ENC 3310 Spring 2024

This section of ENC 3310: Article and Essay Technique introduces students to the study and writing of creative nonfiction and personal narrative in a variety of modes and establishes a collaborative writing community. As such, this course places an emphasis on studying the elements and craft of storytelling as it pertains to ourselves, our lived experiences, and the world around us, in a way that both highlights and honors the experiences of others. Our guiding light for this course is inspired by Maya Angelou, memoirist, poet, and civil rights activist, when she said: “When I am writing, I am trying to find out who I am, who we are, what we’re capable of, how we feel, how we lose and stand up, and go on from darkness into darkness....But I’m also trying for language....I love [language] for what it does for us, how it allows us to explain the pain and the glory, the nuances and delicacies of our existence. And then it allows us to laugh, allows us to show wit. Real wit is shown in language.” (The Paris Review, Fall 1990) Readings and writing assignments include “traditional” forms such as memoir, personal essay, flash nonfiction, articles, etc. However, we will also engage in various forms of multimodal and hybrid storytelling, such as: photo and video essays, music videos, art pieces, performance essays, and podcasts, etc. Required texts: The Art of Memoir by Mary Karr and Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover