Alexander W Jochaniewicz

An attempt, a venture, an experiment, a weighing - the essayist discovers new insight into the common, the peculiar, the sacred, the profane - drawing lines between the trivial and profound, the essayist tries: while difficult to define, this genre instructs, entertains, questions and refines. Students of this course will examine this genre of literature and will practice it, too: being introduced to a wide range of authors, writing on topics familiar and foreign, from the personal to the argumentative, from the art historical to the humorous, students will practice this craft by critically analyzing the work of others and writing different types of essays in a workshop environment that emphasizes the writing process, from generating ideas, to oral presentations, to drafting and peer review, to re-seeing and revising. FYS I develops college-level writing skills, prepares one for FYS II and upper-level Liberal Arts courses, and allows one to improve expressing their ideas in writing.

This class will examine the American short story and survey its origins and development over the past two hundred years. Our study of the American short story will begin with formal elements of fiction, including how writers use and innovate within traditional storytelling practices, and then we will widen our scope and consider historical and cultural contexts. This literature is challenging and controversial--and studying it will help refine our own thoughts and modes of expression, too. The reading list includes (among others) Nathaniel Hawthorne, Kate Chopin, Sarah Perkins Gilman, William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, James Baldwin, Alice Walker, Raymond Carver, Juhumpa Lahiri, Amy Tan, Sherman Alexie, and Z.Z. Packer. Individual interpretations will be emphasized, and a slow-and-close reading of both the literature and our own writing will be practiced. This class will also engage in the process of writing, including prewriting (inquiry and brainstorming), drafting, peer review, and revising. Written assignments will include personal reflection, analysis, and synthesis. FYS I develops college-level writing skills, prepares one for FYS II and upper level Liberal Arts courses, and allows one to improve expressing their ideas in writing.

In this writing course, students will read and write about different forms and movements of contemporary poetry, ranging from 1951 to the present, including sonnets, prose poems, Black Arts Movement, confessional poetry, and free verse. Not only will students be introduced to a wide range of poets¿like Gwnedolyn Brooks, Cathy Song, Li-Young Lee, Garret Hongo, Jericho Brown, Ada Limon, Layli Long Soldier, Franny Choi, and Billy Collins¿but students will also add to the curriculum by presenting poets of their own choosing. Individual interpretations will be practiced through a slow-and-close reading, and written assignments will include a sequence of shorter papers and end with a longer project where students will compose and share their own anthology¿all of which will add up to at least fifteen pages of revised writing. The process of writing will be practiced throughout this course, from brainstorming, to drafting, to peer review and revising. FYS I develops college-level writing skills, prepares one for FYS II and upper level Liberal Arts courses, and allows one to improve expressing their ideas in writing.

This course will chronologically survey American poetry from its earliest periods to recent times. Students will be introduced to a wide spectrum of the finest poetry ever to be written, including (among others) poems from Phyllis Wheatley, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, Jean Toomer, Countee Cullen, e.e. cummings, Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, Amit Majmudar, Terrance Hayes, Sherman Alexie, Garrett Hongo, and Natalie Diaz. Individual interpretations will be emphasized and slow-and-close reading will be emphasized, both in class and in formal writing assignments. In addition, students will be introduced to methods of literary study, appropriate terminology, and (art) historical contexts to help orient scholarship¿including how poets across time and space operate and innovate within literary conventions. Students will also write about poetry in both personal responses and formal analyses and will practice the process of writing, including prewriting, drafting, peer reviewing, and revising. FYSe develops college-level writing skills, prepares one for FYS II and upper level Liberal Arts courses, and allows one to improve expressing their ideas in writing.

The Foundations Writing Workshop is a process-based writing course that serves as students' initiation to the foundations of academic writing in a school of art and design. Students engage in the writing process, learn strategies for exploring topics, and develop their knowledge of the concepts and terminology of art and design through the practice of various kinds of written compositions. Analysis of essays and active participation in writing-critiques are integral components of the Workshop.