400

Students will study American authors from the beginning to 1900, focusing on selected major figures in either poetry or the novel. Writers such as Hawthorne, Melville, Cooper, Dickinson, Poe and Whitman are among those considered, although the list of writers studied may vary from term to term. Counts in the Humanities or Literature area of General Education Requirements. Prerequisite(s): LAE 101 and LAE 102 or equivalent 5 quarter hours/3 semester hours

This course is designed for students pursuing careers in business communications or entrepreneurship. Students assume the role of communications director for a sample company they create. As communications directors for this prototype company, students learn to write and respond to business material—including promotional launches of their company through various online and print media, press releases on its products or services, sales proposals, internal announcements and reports, and other business communications. Pre-requisite(s): LAE 102; and permission of Program Chair or designate. Co-requisite(s): None. 5 quarter hours

How do you go from inspiration to actually writing a poem? Students focus on basic techniques in the craft of writing poetry, while learning to appreciate the art of reading poetry. This course introduces students to the main elements of poetry through textual descriptions and analysis of strong models. Students then practice the application of poetic elements in their own work and in evaluating the poems created by their classmates. Prerequisite(s): LAE 102 or permission of Program Director or designate for undergraduate credit. Co-requisite(s): None. 5 quarter hours

Oral history constitutes the accounts of personal and public events as told orally, typically by ordinary people. Students learn how to interview ordinary people, how to assemble the history of major events as seen through the eyes of ordinary people and how to analyze literature based on oral histories. Students are guided in using oral history as a basis for their own nonfiction writing. Works by Studs Terkel, Alex Kotlowitz, James McBride, Anna Deavere Smith, and Svetlana Alexeivich are among those used. Pre-requisite(s): LAE 102 or permission of Program Director or designate for undergraduate credit. Co-requisite(s): None. 5 quarter hours

This writing course focuses on the basic elements of journalism, including researching, interviewing, covering live events, and writing with accuracy and clarity. Writing appropriate for newspapers, magazines, and online publications is covered, with an emphasis on replicating deadline-driven journalism environment and completion of several publication-ready articles. Pre-requisite(s): LAE 102 or permission of Program Chair or designate for undergraduate credit. Co-requisite(s): None. 5 quarter hours

This online course introduces successful web writing, designing and online publishing. Students will learn to write their own news stories that grab the viewers’ attention and then master the art of connecting shorter pieces to an articulate article that packs all the in-depth details with supporting images. Students will be guided to building their own attractive websites. They will practice writing straight-to-the-point copy that clicks through to neighboring pages where they will explain content in more detail. Finally, students will develop their own blogs and share their unique and relevant topics online. They will share their stories with the world and get people excited to share their ideas as well. Prerequisite(s): LAE 101, and LAE 102, or equivalent for in the BA Liberal Arts Studies and BA ELED for the English Major students. No prerequisites for graduate students. Co-requisite(s): None 5 quarter hours/3 semester hours

Editing skills are essential for professional writing, since excellent writing requires rewriting or self-editing. Students polish the practical skills that a self-editor or professional editor needs to edit clearly, confidently, and correctly. Students will sharpen grammar and style, and learn conventional editing symbols and methods to trim a story for content or space. Writing assignments focus on finding and fixing errors. The goal for students is to become editors for their own work and to become qualified to be "last read" on a professional paper/publication. Pre-requisite(s): LAE 101 and LAE 102, or permission of Program Chair or designate. Co-requisite(s): None. 5 quarter hours

This course is taught by professionals in the fields of advertising, marketing and public relations. Students will learn how to provide a creative brief, creative strategy, creative concept, and execute a multimedia integrated marketing campaign. Students will also learn how advertising builds and communicates the corporate image and brand. Practical assignments include writing and designing a promotional brochure, print ad, radio ad, direct mail piece, packaging, 30 seconds TV spot, web copy, outdoor/transit and press release. Additional areas of exploration include target and geographic markets, production, search engine optimization, blogging and social media. Pre-requisite(s): Graduate status or permission of the instructor for undergraduate students. Co-requisite(s): None. 5 quarter or 3 semester hours

An initial discussion of the basic principles of humor, followed by an overview of specific types of humor-writing. This course analyzes various styles of humor, such as iconoclasm, absurdism, exaggeration, "gallows humor," "Jewish humor," etc. in order to imitate their techniques in weekly written assignments. Each student works on development of his or her own comic "voice." 3 semester hours

Writers’ Week Workshops constitute a course of sessions with outstanding writers in a variety of writing areas, including creative nonfiction, biography, playwriting, screenwriting and writing children and young adult books. Each writer discusses his/her methods of developing a significant work. Students submit brief samples of their work in the relevant writing area for discussion and revision. They select one of those revised samples for expansion into a final paper. Pre-requisite(s): LAE 101 and LAE 102; or permission of Program Chair or designate. Co-requisite(s): None. 2 quarter hours

Opportunity for students and faculty to create a course topic not on the regular schedule. (A recent example: The Sixties: Evolution and Revolution.) Students may register for more than one Special topic in the course of their degree program. 2-5 quarter hours

A course designed by faculty and students, from time to time, in which students assume a major responsibility for course materials and content, in conventional seminar fashion, with the instructor acting primarily as advisor and evaluator. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor. 3-5 quarter hours/ 1-3 semester hours