284/Introduction to Prose.
Monday and Wednesdays, 1:30-2:50.
SWS Building, Room B010
We are mortal beings. We live in a hyperdigital culture. Art is related to the body and to the culture. Art should reflect these things. Brevity rules.
A sustained argument for the excitement and urgency of brevity; a rally for compression, concision, and velocity; and a meditation on the brevity of human existence.
Each assignment will be based on prompts provided by the instructor, and each assignment will be very brief (very likely 250 words or fewer).
Participation counts; it will affect your grade. However, please don’t comment just to comment. Try to contribute judiciously, effectively, thoughtfully, and generously.
dshields@davidshields.com, www.davidshields.com
Office hours: Friday 2-4pm in PDL A414 or by appointment; set up via email or by texting me. We can talk by phone or via Zoom. Phone: 206.661.0933
In class, students will read aloud their work and critique one another’s work.
That is the crux of course. Students will learn the virtue of brevity, the key principles of literary composition in general, and the many gestures available to the contemporary writer.
This is a course in the structure of prose composition.
Syllabus is tentative; there may be more prompts/assignments or fewer prompts/assignments (probably not more prompts/assignments, but perhaps fewer). We’ll see. Questions? Concerns? Requests? Suggestions?
March 30. Introduction to course.
April 1. 1st prompt/assignment due.
April 6.
April 8. 2nd prompt/assignment due.
April 13.
April 15. 3rd prompt/assignment due.
April 20.
April 22. 4th prompt/assignment due.
April 27.
April 29. 5th prompt/assignment due.
May 4.
May 6. 6th prompt/assignment due.
May 11.
May 13. 7th prompt/assignment due.
May 18.
May 20. 8th prompt/assignment due.
May 25 (No class: Memorial Day).
May 27.
June 1. 9th prompt/assignment due.
June 3. Final meeting of course.
June 10: No final exam. Final portfolio due via Canvas on Wednesday of Exam Week.