Engl 3040
Literary Nonfiction, Fall 2026
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Readings ]
Calendar
last update: August 23, 2026
- Class
meets on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 11:40am to 12:35pm in Academic
Building 301.
WEEK
1
Monday,
Aug 24:
Introductions.
Wednesday,
Aug 26: Read Wild,
by Cheryl Strayed, through Chapter 4 (to page 61).
Friday,
Aug 28: Class
cancelled. D2L discussion due.
WEEK 2
Monday,
Aug 31: Read Wild
through Chapter 14 (to page 237).
Wednesday,
Sep 4: Finish Wild.
Friday,
Sep 5
Read
the following review essays:
-
"The Tracks of an Author’s, and a Reader’s, Tears: ‘Wild’ by Cheryl
Strayed, a Walkabout of Reinvention." By Dwight Garner. New York
Times Book Review, March 27, 2012. www.nytimes.com/2012/03/28/books/wild-by-cheryl-strayed-a-walkabout-of-reinvention.html. (Click
here for a cached
version.)
-
"The Outsiders: 'Wild' and 'Mr. Turner' [The Current Cinema]." By
David Denby. The New Yorker, December 8, 2014. www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/12/08/outsiders-5.
(Click here for a cached
version.)
Read,
in John Green's essay collection, The Anthropocene Reviewed, the first 5
essays, including the Introduction (through page 33).
WEEK
3
Monday,
Sep 7: Labor
Day.
Wednesday,
Sep 9: Read The
Anthropocene..., essays 6-37, through page 222.
Friday,
Sep 11: Class
cancelled.
WEEK 4
Monday,
Sep 14: Read The
Anthropocene..., essays 38-49, pages 223-295.
Wednesday,
Sep 16
Read
the following:
- "John
Green Is Not Writing in Code," by Elisabeth Egan, The New York Times, June
10, 2021.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/10/books/review/john-green-the-anthropocene-reviewed.html.
(Click here for a cached
version.)
-
"Author John Green Explores How to Live in Uncertainty in 'The
Anthropocene Reviewed'." By Adam Frank. National Public Radio, May 18,
2021. www.npr.org/2021/05/18/997793426/author-john-green-explores-how-to-live-in-uncertainty-in-the-anthropocene-review
Browse the following podcast
episodes and listen to at least three of them. Compare them to the
corresponding written essays in John Green's book:
- The
Anthropocene Reviewed. Index of Podcast Episodes (most recent episode dated
August 26, 2021). By John Green. NYC Studios. National Public Radio. www.npr.org/podcasts/735466018/the-anthropocene-reviewed
Friday,
Sep 18
Read,
in Frederick Douglass's 1845 narrative, William Lloyd Garrison's preface, and
Chapters I and II of the narrative. Bring the book to class.
WEEK
5
Monday,
Sep 21
Read
Douglass, Chapters III to IX.
Wednesday,
Sep 23
Class
meeting on zoom today. Check the D2L calendar for the zoom link.
Read
Douglass, Chapters X and XI.
Also read
these two book reviews:
-
"Review of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass." New
York Tribune, 10 June 1845. At U of North Carolina's "Documenting the
American South" website: docsouth.unc.edu/neh/douglass/support3.html,
accessed August 2023.
-
"A Big New Biography Treats Frederick Douglass as Man, Not Myth."
[Review of Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom, by David W.
Blight.] By Jennifer Szalai. The New York Times, October
17, 2018. www.nytimes.com/2018/10/17/books/review-frederick-douglass-prophet-of-freedom-david-blight.html.
(Click here for a cached
version.)
Friday,
Sep 25: Class
cancelled. D2L discussion due.
WEEK 6
Monday,
Sep 28
Read
Part I of In Cold Blood: "The Last to See Them Alive."
Also read
"Capote’s Masterpiece ‘In Cold Blood’ Still Vivid at 50." By
Jessica Ferri. The Daily Beast, December 28, 2016. www.thedailybeast.com/capotes-masterpiece-in-cold-blood-still-vivid-at-50
Wednesday,
Sep 30: Class
cancelled. D2L discussion due.
Read
Part II of In Cold Blood: "Persons Unknown."
Friday,
Oct 2: Class
cancelled.
Read
Part III of In Cold Blood: "Answer."
WEEK 7
Monday,
Oct 5: Class
cancelled.
Read
Part IV of In Cold Blood: "The Corner."
Wednesday,
Oct 7
First
draft of book review essay due -- Peer review. Bring to class a
rough draft of your book review essay (750-1,250 words). Bring a
total of 3 copies for a peer review workshop.
Friday,
Oct 9
Class
meeting on zoom today. Check the D2L calendar for the zoom link.
Bring In
Cold Blood to the class zoom.
Also
browse through Joan Didion's collection of essays, Slouching Towards
Bethlehem. Bring the book to class.
WEEK 8
Monday,
Oct 12: Fall
break!
Wednesday,
Oct 14
Read
the first two parts of Slouching Towards Bethlehem, through page 168.
Friday,
Oct 16
Revised
book review due.
Read part
III of Didion's collection -- pages 171-238.
Also
read "The Essential Joan Didion," by Alissa Wilkinson. The
New York Times, April 26, 2024. www.nytimes.com/article/joan-didion-best-books.html.
(Click here for a cached
version.)
WEEK 9
Monday,
Oct 19
Begin
reading Spiegelman's Maus. Bring the book to class.
Also
read "Art Spiegelman’s Genre-Defying Holocaust Work, Revisited." By
Ruth Franklin. The New Republic, October 5, 2011. newrepublic.com/article/95758/art-spiegelman-metamaus-holocaust-memoir-graphic-novel.
(Click here for a
cached version.)
Wednesday,
Oct 21
Finish Volume
I of Spiegelman's Maus (pages 1-161).
Friday,
Oct 23: Class
cancelled. D2L discussion due.
WEEK 10
Monday,
Oct 26
Read Maus Vol
II, through Chapter 3 (pages 169-260).
Wednesday,
Oct 28
Read Maus Vol
II, Chapters 4 and 5 (pages 261-296).
Friday,
Oct 30
Draft
of the script for your youtube podcast due. Bring a total of 3
copies for a peer review workshop.
WEEK 11
Monday,
Nov 2
In
David Foster Wallace's collection, A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do
Again, read the long title essay, which is about a cruise ship experience:
"A Supposedly Fun Thing..."
Wednesday,
Nov 4
Read "Consider
the Lobster," by David Foster Wallace. Gourmet Magazine, August
2004. www.gourmet.com.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/magazine/2000s/2004/08/consider_the_lobster.html.
(Click here for a cached
version.)
Also
read "An Appreciation: Exuberant Riffs on a Land Run Amok" [upon the
death of David Foster Wallace]. Michiko Kakutani. New York Times.
September 14, 2008. www.nytimes.com/2008/09/15/books/15kaku.html.
(Click here for a cached
version.)
Friday,
Nov 6: Class
cancelled.
Read D.
F. Wallace's essay on the Illinois State Fair, entitled "Getting
Away from Already Pretty Much Being Away from It All," pages 83
to 137.
WEEK 12
Monday,
Nov 9
Today
we meet on the 2nd floor of the Sherrod Library, at the recording booth in the
Innovation Commons. If you're planning to record today, bring a copy of
your script.
Wednesday,
Nov 11: ETSU
closed for Veterans Day.
Friday,
Nov 13
Podcast
posted on youtube, due.
In
class, we'll listen to some of the podcasts, and we'll brainstorm for your lit
nonfiction assignment.
In Braiding
Sweetgrass, read the Preface and the first six essays, through page 59.
Also
read the following online reviews:
-
"Timing, Patience and Wisdom Are the Secrets to Robin Wall Kimmerer’s
Success." By Elisabeth Egan. The New York Times, November 5,
2020. www.nytimes.com/2020/11/05/books/review/robin-wall-kimmerer-braiding-sweetgrass.html.
(Click here for a cached
version.)
- "Book
World: 'Braiding Sweetgrass' has gone from surprise hit to juggernaut
bestseller." By Karen Heller. The Washington Post, October 13,
2022. faculty.etsu.edu/odonnell/readings/sweetgrass_wapo.pdf
WEEK 13
Monday,
Nov 16: Read five
more essays from Braiding Sweetgrass: pages 63 to 117.
Wednesday,
Nov 18
In Braiding
Sweetgrass, read "Putting Down Roots," pages 254 to 267. Also,
browse the rest of the book and pick three additional essays to read. Come to
class prepared to discuss the essays you chose.
Friday,
Nov 20: Class
cancelled.
WEEK 14
Monday,
Nov 23
First
draft of your lit nonfiction due -- Peer review
Bring
to class a rough draft of your own literary nonfiction (1,000-2,000
words). Bring a total of 3 copies for a peer review
workshop.
Wednesday,
Nov 25-Friday, Nov 27:
Thanksgiving holiday.
WEEK 15
Monday,
Nov 30: Revised
literary nonfiction due.
Wednesday,
Dec23: In-class
review for final exam.
Friday,
Dec 4: ETSU
Study Day.
Final exam: Monday, Dec 7,
3:50-5:50pm