Engl 3040 Literary
Nonfiction, Fall 2024
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Policies
last update: July 10, 2024
Course and Instructor
English 3040 Literary Nonfiction, MWF 11:40am-12:35pm in Wharf-Pickel 517.
Dr. Kevin O'Donnell, instructor; odonnell@etsu.edu faculty.etsu.edu/odonnell/
Office: While Burleson Hall is being renovated, Lit and
Language Department offices are in the Center for Physical Activity rm 213. I
will not keep regular office hours there, so please talk to me or email me to
arrange a meeting.
Texts
- Truman Capote. In Cold Blood: A True Account of a
Multiple Murder and Its Consequences. Knopf Doubleday, 1994 (1965). ISBN:
978-0679745587 $16.95
- Joan Didion. Slouching Towards Bethlehem: Essays.
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008 (1968). ISBN: 978-0374531386 $17.00
- Frederick Douglass. Narrative of the Life of
Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. Penguin, 2014
(1845). 978-0143107309 $13.00
- Robin Wall Kimmerer. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous
Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants. Milkweed
editions, 2015. ISBN: 978-1571313560 $20
- Scott McClanahan. Crapalachia:
A Biography of Place. Two Dollar Radio, 2013. ISBN:
978-1937512033 $16.00. The eBook is available for free to members of this
class through the Sherrod Library: libs.etsu.edu/ereserves/ENGL-3040/9781937512125
- Art Spiegelman. Maus: A Survivor's Tale ("The
Complete Maus," Books 1 and 2). Pantheon, 1996 (1986). ISBN:
978-0679406419 $35.00
- Cheryl Strayed. Wild: From Lost to Found on the
Pacific Crest Trail. Vintage, 2013 (2012). ISBN: 978-0307476074 $18.00
- David Foster Wallace. A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll
Never Do Again: Essays and Arguments. Back Bay Books, 1998 (1997). ISBN:
978-0316925280 $18.99
Assignment Overview/ Final Grade Breakdown
- 1 book review essay, which you will write about one of the
books that we read for class (3-5 pages; or 750-1,250-words) -- 25%
- 1 essay, in the literary-nonfiction mode of your choice
(4-8 pages; or 1-2,000 words) -- 25%
- midterm exam -- 20%
- final
exam -- 20%
- miscellaneous in-class quizzes/ writing activities -- 10%
Learning Objectives
This course aims to enhance students’ reading, writing, and
critical thinking skills while fostering an appreciation for the power of nonfiction
writing. In particular, students taking this course will learn to:
- Recognize and understand literary nonfiction and its
various subgenres, including memoir, essay, biography, and journalism.
- Learn the history of the essay, specifically, as a
literary form; and learn about the evolution of literary nonfiction in the twentieth
and twenty-first century America, including, in particular, the literary
movement known as "New Journalism"
- Engage with major themes in literary nonfiction, such as
truth, identity, memory, and the relationship between fact, fiction, and nonfiction.
- Develop writing skills through the creation of original
literary nonfiction pieces, incorporating techniques learned throughout the
course.