English 328 - Writing Historical Fiction

In this advanced fiction workshop, students will research and write two to three linked short stories set in the same historical period.  For the purpose of this course, historical fiction is defined as work written at least twenty-five years after the events described, or which has been written by someone who was not alive at the time of those events, and so approaches them only by research.  Students will develop and complete a research plan that includes archival work, nonfiction sources, and sensory research to address the problem of effectively evoking the material, emotional, and intellectual worlds of people who inhabit a specific time and place in the past.  Students will also read examples of fiction in this form by authors such as Toni Morrison, George Saunders, Sarah Waters, and Min Jin Lee. The depth, complexity, and courage with which one engages with history is, in large part, determined by the depth, complexity, and courage with which one engages with story.

Requisite:  ENGL 226, Fiction Writing I.  Admission with consent of the  instructor.  Limited to 15 students.  Preregistration is not allowed.  Please consult the Creative Writing Center website for information on admission to this course.  Spring semester.  Visiting Lecturer Stinson.