About this course
In this course, we approach literary journalism as both readers — discussing some of the greatest works of journalism from the past 80 years — and as writers: by the end of the semester, each student will have gone through the same process that working journalists do, producing a full-fledged work of literary journalism on a subject of their choosing. Along the way, we consider questions of journalistic ethics, discuss how to balance rigour with creativity, and explore the contemporary journalistic landscape.
Course objectives
- How to develop a piece of journalism from brainstorming all the way through to publication
- Writing techniques — and in particular, techniques you don’t often get to explore in an academic setting that allow for more creativity, all while staying true to your research
- “Deep” reading — to not just skim for information but slow down, fully immerse yourself in a text, and attend to structure, character development, and literary devices
- Ethical and reporting protocols in journalism, which will in turn help you become a more informed reader of the news
Course highlights
The assignment sequence in this course takes you through the process of creating a piece of literary journalism from start to finish, breaking that process down into steps and giving you a chance to practice each one.
TBA
I was inspired to teach this course because literary journalism — writing that strives to engage readers’ hearts and minds as well as convey information — is still one of the best tools we have as a society for understanding each other and the rapidly changing world around us.