Although some knowledge of a foreign language is necessary, this is not a language course, and no particular proficiency is required. An interest in language, especially English, is the most important thing. Students will be expected to work on some translation project (preferably prose); but their work will serve chiefly as a basis for the discussion of general problems of translation, its cultural significance, and the relationship between translation and creative writing. Class limited to 12 students.

The variety of linguistic and narrative strategies employed by serious contemporary prose fiction writers is matched only by the range of cultural and political issues chronicled in their works. In this course we will closely examine novels and collections of short fiction from the last quarter-century in order to begin to define the state of the art for this historical period. Particular emphasis will be placed on analysis of work by some of the more pioneering practitioners of the form. Authors whose work we will read include William H. Gass, Mary Gaitskill, Cormac McCarthy, Angela Carter, Thomas Bernhard, Don DeLillo, Jeanette Winterson, Kazuo Ishiguro, William Gaddis, Michael Ondaatje, and others. Two or three writers are scheduled to visit class to discuss their books and read from recent work.

During the first weeks, students will be asked to write on assigned topics in a specific non-fiction genre (review, travel), to provoke discussion of the genre and of the special demands made by writing short non-fiction. This is not, however, a journalism course, and in the later weeks, the participants may choose a genre--autobiography, for example--in which to write a longer, more substantial piece. All work will be discussed by the group, and if revision seems opportune in light of the criticism, the writers may be asked to produce a second version of their work. The only grades given will be Pass and Fail. Limited to 12 students.

Cross-listed: American Studies, Gender Studies, MES
of related interest: AADS

Through consistent engagement with feminist theories that explore the complexities of gender, ethnicity, class, sexuality, and race in American women's lives, we will examine a selection of texts by contemporary women creative writers and filmmakers that explore girlhood, maturation, sex, family, immigration, and work, among other issues. These narratives help us to ask questions such as: How do questions of race, ethnicity, etc., shape women's experiences of gender? Do the politics of "difference" undermine the politics of "sisterhood"? Of whom do we speak when we say "American women"? What kinds of privileges do certain women enjoy? What are the possibilities of coalition politics? Writers might include Alvarez, Hong Kingston, Allison, Paley, and Walker. Films might include Go Fish, Just Another Girl on the I.R.T., and I Like It Like That. By permission of the instructor. Requirements: 3 papers.

As we come toward the end of the millennium, the place of the arts in Western culture is increasingly in doubt. This course will explore, through a variety of readings from critical theory, philosophy, religion, and poetics, the ways in which our ethical values might be shaped by our sense of the beautiful, and how our sense of the beautiful might be shaped by our ethics. (Readings from Plato, Coleridge, Pater. Emerson, Nietzsche, Stevens, Adorno, Rorty, Cavell and others.) Weekly papers, open discussion. Only for the strong of heart and mind.

*pending divisional approval

A course designed for juniors and seniors, preference to seniors, who are not writing majors, but who might wish to see what they can learn about the world through the act of writing. Every craft, science, skill, discipline can be articulated, and anybody who can do real work in science or scholarship or art can learn to write, as they say, "creatively"--that is, learn how to make what concerns them also interest other people by means of language. This course will give not more than a dozen students the chance to experiment with all kinds of writing. Poetry is the name of an activity, and that activity will sometimes produce objects called poems and sometimes other sorts of texts. Towards all resultant texts our attention will turn. This is not a course in self-expression, but in making new things. No portfolio is required but prospective students must consult with Prof. Kelly prior to registration