APST 590
Highland Summer Conference Writers鈥� Workshop
1. Catalog Entry
APST 590
Highland Summer Conference Writers鈥� Workshop
Credit hours (3)
Designed to give students concentrated study in a specialized area of English. May be taken twice for credit. Approved for graduate credit: appropriate requirements for students taking this course for graduate credit will be established by the instructor. Cross-listed with APST 490 and ENGL 490/590.
2. Detailed Description of Course
The content involves Appalachian authors/scholars and their selection of writings. Topics vary from summer to summer. As the umbrella course for the Highland Summer Conference, the Summer Workshop offers intensive study with a visiting writer or scholar in creative writing and/or Appalachian Studies. The creative writing workshops in poetry, fiction, drama, and essay provide practical instruction in the preparation and criticism of manuscripts.. Recent visiting authors-professors and their works have included Denise Giardina, Storming Heaven and The Unquiet Earth; David Huddle, Only the Little Bone and Stopping by Home; Marilou Awiakta, Selu and Abiding Appalachia; Peter Stillman, Gilead and Families Writing; Jim Wayne Miller, The Mountains Have Come Closer and Newfound; George Ella Lyon, Borrowed Children and Who Came Down That Road?
3. Detailed Description of Conduct of Course
Students engage in creative writing assignments. 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. 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鈥檚 scope.
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4. Goals and Objectives of the Course
1) Students will become acquainted with publishing authors who also serve as teaching
practitioners in writing workshops
designed to critique the students' own work.
2) Students should learn how to write creatively in a supportive environment peopled?
by their workshop peers, staff
members of the summer workshop, and the visiting authors-professors.
3) Students should refine skills necessary to continue writing beyond the workshop,
especially those who aspire to
publication.
5. 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 letter grade basis.
6. Other Course Information
None
Review and Approval
February 15, 2013