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ENG 349

Form and Genre

This forms course, required for the Writing major, asks students to read extensively in two genres in order to deepen their understanding of the craft of creative writing. Class discussion will focus on analysis of classic and contemporary texts and an examination of the decisions writers make in their particular genres (and forms within those genres) to create certain results. For the Writing major, ENG 349 should be taken prior to ENG 412, Senior Seminar; it may be taken concurrently with Creative Writing Workshops (ENG 301-343). (Please note: this course does not count for the upper-level literature course requirement for the Writing or Literature major.)

Distribution Area Prerequisites Credits
Arts and Humanities 1 course

Spring Semester information

Christine White

349A: Form&Genre: Playwriting & Screenwriting

Genre is a rather broad term which can be used to differentiate larger categories of the arts (e.g. painting, literature, film, music), to differentiate different forms within a particular art discipline (e.g. fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, playwriting, and screenwriting in the category of creative writing or literature), or, for example in regards to film or literature, to categorize stories with different types of narrative elements, content or style (e.g., mystery, sci-fi, romance, coming-of-age, thriller, young adult, horror, or drama). In this hybrid literature and creative writing course, we will focus on two genres of dramatic writing, plays and screenplays, and the elements that go into their creation. We will pay special attention to forms within each of those genres, examine their structures, and analyze them as literary texts. And we will look at some forms and styles (also sometimes termed "genres") born of artistic, philosophical, and/or socio-political movements that have influenced both plays and films.


Fall Semester information

Eugene Gloria

349A: Form & Genre: Poetry and Fiction