excellence in their written and in-class work; and an articulate understanding of
the responsibilities each essay entails.
Course Elements:
Class Participation / Reading Assignments/ Writing Prompts:
* Class participation will be vital to the success of this class, since I fully intend to
learn as much from you as you learn from me. Please plan to be active and
engaged with the various reading assignments and class discussions. Please
bring a positive and respectful attitude to class.
* Reading Assignments: It is your responsibility to bring the texts to class we’ll be
discussing each week. Due weekly will be a response sheet for the assigned readings,
available on BB.
* In-class writing prompts will be completed weekly. Bring writing materials and
your creative spirit!
Workshop Critiques:
You will submit TYPED critiques for each student essay you workshop. One
copy will be given to the author, and one copy will be turned in to me. We’ll
discuss the content of the critiques more in depth. Generally speaking, the
critiques will use the following format:
-- 1-2 sentences of “plot” summary
-- 2-3 sentences describing the essay’s “goals,” as you understood them
-- 2 examples where the essay met its goals
-- 2 examples where the essay did not meet its goals
-- other suggestions / notes, for a total of 400-500 words per critique
Workshop Participation:
Each student will submit three essays for workshop. Our discussions of the text
will identify: ways that the essay in question is capturing us as readers and how;
places where we lose attention and why; and specific strategies for the writer to
improve in craft or argument. We are developing a supportive, honest, and
collegial community of writers. Respect—for the writing itself, for the writer,
and for the reader—will be of utmost importance. We’ll discuss workshop
etiquette as necessary.
Essays:
The following are potential essay topics, grouped by “Level.” The essays are
roughly grouped according to the time and research each topic may require; I’m
confident that each topic leaves room for your interpretation. We’ll read and
study examples of each type of essay over the course of the semester. You’ll note
very basic length requirements and subject descriptions for each essay topic.
While we’ll discuss ways that essays on each topic may be structured, this is a
creative writing class, so you’re fairly free to approach each topic as you desire.
Level One Essay Topics
* On Literature (700-900 words) A critical review of a work of literature, a
meditation on craft, an acknowledgement of your love for a literary work.
* On Memory (800-1000 words) A vignette of personal history, an exploration of
grief, a discussion of a shaping or transformative event.
* On Personality (800-1000 words) A profile of another person, a discussion of
the impact of a person on your life, an open letter to a public figure.
Level Two Essay Topics
* On Sport (800-1000 words) A personal engagement with sport, a review of a
sporting event, a meditation on sport and culture.
* On Popular Culture (800-1000 words) A personal interaction with music, a film
seen through your life experience, a meditation on art.
* On History (800-1000 words) A reflection on a cultural or historical event, a
meditation on current events, a vignette of your personal history in conjunction
with a cultural event
Level Three Essay Topics
* On Travel: A 3-part travelogue based on personal experience. (500-700 words
per part) Scope extends beyond personal experience to consider culture, history,
and current events.
* On Experimentation: (1200-1500 words) Blends multiple genres in services of
chosen subject; can include poetry, art, fiction.
Final Revision & Publication Prep
You’ll choose one of your three completed essays to revise for potential
publication. You’ll copyedit your work carefully in additional to the larger
revisions suggested by the essay’s workshop. You’ll research publications—both
print and digital—that might be a good “fit” for your essay. You’ll submit your
publication-ready essay to me, along with a brief note with the title of the
publication you’d send it to for consideration. Revised essays are due
Wednesday, May 13th.
Additional Class Policies:
 Class Conduct: A relaxed, professional atmosphere will be maintained at
all times. You are expected to be respectful of the opinions and voices of
your classmates inside the classroom and in all class-related activities.
 Attendance: I will use the attendance requirements described in the contract
grading section of the syllabus to inform your final grade. Further, three tardy
arrivals to class will count as an absence. Please don’t prevent yourself
from earning the grade you want.
 Late Work: You are responsible for turning in your work on time. I will
not accept any late pieces. I will not accept emailed works, unless
otherwise specified.
 Technologies: Please, be respectful and courteous. Turn cell-phones off
prior to entering the classroom. Because we’ll be reading & discussing
digital essays, laptops or readers are welcome as long as they’re used for
class purposes.
 Material: Due to the nature of literature, some material may be
objectionable. And due to the nature of this course, some material may be
personal, sensitive, and difficult. I expect that we’ll handle these pieces
with respect and attention. Please let me know if you have any questions
about the readings; I am happy to make alternate reading arrangements.
• Plagiarism: Plagiarism is a serious offense. You are plagiarizing if you
represent the ideas of words of another person as your own. Copying
directly from another source or even paraphrasing it without citing the
author’s name is plagiarism. I am happy to answer any questions you may
have about appropriate citations, and we will discuss plagiarism more
extensively in class. Any plagiarized work can result in failure of the
course and even severer punishments. See the General Catalog or see me
if you have any concerns about this policy.
*
SDS: If you are a student with a disability and believe you will need
accommodations for this class, it is your responsibility to contact Student
Disability Services at (619) 594-6473. To avoid any delay in the receipt of your
accommodations, you should contact Student Disability Services as soon as
possible. Please note that accommodations are not retroactive, and that I cannot
provide accommodations based upon disability until I have received an
accommodation letter from Student Disability Services. Your cooperation is
appreciated.
ENGL 584W Course Schedule: Updated 1/20/2015
Please note: all readings and assignments are DUE the day listed! Schedule
subject to revisions & additions. Links & PDFs available on BB; page #s refer
to Best American Non-required Reading.
W
1/21
Introduction to 584W.
W
1/28
On Memory
Keise Layman, “How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in
America: A Remembrance” p.238
Saeed Jones, “Infinite Ache: My 1st Mother’s Day Without Her”
Barbara Kingsolver, “Where It Begins”
Virginia Woolf, “The Death of the Moth”
W
2/4
On Memory, On Literature
Jaswinder Bolina, “The Writing Class”
Annie Dillard, “Total Eclipse”
Maria Mutch, “Ghost in the Machine”
Mary Ruefle, “On Fear”
Emily Vizzo, “Safe Is Not a Place”
W
2/11
On Literature, On Sport
Christopher Hitchens, “The New Commandments”
Charles P. Pierce, “Angles and Angels: The American Myth of
Sportsmanship”
Robert Pinsky “Always Is It Better Too Soon”
John Jeremiah Sullivan, “Horseman, Pass By”
W
2/18
On Sport
Alex Pappademas, “I Suck at Football”
--Week 5: Here’s a Ginger Joke About Andy Dalton You May
Not Like
--Week 13: Human Kindness is Overflowing
--One more, your choice from Grantland archives
Hunter S. Thompson, “The Kentucky Derby is Decadent &
Depraved”
W
2/25
On Pop Culture / Guest Lecture, Emily Vizzo
Vann K Newkirk II, “What’s Going On: New Sound of Protest
Music”
Matthew Olzmann, “Elegy With Ghosts, a Burning City, and Many
Special Effects”
Zadie Smith, “Some Notes on Attachment”
Essay #1 Due
W
3/04 On Pop Culture, On Personality
Peter Hessler, “All Due Respect,” p. 197
Molly Lambert, “Shady XLII”
Matt Power, “Mississippi Drift”
Workshop Group One
W
3/11
On Personality, On Experimentation
Sherman Alexie, “Crazy Horse Boulevard,” p. 3
Ursula K. Le Guin, “Being Taken for Granite”
Wendy MacNaughton & Isaac Fitzgerald, “Tattoo Stories” p 25
Brian Phillips, “The Dad-Rock Prometheus”
Susan Sontag, “Notes on Camp”
Workshop Group Two
W
3/18
On Experimentation
Reading TBD
W
3/25
On History
Jorge Louis Borges, “Blindness”
Ross Gay, “Some Thoughts on Mercy”
Roxanne Gay, “Bad Feminist”
Brian Phillips, “Man Up”
Essay #2 Due
W
4/1
Spring Break!
W
4/8
On History, On Travel
Saeed Jones, “A Poet’s Boyhood at the Burning Crossroads”
Jamaica Kincaid, “The Ugly Tourist”
Philip Lopate, “Against Joie de Vivre”
Workshop Groups One & Two
W
4/15
On Travel
Rembert Browne, “Rembert Explains America”
--Road Trip Across the United States
--Detroit vs. Everybody
--This is the End, Based Friend
Cynthia Gomez, “Cuba’s New Now” p. 180
W
4/22
On Digital Writing
Brian Phillips, “Out in the Great Alone”
Essay #3 Due
W
4/29
On Revision
Workshop Group One
W
5/6
On Revision
Workshop Group Two
Final Exam Period: Wednesday, May 13th, 4:00-6:00 pm.
Revised essay due.
Presentations & party!