Award-Winning Novels Since 2000: This course will explore four award-winning novels published since 2000. In reading these novels, the class will discuss how each of these texts is both inextricably linked to the new millennium and, at the same time, steadfastly bound to the timeless question of what it means to be human in a changing world. In addition to the core texts, the course will explore the post-2000 zeitgeist of the English-speaking world, how prestigious literary prizes are awarded, and how modern literary criticism plays a role in determining which texts are worthy of our collective reading time.

The 1960s were mythic in proportion, and there is likely no greater mythic character who emblematized that tumultuous and oft romanticized decade than Bob Dylan. A shape-shifting, enigmatic minstrel, Dylan voiced the confluence of the personal and the political during the 1960s. He also reached toward the artistic horizon and defined the sound of an era by borrowing from the traditions of the past. His songs toyed with the avant-garde literary experiments of the Beats, echoed the paranoia of the Cold War, punctuated the politics of the civil rights and anti-war movements, and illuminated the way for a redefined counterculture. Dylan’s songs critique, define, and are a product of the 1960s. Through an interdisciplinary study of the history, literature, and music of the 1960s, students will attempt to articulate how the seminal art of the 1960s reflects a decade of revolution, protest, polarization, liberation, experimentation, and promise.

Taught by the Gilman Writing Fellow, this course is an intensive workshop in creative writing. Because each new fellow will design the curriculum according to his or her interests and talents, the course content is variable; it will include elements in both fiction and poetry, and may cover playwriting. Students should expect to write daily, read the works of accomplished writers, and participate in critiques of one another’s writing in workshop format. Only students who enjoy reading and writing and who are willing to work hard to improve their writing should consider taking this course. Students may enroll in only one creative writing course.

How are mental, physical, and learning disabilities depicted in literature? How do they perpetuate or debunk stereotypes our society has ingrained in the minds of its people? What is the plight many people with disabilities must endure to survive these stereotypes and what long-term ramifications do the stereotypes have on our society concerning how we see people? How do race, gender, class, and sexual orientation intersect with disabilities? These are questions we will explore throughout this course as we read a variety of genres of literature and reflect through multiple modalities and assessments. This course aims to interrogate the idea of disability itself and consider the condition of the body and mind as both abnormal and extraordinary. This course has required summer reading.

Terror in American Literature: One of the less studied traditions in American literature is the unnamed fear that accompanies many of the facets of America that we consider most unique. Have we always been afraid of what we might be on our way to becoming? Students will read and write with the aim of defining and exploring the different elements that make up an American sense of terror. We may begin with close analytical readings of colonial preacher Jonathan Edwards and short fiction by Nathaniel Hawthorne and Charlotte Perkins Gilman, before encountering longer works by Shirley Jackson and Stephen King. We will also consider films to appreciate how these elements of terror cross the boundaries between mediums. Summer reading consists of two short stories by Edgar Allen Poe: “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Masque of the Red Death.”

According to William Butler Yeats, “Out of the quarrel with others we make rhetoric; out of the quarrel with ourselves we make poetry.” Because of its raw and personal nature, poetry is one of the most intimidating, yet fulfilling, art forms. In this course, we will delve deeply into the reading, analysis, and writing of a variety of forms, which may include sestinas, villanelles, ghazals, ekphrastic and free verse poetry. Students will also have the opportunity to explore performance through spoken word poetry. In this course offered at RPCS, students will engage in daily writing exercises to practice various fundamental techniques and to generate ideas for longer pieces of writing. Additionally, students will learn the process of formal workshopping as a means for discussing, gaining feedback upon, and publicly sharing their work in a safe and respectful setting. Throughout the semester, we will read poems by classic and contemporary poets which may include, among others: Sappho, Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Elizabeth Bishop, Adrienne Rich, Amanda Gorman, Lucille Clifton, Patricia Smith, and Ada Limón. This course will culminate in the creation of a sizeable portfolio of varied poems.

Fairy Tales and Folk Tales: Is storytelling a part of human nature? Do myths and tales have a universal structure? Myths, fairy tales, and folk tales can serve as a lens to help us better understand our history, culture, or identity. In this course offered at Bryn Mawr, we will explore how these stories share common forms, archetypes, and motifs. We will also look at how they evolve throughout history. We will read a diverse selection of texts including selections from the “Popol Vuh,” the Brothers Grimm fairy tales, Joseph Campbell’s “The Power of Myth,” and others. We will also record myths from our families or communities, revise traditional tales, and create our own tales.