The Long-Form Essay

Catalog description

This is an advanced course in the reading and practice of essay writing, with a rigorous focus on the mechanics of the essay. How does a great essay work? We will examine the elusive elements of precision, originality, and style. Over the course of the semester students will focus on developing and refining their own critical voice. Critics under discussion will include: Vladimir Nabokov, Kenneth Tynan, Elizabeth Hardwick, Randall Jarrell, Virginia Woolf, Janet Malcolm, Jonathan Franzen, David Foster Wallace, John Updike, and James Wood.