Comparative Literature 397B - ST-Junior Yr Writing

Junior Year Writing is an advanced composition class, designed specifically to improve the research and writing skills of students majoring in Comparative Literature. Through library sessions and hands-on experience, students will learn how to do library research for an academic paper. In addition, they will learn how to do close readings of texts spanning over a variety of literary genres and media (e.g. poems, short stories, novels, films, comic books, etc.). Finally, the class will provide a brief overview of the most significant literary theories and their application in text analysis. In order to complete this class successfully, students are expected to choose a topic, research it carefully, and organize their findings into a conference-length paper. The finished papers are to be presented in a formal setting at the end of the semester. Although not specifically intended to teach other types of writing, the class will include sessions that will help the students develop certain skills necessary for job and graduate school applications (e.g. how to write a resume, a statement of purpose, etc.). The structure of the class is flexible, and it will change every year in order to accommodate best the interests of the students currently enrolled in it. Please note, however, that this is a class in advanced, not basic composition, and as such it will not teach skills covered in English 111 or 112. Students are expected to have developed basic writing skills, including paragraph and essay structure, as well as correct grammar and mechanics, before enrolling in Junior Year Writing.

Open to COMP-LIT majors only.