What informs your
identity? How might you be able to
reimagine and redefine yourself and why?
The human capacity for introspection and self-reflection is immense, but
when in life can we exercise such processes?
We will approach a variety
of short stories and narratives by paying careful attention to how identity and
identity transformation shape various aspects of a story, such as plot,
character, setting, and so on. This
interaction may not be obvious to all readers, thus a deep investigation
concerning the craft of writing will also be a part of our exploration.
By evaluating these texts, students are encouraged
to form an introspective sense of consciousness and an understanding for the
positioning of self within a larger scheme of communal existence. The ultimate goal of the course is to enable
students to employ creative writing as tool which aids in the process of
forming and reforming their own identities.
Note: This course IS NOT a
creative writing workshop. There will be
some lecturing, but much of class time will be devoted to a discussion of the course
materials.
Course Requirements:
a) Attendance and participation is mandatory
b) Reading of all required text prior to day of
discussion
c) Completion of all writing assignments, to include:
a. Ten (10) 250-word blog postings to Laulima website
b. Two (2) 1,000-word literary essays
c. Two (2) 500-word short stories
d) One (1) mid-term exam and one (1) final exam
Required Texts: (this is a
working list and it will change; feel free to e-mail me at KAPENAML@HAWAII.EDU for a more current list of texts)
a) David Halpern – The
Art of the Tale
b) James Daley – The
World’s Greatest Short Stories
c) Matthew Kaopio – Written
in the Sky