English 3200-01W

Creative Writing

Fall 2007

MWF 9:00-9:50 am; TLC 1204

Dr. Randy Hendricks

TLC 2223

678-839-4876

rhendric@westga.edu

Office Hours

MWF 10:00-11:00; MW 3:30-5:00

Also by appointment.


ENGL 3200-01W: Creative Writing, Prof. Randy Hendricks
MWF 9:00am-9:50am, TLC 1204


Description: An introduction to creative writing, this course offers students practice in writing poetry, fiction, drama,  as well as critical and theoretical study of the aesthetics in multiple  genres. Rigorous preparation for class meetings and commitment to daily writing are a must.

Some Policies, Expectations, and Other Important Information

Expectations:  The professional relationship between an instructor and a student is not that of vendor and consumer.  One does not buy learning the way one
buys a car, a sound system, or a hamburger.  Tuition buys professional direction and assistance to your own study as well as a fair and careful assessment of
your progress.  It never buys the right not to attend class, to fail to complete assigned work, or to practice a radical individualism that distracts the instructor

and classmates with impunity.  By agreeing to teach the class, I agree to provide the direction, assistance, and assessment.  By enrolling in the class, you have
created obligations for yourself.  If you do not meet them, you will not succeed.
My basic assumption is that students are adults preparing to be professionals.  They should understand that the way they conduct business has a direct
influence on their success in the class and other tangible if longer-term results (For example, you are not only completing the requirements for the courses you
are currently taking, you are developing professional relationships with your instructors, who will in due course serve as your primary references as you seek
admission to graduate schools, employment, or other types of professional or educational opportunities).

To be more specific, I expect students to come to each class meeting on time, prepared and ready to concentrate on the tasks at hand.  I further expect
students to prepare all assignments with scrupulous attention to detail and directions by the stipulated deadlines.  And I tolerate no unprofessional distractions
such as gum chewing, sleeping in class, using beepers or cell phones (either for incoming or outgoing calls).  Students who create such distractions will leave the
class.

Deadline for Withdrawal:  The deadline for withdrawing from any class with a grade of W is October 8.  Students may withdraw from a class after that date only
in the case of hardship.  Hardship withdrawals are determined in the office of the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, not by instructors or department
chairs.  Students who are granted hardship withdrawals must withdraw from all their classes.

Compliance with Act regarding disabilities:
The instructor will make accommodations to meet special needs of students with documented disabilities.  It is the responsibility of the student to inform the
instructor of any such need and to provide the appropriate documentation.

Department of English and Philosophy Plagiarism Policy
The Department of English and Philosophy defines plagiarism as taking personal credit for the words and ideas of others as they are presented in electronic,
print, and verbal sources.  The Department expects that students will accurately credit sources in all assignments.  Plagiarism is grounds for failing the course.

Other Policies
    * Campus e-mail (myUWG) will be the official method for all communication by e-mail
    * No extra credit will be allowed in this course
    * Work done for another course may be accepted to satisfy requirements in this course, provided both instructors agree to accept such work.  Students
should keep in mind, however, that the same work might be evaluated according to different criteria, given the different outcomes.


Texts: David Madden, ed. A Pocketful of Poems: Vintage Verse. Volume II; A Pocketful of Prose: Vintage Short Fiction, Volume II, Revised Edition; A Pocketful of Plays: Vintage Drama, Volume II

Requirements: Submission of work for critique by the class, critiques of the writing of others, two brief analytical papers,  a portfolio that includes 15 pages of creative work in multiple genres and a critical preface.  Portfolio (50%), short essays (30%), critiques and participation (20%).


Assignments:
First creative submission and critiques

Second creative submission and critiques

First Analytical Paper

Second Analytical Paper


Schedule

August       15  Introductions
                 17   Introductions
                   20 "Everyday Use"
                   22  "Everyday Use"
                   24  "The Yellow Wallpaper" and Linda Wagner-Martin's essay on "The Yellow Wallpaper"
                   27  "The Story of an Hour" and Emily Toth's essay on "The Story of an Hour"
                   29   "Bartleby, the Scrivener"
                   31   No Class--Instructor away for research
Sept.             3 Labor Day--No Class
                     5  "A Clean Well-Lighted Place" 
                     7   Writing Exercises
                   10   "Trifles"  Response to Susan Glaspell
                   12  Workshop
                   14   Workshop
                   17    Workshop
                   19   Workshop
                   21   Justice, "Counting the Mad" (103)
                   24   Gray, "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard," 78; First Analytical Paper Due
                   26   Roethke, "Elegy for Jane," 146; Larkin, "Aubade," 116
                   28  Whitman, "Vigil Strange I Kept on the Field One Night,"  195
Oct               1   Warren, "Bearded Oaks,"  188
                     3  Housman, "Terence, This Is Stupid Stuff"
                     5  Bishop, "Sestina," 9
                     8  Dickinson, "A Narrow Fellow in the Grass," 39
                   10  H. D., "Helen," 47
                   12   Fall Break--No Class
                   15   Students' choice
                   17   Students' choice
                   19   Students' choice
                   22   Students' choice
                   24    Antigone
                   26    Instructor away for conference--No Class
                   29   Antigone
                   31  Workshop
Nov              2  Workshop
                     5  Workshop
                     7  Workshop
                     9   Instructor away for conference--No Class
                   12   True West
                   14   Beauty
                   16   The Cherry Orchard
                   19    The Cherry Orchard   Second Analytical Paper Due
                   21   Thanksgiving--No class
                   23   Thanksgiving--No Class
                   26    Individual Sessions--Portfolio completion
                   28    Individual Sessions--Portfolio Completion
                   30  Individual Sessions--Portfolio Completion
Dec               3  Individual Sessions--Portfolio Completion
                     5   Final Meeting--Course evaluations  Portfolios Due