English 384/American Studies 351-Writing About American Society

George Colt

Th 1:00-2:50 p.m.

"Writing About American Society, " is an advanced writing seminar that will focus on the American family. We will read Vivian Gornick, Jamaica Kincaid, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, and other contemporary writers who have explored the most universal of themes. Tapping into our memories, the Sophia Smith collection, and the Northampton community, we will research, report, and write our own essays about families: those to which we belong and those we find in the world around us, some of them linked by blood, some by choice, and some by circumstance. Enrollment is limited. Admission by permission of the instructor. Please submit a writing sample of no more than ten pages. I would prefer personal essays, memoir, or journalism, but will consider any genre as long as it gives me a sense of your writing ability and style. Please deliver samples to Barbara Day in the American Studies office, Wright Hall, by November 18.