ENGL 490

ENGL 490: Summer Workshop

Prerequisite: CORE 101 and CORE 102

Credit Hours: (3)

Designed to give students concentrated study in a specialized area of English. Students will be awarded letter grades A-F. May be taken twice for credit. Depending upon the topic, this course may be used to meet the multicultural requirement for the English major. Depending upon the topic, this course may be used to meet requirements for the minor in Appalachian Studies.

Detailed Description of Content of Course

Varies from summer to summer. As the umbrella course for the Highland Summer Conference, the Summer Workshop offers a two-week intensive study with a visiting writer or scholar in creative writing and/or Appalachian Studies.

Detailed Description of Conduct of Course

The creative writing workshops in poetry, fiction, drama and essay provide practical instruction in the preparation and criticism of manuscripts. Typically the students share their work with the visiting artist, their classmates, and on occasion the public. The Appalachian Studies component of the workshop generally focuses on the area of expertise of the visiting scholar, which may range from literature to folklore to the culture as a whole. Typically the students read widely from Appalachian literature, view videotaped programs featuring leading Appalachian writers and scholars, and complete projects on their own special interests to share with the other workshop participants. Generally Appalachian Studies and creative writing interests are combined within a single workshop’s scope.

Goals and Objectives of Course

Students will become acquainted with publishing authors who also serve as teaching practitioners in writing workshops designed to critique the students’ own work.
Students should learn how to write creatively in a supportive environment peopled by their worship peers, staff members of the summer workshop, and the visiting authors-professors.
Students should refine skills necessary to continue writing beyond the workshop, especially those who aspire to publication.

Assessment Measures

Because this course is taught by visiting authors-professors and is outside the realm of conventional college courses, assessment measures will vary widely. However, the typical pattern is for the student to produce a portfolio of writing during the workshop. Selected pieces are shared orally and critiqued by other students in the workshop, as well as by the professor. Finally, the portfolio is passed to the professor who judges the total effort on a pass/fail basis.

Other Course Information

Review and Approval

February 22, 2018
May, 2011
October, 2009