Creative Writing (CRW)
CRW 200. Introductory Creative Writing. 3 Credit Hours.
A course in the art and craft of imaginative writing: fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and/or scriptwriting. This course provides an introduction to the workshop format. Fulfills Core requirement(s): VPA (Visual and Performing Arts).
Prerequisite: WRT 101.
Cross-listed Courses: ENG 200
CRW 300. Poetry Writing. 3 Credit Hours.
A workshop in the writing of poetry. This course includes study of professional writers' work and group analysis of students' work. Course is repeatable for credit. Fulfills Core requirement(s): VPA.
Prerequisite: WRT 101.
CRW 301. Forms of Poetry. 3 Credit Hours.
A writing workshop that will let students explore and experiment with one or more specific poetic forms chosen by the instructor, such as the sonnet, the ode, the narrative, or prose poetry. This course includes study of professional writers' work and group analysis of students' work. May be repeated once for credit. Fulfills Core requirement(s): VPA.
Prerequisite: WRT 101.
CRW 309. Fiction Writing. 3 Credit Hours.
This workshop is devoted to the writing and revising of short fiction. We will explore writing techniques as well as writing samples by established authors, but most of our time will be devoted to critiquing student writing with an eye toward revision and improvement. Students will complete a final portfolio of short fiction to be submitted at the end of term.
Prerequisite: WRT 101.
CRW 311. Forms of Fiction. 3 Credit Hours.
A writing workshop that will let students explore and experiment with one or more specific forms of prose fiction chosen by the instructor, such as flash fiction or the novella. This course includes study of professional writers' work and group analysis of students' work. May be repeated once for credit. Fulfills Core requirement(s): VPA.
Prerequisite: WRT 101.
CRW 320. Creative Nonfiction Writing. 3 Credit Hours.
A workshop in the writing of creative nonfiction, particularly the personal essay and the memoir. This course includes study of professional writers' work and group analysis of students' work. Course is repeatable for credit. Fulfills Core requirement(s): VPA.
Prerequisite: WRT 101.
Cross-listed Courses: ENG 320
CRW 321. Forms of Creative Nonfiction. 3 Credit Hours.
A writing workshop that will let students explore and experiment with one or more specific forms of creative nonfiction chosen by the instructor, such as the personal essay, the travel essay, memoir, the literary journal, or the lyric essay. This course includes study of professional writers' work and group analysis of students' work. May be repeated once for credit. Fulfills Core requirement(s): VPA.
Prerequisite: WRT 101.
CRW 330. Screenwriting. 3 Credit Hours.
A workshop in the writing of scripts for film, TV, and/or digital platforms. This course includes study of professional writers' work and group analysis of students' work. Course is repeatable for credit. Fulfills Core requirement(s): VPA.
Prerequisite: WRT 101.
CRW 340. Playwriting. 3 Credit Hours.
A workshop in the writing of scripts for the stage, focusing on the 10-minute play. This course includes the study of professional writers' work and group analysis of students' work. Course is repeatable for credit. Fulfills Core requirement(s): VPA.
Prerequisite: WRT 101.
Cross-listed Courses: ENG 340
CRW 350. Themes in Creative Writing. 3 Credit Hours.
A workshop focused on writing within multiple genres of the instructor's choice. Possibilities include, among many others, writing as healing across genres, writing the environment, and multi-genre writing about popular culture. This course includes study of professional writers' work and group analysis of students' work. May be repeated once for credit. Fulfills Core requirement(s): VPA.
CRW 377. Creative Writing and Healing: the Power Of Words. 3 Credit Hours.
This introductory creative writing workshop encourages students majoring in any discipline to explore health and healing through their own poetry and fiction, as well as through study of works by modern contemporary writers who focus on the body, illness, health, and healing. No previous creative writing experience necessary.
Prerequisite: WRT 101.
Fulfills Core Requirement(s): Visual and Performing Arts (VPA).
Cross-listed Courses: ENG 377
CRW 384. Introduction to Writing Poetry. 3 Credit Hours.
This introductory creative writing workshop is devoted to the writing and revising of poems. We will explore writing techniques as well as writing samples by established authors, but most of our time will be devoted to critiquing student poems with an eye toward revision and improvement. Students will complete a final portfolio of poetry to be submitted at the end of term.
CRW 388. Writing Green: Poetry, Fiction, and Our Place in the World. 3 Credit Hours.
This introductory creative writing workshop encourages students majoring in any discipline to explore the physical world in which we live and the current environmental crisis through their own poetry and fiction, as well as through study of works by diverse modern and contemporary environmental writers. The course subtitle includes the phrase "our place in the world," referring to the study of "place" or the physical environments where humans live, as well as our "place" in the sense of the role humans play, or might play, in shaping the world in which we live. No previous creative writing experience necessary. This course can substitute for CRW 385 or CRW 386 as a prerequisite for upper level creative writing courses. Because of the emphasis on creative responses to physical environments, the course can include field trips and could be taught in a study abroad setting. Prerequisite(s): WRT 101 or equivalent.
Fulfills Core Requirement(s): Visual and Performing Arts (VPA).
Cross-listed Courses: ENG 388
CRW 390. Independent Study. 1-3 Credit Hours.
A student who wishes to pursue an independent project for academic credit must submit, prior to registration, a proposed plan that includes a description of the project and its goals, the methods to be followed, a schedule of work and supervision, an evaluation procedure and the number of credits sought. The proposal must be approved by the supervising faculty member, the department chair and the dean of arts and sciences. It will be kept on file in the dean of arts and sciences' office. An independent study concentrating on writing may be used to fulfill part or all of the creative writing curriculum requirement for 9 hours of writing workshops. Fulfills Core requirement(s): VPA.
CRW 400. Advanced Creative Writing. 3 Credit Hours.
An advanced workshop in the writing of fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, or mix-genre writing. Depending on the semester and the instructor, the course may be structured around a topic, genre(s), or both. It will always include the study of literary texts, discussion of student work, and one-on-one conferences. This course is recommended for all students pursuing honors in creative writing. It is also open to students who are not pursuing honors. Fulfills Core requirement(s): VPA.
Prerequisite: any 300-level CRW workshop.
CRW 480. Honors Tutorial in Creative Writing. 3 Credit Hours.
CRW 480 Honors Tutorial in Creative Writing is the course students must register for to earn Departmental Honors in Creative Writing. The course is designed for the student who excels in one or more creative writing genres, and who deserves further challenge and recognition. By the end of their junior year at the latest, qualified CRW program concentrators and minors will be invited to pursue a CRW honors degree. Applicants will be required to have a 3.0 overall GPA and a 3.5 GPA within Creative Writing Program courses. Those accepted will work towards completion of a high quality manuscript of poetry(at least 30 pages), fiction, creative nonfiction, or a play (at least 50 pages), along with an Introduction of between 5-10 pages. Multiple genre manuscripts are acceptable, with the length to be determined by the instructor. Students may complete this honors manuscript either while taking their 4th CRW advanced or genre specific workshop during their senior year (in which case they would participate in regular workshop activities but meet additionally with the instructor regarding the honors project) or while working individually with an instructor. Students must undertake a "defense" of their creative project before a designated CRW honors program committee (the defense may include a public reading or, in the case of a play, a public performance). The student may gain permission to register for another three credits of ENG 480 if doing so is useful and necessary. Fulfills Core requirement(s): Visual and Performing Arts (VPA).