San Miguel Application Form | San Miguel Info | San Miguel Courses | San Miguel Housing Options
.
The Writing Workshops in San Miguel 2008
Course Offerings
Tuition and Fees for San Miguel: $2300 (not including housing, transportation, or meals)
Click on a course, or scroll down, for a detailed description
Note: There are two class sessions, mornings, 9:30 am-12:30pm, and afternoons,
2pm - 5 pm.
The Mexican History and Culture Lecture Series is
the only class that takes place outside of these two times.
See the calendar for the complete schedule.
.
Course: ENGL 2398/4390 or SPAN 4202:
Mexican Literature and Culture lecture series
Instructor: Staff
.
This special series features lectures on Mexican literature, art,
history, film, bullfighting, and more. The series offers students
the opportunity to use the field trips, lectures, and excursions
offered in the general program for credit. The course can be adjusted
to meet lower level, upper level, or graduate requirements, in
Spanish or English. Note that the lecture series is open to all
participants; enrollment is only required to obtain academic credit
for participation.
Students wishing to take this course for credit will be required
to read a minimum number of books from the lists below, attend
all the lectures, excursions, and readings, and keep a journal
of the readings, lectures and activities.
Mexican Literature and Culture
Lecture Series Reading Lists
List for ENGL 2398 and 4390 (Grad students must
read 6 books, at least one from each column; undergrads must
read one book from each column. Students wishing to take the course in Spanish [ie SPAN 4202] should contact Julie Jones for consultation on the reading list.)
|
|
Literature
|
Art |
Gilbert M. Joseph,
The Mexico Reader: History, Culture, Politics
Alma Guillermoprieto
Looking for History: Dispatches from Latin America (pp.178-286 only)
Octavio Paz
The Labyrinth of Solitude
Alan Riding,
Distant Neighbor
|
Katherine E. Bliss,
Compromised Positions: Prostitution, Public Health, and General Politics in Revolutionary Mexico City
Anita Brenner,
The Wind that Swept Mexico
Lynn V. Foster,
A Brief History of Mexico
Martín Luis Guzmán
The Eagle and the Serpent
Carlos Monsivais (ed)
Sex in Revolution: Gender, Politics and Power in Modern Mexico
|
Mariano Azuela,
The Underdogs
Carlos Fuentes,
The Death of Artemio Cruz
Angeles Mastretta,
Tear This Heart Out
Juan Rulfo,
The Burning Plain and Other Stories |
Marcus Burke,
Mexican Art Masterpieces
Justino Fernández,
A Guide to Mexican Art: From Its Beginnings to the Present
Hayden Herrera,
Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo
Elizabeth Lewis,
Mexican Art and Culture
|
Search for
books online.
.
Top
____________________________________________
.
Course : Spanish Language
Instructor: TBA.
Spanish Language instruction
may be available at a number of levels. Specify your level when enrolling.
The textbook is Dicho y Hecho, seventh edition by
Dawson and Gonzalez. You will not need the workbook and lab manual
because we use online versions.
____________________________________________
Course : ENGL 4390 – Mexico as Fictional Landscape
Instructor: Nancy Dixon ENGL 4390 3 Comparative Studies
This course focuses on one American literary movement period or
genre. May include film. Topic may vary from semester to semester.
May be repeated once with varying topics.
This course will focus on 20th and 21st century literary works set in Mexico. Some of the works include, Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry, Kissing the Virgin's Mouth by Donna M. Gershten, Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel, The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene, The Night of the Iguana, by Tennessee Williams, Amulet, by Roberto Bolano, The Old Gringo, by Carlos Fuentes, and Mexico, A Traveler's Literary Companion Edited by C. M. Mayo. We will also examine film versions of some of these works.
Tentative Syllabus for Mexico as Fictional Landscape, Summer 2008, Dr. Nancy Dixon
June 25: Introduction to class, texts, each other, and San Miguel (“lite” walking tour)
June 26: Selected stories, Crystal Frontier by Carlos Fuentes
June 27: The Old Gringo by Carlos Fuentes
June 30: Selected stories, Mexico: A Traveler’s Literary Companion, C. M. Mayo, ed.
July 1: The Night of the Iguana by Tennessee Williams
July 2: Amulet by Roberto Bolano
July 7: Selected stories, Crystal Frontier by Carlos Fuentes
July 8: Kissing the Virgin’s Mouth Donna M. Gershten
July 9: Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
July 14: Writers in San Miguel panel
July 15: Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry
July 16: The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene
Top
____________________________________________.
Course: ENGL 4391-Travel Narrative
Instructor: Allison Alsup
This course will appeal both to readers wanting to learn more about Mexican culture as well as to creative writers wanting to explore the importance of place in their work. We will focus on travel essays, that is short, non-fiction works that yield both a sense of place and meaningful cultural insight. Particular emphasis will be paid to how writers depict "other" places and what such explorations can reveal about culture and landscape. Most of the works will be by contemporary writers and many of them will focus on Mexican sub-cultures. Other works will examine the importance of place and setting in fostering the creative process. Students will be asked to keep a journal and occasionally to share their perceptions of Mexico as a cultural landscape.
Students will be evaluated upon classroom participation, occasional group work, a project and one paper.
Texts:
SLICED IGUANA: TRAVELS IN MEXICO by ISABELLE TREE
TRUE TALES FROM ANOTHER MEXICO by SAM QUINONES
MEXICO IN MIND, edited by MARIA FINN DOMINGUEZ.
About Allison Alsup
Top
____________________________________________
Course: SPAN 4204–Mexican film
Instructor: Julie Jones
This course will focus on modern Mexican film.
Books: Students should purchase and read before the class starts:
Gilbert M. Joseph, The Mexico Reader: History, Culture, Politics
Lynn V. Foster, A Brief History of Mexico.
Classes: Films will be shown during class time; remaining class
time (and two “no-film” classes) will be devoted
to discussions of the films and their relationship to what we
have read, and seen, of the culture.
Assignments: All students should keep a journal detailing their
reactions to the films. Graduate students will be expected to
watch an additional film and report on it in class (the report
should be written as well). The final grade will be based on
class discussion, journal entries and (for graduate students)
the reports.
.
____________________________________________
Course:
FTCA 6020–Form
& Idea in Media
Instructor: Henry Griffin
Syllabus (sample only, from last year)
(version 4 browsers
click here)
FTCA 6020 Form and Idea in Media
An exploration of the relationship between the creative idea,
the form of its expression and the medium for its presentation.
Focusing on the philosophy of creativity and exploring potential
creative processes of various arts related fields, the course
pursues an understanding of the creative process and its
effect on the finished product.
Topics for discussion will include: art versus craft, aestheticism,
collaboration, interpretation and criticism, art and politics,
etc.
Note From the Instructor:
The summer FTCA 6020 (Form and Idea) will be an exploration of creativity, sampling many different aesthetic media. We'll touch on fiction, screenwriting, filmmaking, the graphic novel, painting, music, poetry and graffiti, as well as the local art of San Migeul de Allende. I am an artist-in-residence, who principally teaches screenwriting and film directing, so don't be surprised by the emphasis on written and visual storytelling techniques. Your grade will be based on a journal of opinion that you keep during the course, and class participation. We'll read three books, view several dvds, and, of course, go on some field trips.
Required Texts*:
Writing from the Inside Out by Dennis Palumbo
Brokeback Mountain Story to Screenplay by A. Proulx, L. McMurtry and D.
Ossana
City of Glass THE GRAPHIC NOVEL by Paul Auster, illustrated by Paul Karasik
& David Mazzuchelli
*There will be more readings and in-class screenings down there, but you guys
should get a head up on the books, which can be had at Amazon or Half.com
for about 35 bucks total (no need to buy the new 26.00 Brokeback book, you
can find it cheaper). I'd recommend bringing a three-ring binder to hold all
the xeroxed handouts, essays and so forth.
____________________________________________
Writing Classes
In addition to the excellent faculty listed, writing classes will
be visited by special guests, new ones each week, who will participate
in the discussions and also in the Tuesday night reading series.
Students in the writing classes will also be asked to participate
in the student reading series, every Wednesday night.
.
Top | Poetry Writing | Fiction
Writing | Nonfiction Writing | Screenwriting | Translation
____________________________________________
.
ENGL 2161: The Study of Craft: An Introduction
to Fiction Writing
Instructor: Amanda Boyden
Designed for students with limited creative writing experience
but plenty of writing desire, this course will focus on the craft
of fiction. The class will incorporate theory, reading, specific
writing exercises, and the actual workshopping of student pieces.
We will examine and practice both classic and experimental forms
and their elements, develop solid techniques, and focus on each
new writer’s individual voice. A brief exploration of the
creative aspects of contemporary nonfiction will also be included.
An intensive study of process, the course aims to improve skills
and provide a solid base for upper-level creative writing classes.
Recommended texts:
The Truth About Fiction, S. Schoen
About Amanda Boyden
Top | Writing Classes
____________________________________________
Course: ENGL 6171 - Intensive Fiction Writing
Instructor: Joseph Boyden
Syllabus
(version 4 browsers
click here)
This course will utilize the "classic" workshop environment.
We focus specifically on student writing, discussing student work
through constructive criticism. Stories due for a specific class
will always be handed out to each student a few days in advance.
Classes will consist of thorough discussion and commentary on the
stories assigned for that day. Generally, two stories will be discussed
in a three hour session. Each student will have a minimum of two
stories workshopped, possibly three. As well as writing two-three
stories, the student is expected to fully participate in discussion
of other students' stories and offer a written response to each
story workshopped. The goup will also meet regularly in more informal
settings (cafes/bars) to discuss any and all aspects of writing,
publishing and literature as they pertain to ourselves and our
environment.
Top | Writing Classes
____________________________________________
Course: ENGL 6173 - Intensive Poetry Writing-
Instructor: Susan Schultz
Reading List and Course Description:
All books are published by Tinfish Press.
We will address two issues in this course. The first is your work as a poet; there will be assigned exercises and a lot of discussion of the readings and your work. We will be reading work that is in more than one language and/or genre. The second concern is publishing, not so much the way in which you get your work published, but how you might become a publisher, promote an aesthetic, a poetics, and create a community of writers. To that end, I am assigning readings from recent Tinfish Press publications, so we can talk about them as poems and as parts of a publishing project. As editor and publisher of Tinfish Press, I am something of a "native informant" from the small press publishing world.
The final project will be a small book of your poems, edited and produced by you.
Required Books:
Lisa Kanae, Sista Tongue
Barbara Jane Reyes, Poeta en San Francisco
Meg Withers, A Communion of Saints
Hazel Smith, The Erotics of Geography
Recommended Chapbooks:
Sarith Peou, Corpse Watching
Jacinta Galea'i, Aching for Mango Friends
Kim Hyesoon, When the Plug Gets Unplugged
Leonard Schwartz, Language as Responsibility
There will also be a xeroxed packet of readings provided to you.
You can order the books from Small Press Distribution or directly from Tinfish Press.
About Susan Schultz
Top | Writing Classes
____________________________________________
Course: ENGL 6174 - Intensive Nonfiction Writing
Instructor: Dinty W. Moore
Reading List and Course Description:
An intensive
workshop in advanced nonfiction writing, focusing on the elements of literary
narrative. The class will include three components:
1) Discussion of student work-in-progress with an eye toward constructive
revision,
2) Examination of exemplary narrative essays from contemporary magazines
and literary journals, and
3) Completion of short writing assignments in class and on the streets of
San Miguel.
We will conduct our classes in the spirit of serious writers interested
in working on craft, but at all times in an encouraging, positive atmosphere.
Chances are pretty good that we'll have some fun along the way, too!
Required Texts:
The Truth of the Matter: Art and Craft in Creative Nonfiction, Dinty Moore
.
Top | Writing Classes
____________________________________________
Course: FTCA 6257 – Intensive
Screenwriting
FTCA 2250 - Intro to Screenwriting
Instructor: Henry Griffin
An intensive workshop in screenwriting.
Henry Griffin teaches screenwriting at UNO.
Top | Writing Classes
____________________________________________
Course:
FTCA 6207 – Intensive Playwriting
Instructor: Jim Grimsley
The instructor will provide basic material on the basics of
playwriting, including focus on the stage and its elements. Students
will be divided into groups and assigned dates on which their
work will be read and discussed. All students should bring enough
copies of their work to distribute to the class; each student
will be expected to read parts in the plays being written by
their peers. The workshops will focus on thinking within the
process; writers will be asked to view all works prepared for
the class as works-in-progress and to question and improve them
accordingly. No text is required.
About Jim Grimsley
.
____________________________________________
Course:
ENGL 4390–(Comparative Studies)
Workshop in Translation (Poetry, Prose, Drama)
Instructor: Peter Thompson
Supported by a poet and experienced translator, students will
workshop the creation of strong effective writing using the guiding
hands of fine poets in languages other than English. We will translate
into English, the common language of the class; this should be
the native language of the participant, in order to benefit from
workshop support, and to arrive at work that stands beautifully
on its own. The teacher will help with Italian, Spanish and French,
and will highlight some grammar, culture, vocabulary and style
issues with those languages. He can offer some help in Old French,
Latin and Provencal as well. He will also share some more general
tricks of the trade. Students will gain in their appreciation of
the strengths and limitations of English.
Each participant will need to bring a long work or a series of
works to be translated, and a dictionary in that language. We will
benefit from brief looks at Rabassa, Manheim, Eshleman, Mitchell,
Pound, Lowell and other master translators. The instructor will
also provide some tips on getting translations published.
.
Course: ENGL 7000 - Thesis Research
Instructor: Staff
To be repeated for credit until thesis is accepted. Section number
will correspond with credit to be earned. This course is reserved
for Low Residency MFA students in their final or semi-final semester.
.
San Miguel Application form | Calendar | San Miguel
Main Page
UNO's Low-Residency MFA program
.
.
|
