Coursework

A variety of classes were required to obtain the writing minor, including:

FIRST-YEAR SEMINAR

Fall 2015

A first-year seminar (required for all college freshmen) is meant to introduce students to college, and to sharpen both their thinking and their writing skills. This particular first-year seminar was titled Mathematics Through Fiction. This class included reading various fiction pieces that explained mathematical concepts, writing included regular “journal” entries, and writing a different kind of fiction: we were asked to write a chapter from a book that would explain mathematical concepts to children. This was a very particular genre that required different writing skills and a different voice than much of the other writing I have done in college. Two main writing assignments for this class were also group writing assignments, which was a new challenge often unseen in writing classes. This class was a blend of mathematics and writing, fitting for my current degree and minor.

THEORIES OF WRITING

Fall 2016

This class, taught by the same professor as my Writing and Research class, mainly sought to explore the question “What is writing?”. The course examined the theories behind writing as well as its historical context. We looked into the transition from written to oral culture, the relationship between the writer and the reader, and the social and digital aspects of writing. We analyzed writing both as a noun and as a verb, and how it relates to us personally in the 21st century. We finishined the class by creating an online portfolio and defining our personal theory of writing.

POETRY

Fall 2016

This poetry class was an introduction to creative writing that satisfied one of two requirements for an applied writing course. We began by learning basic terms and tools associated with poetry. We continued to read various types of poetry throughout the class, and wrote our own poems and other works in response, and also put a focus on digital literature near the end of the course.

RHETORIC AND ACADEMIC WRITING

Winter 2016

Rhetoric and Academic Writing is the second of three writing classes required for all freshmen at DU. This particular class was called “Composing the University”, and focused on the specific genre of writing related to the University of Denver (DU). We looked at DU as a web of carefully constructed rhetorical texts, and how they shape campus programs and student experiences. This class investigated how DU and other universities “author” themselves through multiple genres in order to speak to audiences ranging from students and alumni to peer institutions and the general public. Writing assignments reflected and responded to various on-campus “texts”, and also included our own proposals to the University.

TOPICS IN WRITING THEORY AND RESEARCH

Winter 2017

Topics in Writing Theory and Research satisfied the writing minor requirement for a theory class besides Theories of Writing. This particular class was titled “Writing Media: Histories, Futures, Communities." The class looked into why we write media and how old media can shape new media forms. We also investigated how media interact with and help create both “real” and “imagined” communities. Assignments included readings and in-class discussions on the topics, as well as writing an analysis of an established media form, and creating a new media campaign with a peer.

FICTION

Winter 2017

This class was an intermediate course in creative writing, particularly fiction, that satisfied the requirement for a second applied writing course. The focus of this class was the short story. We investigated the genre through careful readings and analyses, and through the quarter wrote one short story. This story underwent numerous and substantial revisions, being workshopped by peers twice, and read by the professor multiple times. We wrote pieces around the story to better inform our writing, and also gave thoughtful responses to our classmates’ work.

WRITING AND RESEARCH

Spring 2016

Writing and Research was the final of three writing classes required for all freshman at the DU. All of these classes focused on a specific topic, and required students to do extensive research and craft a significant inquiry-based essay. This particular class was more about writing itself as the subtopic. It explored eight different keywords associated with writing and looked into their connection with research. One of the main threads of the course was the creation of a theory of writing, and exploration and reflection on our individual relationships with writing. We also created of an online, website version of our final research project, something more useful than the traditional research paper in the 21st century. I chose to take up the writing minor after finishing this class.

CAPSTONE: WRITING DESIGN AND CIRCULATION

Spring 2017

This class was the capstone for the entire Minor in Writing Practices. It was a culmination of the academic program, meant to capture the writing experiences we had been a part of so far at the DU. The main project for this class was building an ePortfolio (this website), but also included other writing activities along the way. Besides gathering and reviewing all our major works from the writing program, we also did a substantial revision of one of them. We learned about curation and circulation of writing, and examined our own writing and writing practices.

Future

Fall 2017 – Spring 2018

Though I will soon be done with my minor in writing, I don't plan to stop taking writing classes. Some of these will include Art of Fiction, Reading Across Genres, Writing Across Genres, and American Short Story. I plan to continue writing and reading in my free time, both during school and after graduation in 2018, and take my writing skills outside the classroom.