Writing About Love

Semester and Year	SU 2012
Course Number	WRTNG-UG1370
Section	001
Instructor	Susan Weisser
Days	Mon,Wed
Time	10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Units	4.0
Level	U
Foundation Requirement

Notes/Restrictions

Session II: July 2-August 10.

Description

Rather than focus on one genre in their reading and writing, student writing in this course will be inspired by a theme: the nature and meanings of romantic love as both private feeling and social ideology. Love has assumed an enormously important place in Western culture in the last two centuries, shaping expectations of what the good life should be, as well as evoking anxiety about how to achieve the fulfillment of that dream. Students will try varied forms of writing about romance in our modern world, including writing about their own emotions and experiences, literary analysis, cultural observation, and opinion. Accordingly, our texts will likewise be diverse, and may include memoir, letters and diaries; film and pop culture; sociological studies of gender and romance; and cultural theory about dating. You will have a great deal of choice as to the type of writing you would like to do but out of five pieces, at least one non-fiction essay and one fiction story will be required. Classes will be devoted to analyzing the texts to elicit ideas for writing, intensive workshopping of drafts in student groups, and personal conferences with the instructor.

Course Type

Advanced Writing Courses (WRTNG-UG)