Stories We Think We Know (Intro) ((4 Credits))

Catalog description

What do we really know about the stories of American women? What stories do they tell about themselves in the letters they write? In this course, we will explore women's letter writing from the Colonial Period to the present day. Students will not only read primary source letters written by women they might know about from history books, but we also read letters written by diverse groups of women across different time periods of the American experience. We also will engage in creative non-fiction epistolary (letter writing) activities and writing assignments to imagine the time, space, and place in which these women lived. Students will use the tools of storytelling, thematic analysis, and character development as they interact with and analyze women's letters. During this course, we will cover the themes of letter writing; communication; creative non-fiction; first person narrative; and the concept of public versus private discourse. Note: Students should only take the introductory or advanced level of this course but not both. This course was previously CRWR 1045 Narratives We Think We Know - Intro.