Instr: Petty, Arlene (Oody)
Office: CRT 533; 229-5041
e-mail: oody@uwm.edu
Office hours: TBA
Course Information: MW; 2:00pm-3:15pm; CRT 468
Change happens in everyone's life. Sometimes, in the midst of change, it can be difficult to find solid ground. For many of us, the first year of college is one of those times. Although a time of transition can be exhilarating, it can be fraught with anxiety and uncertainty. Nonetheless, transitional periods also have the potential for tremendous discovery and growth. And yet, if you've ever tried writing under the influence of strong emotion, you might have found it difficult to express how you feel in a coherent or satisfying way.
This creative writing workshop will be an open, supportive, collaborative and interactive environment for any level of freshman writer-from beginner to more advanced. We'll engage in an array of writing exercises that help us to notice, examine, and ultimately express the experiences of change you encounter in your first year of college.
We'll learn how the basic elements of poetry, fiction, and personal essay can help us craft the articulations of personal experience into satisfying and moving pieces of writing. By reading, examining and discussing the works of a variety of published authors, as well as your own and your classmates' writings, we'll gain perspective on how "writing to learn" can be successfully applied to help us navigate the important challenges, emotions, and triumphs that change presents. This course offers methods of utilizing the forces present in times of transition to inspire writing that can be beneficial and gratifying to both the writer and his or her readers.
