English
Departmental Guidelines
The English curriculum is intended to serve the general needs of the liberal arts student and also provide discerning programs for the more specialized needs of students who want to major in English with an emphasis in literature or creative writing. In the last thirty years, English literary studies have changed in response to new theoretical and cultural models as well as greater attention to Anglophone international and non-canonical literature and genres. In our courses and major we approach the study of language and literature as a dynamic, living, and lively pursuit, one that integrates political, social, philosophical, cultural, and aesthetic values. We have designed a program that meets a variety of needs and enables students to pursue a variety of personal and professional goals, whether defined by individual or collaborative intent, subject breadth or depth, instructional model, source engagement, writing development, or other pedagogical features. The faculty in English participate actively in the General Education Program, the Writing Program, Women's and Gender Studies, Black Studies, Queer Studies, International Studies, Environmental Studies, and service-learning opportunities.
All students may enjoy readings and lectures made possible by the endowed Harriet Ewens Beck Fund, which has brought such writers as Susan Orlean, Ted Kooser, Alice Walker, Bill Bryson, Maxine Hong Kingston, Adrienne Rich, Louise Erdrich, and Antonya Nelson for visits or residencies each year. In addition, the Dr. Nan Nowik Writer-in-Residence Endowed Fund enables the department to host one high-profile writer for an extended residency during an academic year. The curriculum in English is also enhanced by a variety of opportunities for students to pursue publishing their works locally in a variety of student-edited journals. ARTICULĀTE (a forum for cultural and literary criticism) and EXILE (a journal of creative writing) are among the publications associated with students in English.
Mission Statement
The faculty of the English Department seeks to help students improve their abilities to read, write, and think critically and creatively. Through the study of literature and the instruction of writing in various forms, we endeavor to promote in our majors and minors both a deep understanding of our discipline and an active use of its practices. As a faculty, we recognize and encourage among ourselves a variety of pedagogical and critical approaches to literature and writing. Moreover, we feel that our students should experience and comprehend these different schools of theory and application. Thus, in the course of their studies in our department, students are exposed to the traditional canon of British and American literature as well as to noncanonical texts in the Anglophone tradition; asked to apply a variety of critical approaches from traditional close reading to recent postmodern methods of investigation; required to write with style and acumen; and motivated to examine, question, and challenge their own moment and situation in literary and cultural history.
Faculty
Associate Professor James Weaver, Chair
Professors Peter Grandbois, Linda Krumholz, Diana Mafe, Fred Porcheddu-Engel, Sandra Runzo, Jack Shuler, Margot Singer; Associate Professors Sylvia Brown, Regina Martin, James Weaver; Assistant Professors Michael Croley, Julia Kolchinsky Dasbach, Yen Loh; Visiting Assistant Professors Paul Barickman, Jen Leonard, Michael Mayne, Doug Swift; Professor Emeritus David Baker.
Academic Administrative Assistant
Anneliese Deimel Davis
English Major
Students who major in English must choose an advisor in the English Department to assist them in selecting and sequencing classes to meet their academic and professional goals. All students who major in English must complete a minimum of ten classes in the department. The English major and minor each have two options: the literature emphasis and the creative writing emphasis. The two courses of study overlap and complement one another. Both literature and creative writing students should graduate from Denison with a strong knowledge of the history and practice of literary studies.
Each semester, students who want to take classes in English should read the semester's course descriptions, available online and from the English office, which provide more detailed information about specific classes than what appears below.
Literature Emphasis
The English literature major consists of 10 courses, from introductory survey courses at the 200 level, through upper-level seminar courses at the 300 level, to the 400-level capstone senior seminar. Students are encouraged to begin their coursework with 200-level survey courses that provide useful historical and theoretical contexts for subsequent, more focused study in the 300-level seminars. However, because specific seminars are probably not offered every year, students are encouraged to take seminars, even before they have completed 200-level coursework, if they are interested in the topic. ENGL 400 - Senior Seminar is the English capstone course offered every year on a specialized topic. Students who major in English with the literature emphasis may choose to do a year-long senior research project in literary studies (ENGL 451 - Senior Research - ENGL 452 - Senior Research), which can replace one 300-level seminar requirement.
English literature majors must take:
Four 200-level literature courses, at least 2 of which must be pre-1900. Note: ENGL 237 - Introduction to Creative Writing is not included in this category.
Code | Title |
---|---|
Currently, the following courses fulfill the pre-1900 requirement: | |
ENGL 213 | Early British Literature |
ENGL 214 | 18th and 19th-Century British Literature |
ENGL 215 | Shakespeare |
ENGL 230 | American Literature Before 1900 |
Additional pre-1900 courses may be developed. |
Four 300-level courses. A year of senior research can also count toward the 300-level requirement.
One 400-level senior seminar.
One elective at any level.
At least 1 of the above 10 courses must be a course in a literary tradition of historically underrepresented or marginalized people.
Code | Title |
---|---|
Currently, the following courses fulfill this requirement: | |
ENGL 225 | Women in Literature |
ENGL 245 | Human Diversity Through Literature |
ENGL 251 | Survey of Asian American Literature |
ENGL 252 | Caribbean Literature in English |
ENGL 254 | African American Literature |
ENGL 255 | Ethnic Literature |
ENGL 260 | Contemporary African Novels in English |
ENGL 325 | African-American Women's Literature |
ENGL 326 | Native American Literature |
ENGL 340 | Contemporary Drama |
ENGL 355 | The Harlem Renaissance |
ENGL 356 | The Narrative of Black America |
ENGL 357 | Postcolonial Literature and Criticism |
Creative Writing Emphasis
Students who major in English with the creative writing emphasis must take ten courses. English majors with a creative writing emphasis will read and write extensively, learn from practicing published writers, and hone their skills while studying a wide range of literary texts. Students majoring with an emphasis in creative writing will choose from a variety of courses divided among workshops and literature courses. The core of the creative writing courses is the workshop. Writing students take a series of increasingly advanced workshops to culminate in a year-long senior writing project conducted on campus. The senior capstone is ENGL 453 - Senior Writing Project - ENGL 454 - Senior Writing Project in which students complete a collection of their work (poetry, stories, drama, and/or nonfiction) by year’s end.
The English creative writing major consists of 10 courses, including literature courses at the introductory and upper levels and a four-course creative writing workshop sequence.
English creative writing majors must take:
Code | Title |
---|---|
4 courses in the creative writing workshop sequence: | |
ENGL 237 | Introduction to Creative Writing |
At least 1 of the following upper-level workshops: | |
ENGL 383 | Fiction Writing |
ENGL 384 | Creative Nonfiction Writing |
ENGL 385 | Poetry Writing |
ENGL 453 - Senior Writing Project and ENGL 454 - Senior Writing Project. English 453-454 serves as the capstone experience for English majors with the creative writing emphasis; this 8-credit course consists of weekly group workshops, individual tutorials, a monthly colloquium and practicum, as well as a series of master classes and workshops with visiting writers. Students must submit a writing sample and show reasonable progress in creative writing courses at the end of their junior year to get permission to take the year-long senior project to complete the major with a creative writing emphasis.
Three 200-level literature courses, at least 1 of which must be pre-1900. Note: ENGL 237 - Introduction to Creative Writing is not included in this category. (See the list of pre-1900 courses under the English literature major description.)
Three 300-level courses. ENGL 400 may also count toward this requirement. A year of senior research may also count toward the 300-level requirement.
At least 1 of the above 10 courses must be a course in a literary tradition of historically underrepresented or marginalized people. (See the list under the English literature major description.)
English Minor
Literature Emphasis
The English literature minor consists of 6 courses, evenly spread between introductory survey courses at the 200 level and upper-level seminar courses at the 300 level.
English literature minors must take:
Three 200-level literature courses, at least 1 of which must be pre-1900. Note: ENGL 237 - Introduction to Creative Writing is not included in this category. (See the list of pre-1900 courses under the English literature major description.)
Three 300-level courses. ENGL 400 may count toward this requirement. A year of senior research may also count toward the 300-level requirement.
At least 1 of the above 6 courses must be a course in a literary tradition of historically underrepresented or marginalized people. (See the list under the English literature major description.)
Creative Writing Emphasis
The English creative writing minor consists of 6 courses, including introductory survey courses at the 200 level, upper-level seminar courses at the 300 level, and a two-course creative writing workshop sequence.
English creative writing minors must take:
Two courses in the creative writing workshop sequence:
ENGL 237 - Introduction to Creative Writing
Code | Title |
---|---|
At least 1 of the following upper-level workshops: | |
ENGL 383 | Fiction Writing |
ENGL 384 | Creative Nonfiction Writing |
ENGL 385 | Poetry Writing |
Two 200-level literature courses, at least 1 of which must be pre-1900. Note: ENGL 237 - Introduction to Creative Writing is not included in this category. (See the list of pre-1900 courses under the English literature major checklist.)
Two 300-level courses. ENGL 400 may also count toward this requirement. A year of senior research can also count toward the 300-level requirement.
At least 1 of the above 6 courses must be a course in a literary tradition of historically underrepresented or marginalized people. (See the list under the English literature major description.)
Off-Campus Study
Students partaking in off-campus study during their Denison career can transfer that coursework as part of their major or minor requirements. Typically, an English literature or creative writing major studying abroad for one semester or for a summer term may transfer up to two courses as part of their degree requirements, while a minor studying abroad for one semester or a summer term may transfer one course toward their minor requirements. An English literature or creative writing major studying abroad for a full year may transfer up to three courses as part of their degree requirements, while a minor studying abroad for a full year may transfer up to two courses toward their minor requirements.
English creative writing majors and minors must complete their required workshop sequence (ENGL 237; one of ENGL 383, 384, or 385; and the year-long senior writing project, English 453-454) at Denison. Similarly, English literature majors must complete their required senior seminar (ENGL 400) at Denison. Students should consult with their academic advisors and the department chair regarding their off-campus study coursework.
Courses
ENGL 150 - Introductory Topics in Literature (4 Credit Hours)
Introductory Topics to Literature introduces students to the study of literature by providing students with a broad overview of a literary topic, genre, or tradition chosen by the professor. Topics may include space and place in literature, politics and literature, current events and literature, economics and literature, etc. Genres may include poetry, the short story, the novel, drama, detective fiction, science fiction, domestic fiction, etc. Traditions may include African American literature, queer literature, British literature, postcolonial literature, etc. The course teaches students how to read, analyze, and enjoy literature as well as write about literature. It also teaches students why studying literature in college is important to their personal, professional, and civic lives.
ENGL 199 - Introductory Topics in English (1-4 Credit Hours)
A general category used only in the evaluation of transfer credit.
ENGL 201 - Academic Writing (4 Credit Hours)
Theory and practice in essay and other academic writing, allowing students to concentrate on mastering styles appropriate to their own academic or personal needs.
ENGL 202 - Literary Theory and Critical Methods (4 Credit Hours)
This course will teach students skills and materials that are important in literary studies today. It will include methods of reading and writing literary criticism, research methods in literary studies, analytical practices, an overview of literary theoretical debates of the 20th century, and selected readings from contemporary theory. In each section, the teacher will use one or two literary texts to test interpretative and theoretical approaches.
ENGL 210 - Studies in Literature (4 Credit Hours)
An intensive study of selected writers, works, literary genres, or themes. May be taken more than once for credit.
ENGL 213 - Early British Literature (4 Credit Hours)
A study of selected works by men and women writing in the 8th through the 17th centuries. With close attention to various genres and through various critical approaches, this course attends to literary and cultural developments as reflected in a variety of texts and contexts.
ENGL 214 - 18th and 19th-Century British Literature (4 Credit Hours)
A study of selected works by men and women in the 18th and 19th centuries in England. The course pays close attention to various genres - satire, poetry, drama, criticism, and fiction - and is designed to sharpen students' reading, interpretive, critical thinking, and writing skills, while attending to literary and cultural developments in eighteenth-century, Romantic, and Victorian texts.
ENGL 215 - Shakespeare (4 Credit Hours)
A study of principal plays, emphasizing the poetic and dramatic aspects of Shakespeare's work, as viewed through a variety of critical perspectives.
ENGL 219 - 20th-Century Poetry (4 Credit Hours)
A survey of 20th-century poetry. Attention to major poets as well as literary schools will be enhanced by attention to the wider history, philosophy, and aesthetics of the time.
ENGL 220 - 20th-Century Fiction (4 Credit Hours)
A survey of 20th-century fiction. Attention to major writers will be enhanced by attention to the wider history, philosophy, and aesthetics of the time.
ENGL 221 - Literary Journalism (4 Credit Hours)
A survey of literary nonfiction writing in the 20th and 21st centuries that will ground students in the history and more recent developments of the genre as well as the ethical dilemmas of the genre.
Crosslisting: JOUR 200.
ENGL 225 - Women in Literature (4 Credit Hours)
Selected poetry and prose by women guide inquiries into writing and gender and into related issues, such as sexuality, history, race, class, identity, and power.
Crosslisting: WGST 225.
ENGL 230 - American Literature Before 1900 (4 Credit Hours)
A historical survey of texts and literary movements in America before 1900. With attention to various genres and critical approaches, this course emphasizes literary responses to such issues as progress, national identity, race, gender, and the American landscape.
ENGL 237 - Introduction to Creative Writing (4 Credit Hours)
Offers a basic understanding of and experience in writing poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction and teaches students to pay close attention to language and narrative, central elements of all long-form nonfiction writing.
ENGL 240 - 20th-Century Drama (4 Credit Hours)
A survey of 20th-century drama with emphasis on British and American playwrights and an eye to female and minority dramatists disenfranchised from the main stages.
ENGL 245 - Queer Literature (4 Credit Hours)
A study of selected works by and about bisexual, gay, lesbian, and transgender people.
Crosslisting: QS 250.
ENGL 250 - Special Topics in 20th-Century Literature (4 Credit Hours)
The survey will explore 20th-century literature in a range of genres and in relation to the historical and cultural movements of the century. Each section will focus on a specific topic or tradition in 20th-century literature, such as British, American, postcolonial Anglophone, Asian American, Jewish American, or African American literature.
ENGL 251 - Survey of Asian American Literature (4 Credit Hours)
This course is a survey of the major issues, movements, and/or themes in the study of Asian American literature and culture—including novels, poetry, performance, short stories, graphic novels, memoirs, and essays—with the goal of understanding them within the contexts of their production. Issues and topics may include immigration, diaspora, ethnic and gender formation, kinship and sexuality, interethnic dynamics, cultural nationalism and feminism, model minorities and Orientalism, assimilation, and generational conflict.
ENGL 252 - Caribbean Literature in English (4 Credit Hours)
The Caribbean is home to hundreds of islands and many nations, but the shared history of European colonialism and the Atlantic trade in enslaved people has given some geopolitical coherence to the region, which is culturally, ethnically, racially, and linguistically diverse. Though literature from the Caribbean is written in many languages, this course surveys Anglophone Caribbean literature and it analyzes it within the historical, political, and social contexts of colonialism, postcolonialism, and diaspora.
ENGL 254 - African American Literature (4 Credit Hours)
Offers a historical survey of major texts, movements, and/or themes in the development of a distinct African American literary tradition. By examining texts from multiple genres and periods, students will be introduced to critical concepts central to the study of African American literature, including Middle Passage, slavery, diaspora, race, class, gender, sexuality, ecology, migration, language, and power.
ENGL 255 - Ethnic Literature (4 Credit Hours)
A study of the literature of various ethnic, racial, and regional groups of the United States. This course explores cultural heritages, historical struggles, artistic achievements, and contemporary relations of groups in American society.
Crosslisting: BLST 255.
ENGL 260 - Contemporary African Novels in English (4 Credit Hours)
A study of contemporary Anglophone African novels, all of which engage with histories and experiences of European colonialism.
Crosslisting: BLST 260.
ENGL 291 - Nature and the Literary Imagination (4 Credit Hours)
A study of humanity's relationship with and shifting conceptions of the nonhuman world. Reading selections vary, but generally include past and contemporary writers who reflect different ethnic and regional outlooks and who work in various modes, including literature, memoir, natural history, and science.
Crosslisting: ENVS 291.
ENGL 298 - The Literature of Place (4 Credit Hours)
An exploration of the ways in which literature and locale inform each other, this course focuses on a specific site or community. Through readings of literature “about” that place, the class investigates how cultural, social, historical, and/or institutional realities interrelate—as both cause and effect—with text. An optional trip to the place in question follows the semester.
ENGL 299 - Intermediate Topics in English (1-4 Credit Hours)
A general category used only in the evaluation of transfer credit.
ENGL 302 - Studies in Literary Theory (4 Credit Hours)
A study of major literary and cultural theories important to literary studies today. The course will emphasize readings in primary texts by critical theorists as well as applications of those theories to text of various kinds. The teacher may focus on in-depth studies of one or two critical or cultural theories.
ENGL 310 - Studies in Literature (4 Credit Hours)
An intensive study of selected writers, works, literary genres, or themes. May be taken more than once for credit.
ENGL 311 - Studies in Composition and Rhetoric (4 Credit Hours)
An intensive study of selected issues, historical periods, theory and theorists, research, or pedagogy in composition and rhetoric.
ENGL 314 - Studies in the Short Story (4 Credit Hours)
A study of selected works of major and representative writers working in the genre of the short story. This course may focus on a few specific writers (such as Eudora Welty or Raymond Carver), or on selected schools and movements (such as the avant-garde, naturalism, or modernism), or on special topics within the field (such as postcolonial fictions or Southern writing).
ENGL 325 - African - American Women's Literature (4 Credit Hours)
Historical and contemporary African - American women's literature grounds an inquiry into black women's literary and intellectual traditions within the matrix of race, gender, class, and sexual relations in the United States.
ENGL 326 - Native American Literature (4 Credit Hours)
A study of Native American literature that will provoke considerations of Native American cultural and religious traditions, historical and legal struggles, artistic achievements, and contributions to contemporary American culture.
ENGL 340 - Contemporary Drama (4 Credit Hours)
Intensive study of drama from 1956 to the present, with an emphasis on British and American playwrights. The course will focus on the issues, problems, techniques, and generic forms particular to contemporary drama, with interest in the emerging drama of minority, female, and GLBTQ playwrights.
Crosslisting: QS 351.
ENGL 341 - Studies in the English Novel (4 Credit Hours)
This course will explore the English novel by studying special thematic topics, its evolution, and/or developmental influences. The course might include such authors as DeFoe, Fielding, Austen, Bronte, Gaskell, Dickens, Eliot, or Hardy.
ENGL 342 - Studies in the Contemporary Novel (4 Credit Hours)
This class studies the movements and traditions within contemporary novels, focusing on such writers as Toni Morrison, Philip Roth, Zadie Smith, and Salman Rushdie.
ENGL 343 - Studies in Contemporary Poetry (4 Credit Hours)
This class studies the schools, movements, traditions, and innovations within contemporary poetry, focusing on selected works of such writers as Anne Carson, W.S. Merwin, Carl Phillips, and Charles Wright.
ENGL 346 - The English Language (4 Credit Hours)
A study of the development of the English language and its dynamic presence in the world today. In addition to surveying the history of English from its Indo-European origins to the present time, units within the semester cover general linguistics topics, contemporary literacy controversies, and the social implications of dialect variation and changes in usage.
ENGL 348 - Studies in Medieval British Literature (4 Credit Hours)
Special topics courses studying the textual forms of England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland from 500 to 1500 CE.
ENGL 349 - Studies in European Literature (4 Credit Hours)
Selected works in translation from the Middle Ages through the 21st century. Depending on the topic of the seminar, authors studied may include such diverse figures as Chrétien de Troyes, Dante, Christine de Pisan, Cervantes, Madame de Lafayette, Molière, Goethe, Ibsen, Tolstoy, Calvino, and Christa Wolf.
ENGL 355 - The Harlem Renaissance (4 Credit Hours)
An analysis of the interrelationship between the cultural phenomenon and the literature of the Harlem Renaissance, particularly the way in which the social, economic and political conditions of the era helped to shape the literary art of the 1920s.
Crosslisting: BLST 355.
ENGL 356 - The Narrative of Black America (4 Credit Hours)
A study of representative samples of Black literature ranging from slave narratives to contemporary Black fiction.
Crosslisting: BLST 356.
ENGL 357 - Postcolonial Literature and Criticism (4 Credit Hours)
Readings in literature and criticism from Asia, Africa, Latin American, and the Caribbean, in response to the experience of colonialism.
Crosslisting: BLST 357.
ENGL 361 - Directed Study (1-4 Credit Hours)
Offers the student an opportunity to develop, with the help of an interested professor, a special program of study in a given topic for one semester. May be taken more than once. Directed Study credit may be used to count toward an English major, but it may not be used in place of required 300-level courses.
ENGL 362 - Directed Study (1-4 Credit Hours)
Offers the student an opportunity to develop, with the help of an interested professor, a special program of study in a given topic for one semester. May be taken more than once. Directed Study credit may be used to count toward an English major, but it may not be used in place of required 300-level courses.
ENGL 363 - Independent Study (1-4 Credit Hours)
Offers the student an opportunity to develop within a semester a wholly individualized program of study, to be supervised by an interested professor. Independent Study credit may be used to count toward an English major, but it may not be used in place of required 300-level courses.
ENGL 364 - Independent Study (1-4 Credit Hours)
Offers the student an opportunity to develop within a semester a wholly individualized program of study, to be supervised by an interested professor. Independent Study credit may be used to count toward an English major, but it may not be used in place of required 300-level courses.
ENGL 365 - Studies in 16th and Early 17th-Century British Literature (4 Credit Hours)
A study of selected works of poetry, prose, and drama from 1500-1660.
ENGL 366 - Studies in Late 17th and 18th-Century British Literature (4 Credit Hours)
Special topics courses based in the literacy culture of England from roughly 1640-1800.
ENGL 367 - Studies in 19th-Century British Literature (4 Credit Hours)
Selected topics in the literature of 19th-century England. The course may focus on Romantic or Victorian authors or representative writers from both eras.
ENGL 368 - Studies in 19th-Century American Literature (4 Credit Hours)
Selected topics in the literature of 19th-century America.
ENGL 369 - Studies in Early American Literature (4 Credit Hours)
Selected topics in the writings of colonial and early national America.
ENGL 375 - Late 17th and 18th-Century Drama (4 Credit Hours)
Studies in the production, reception, and sociopolitical context of British drama from roughly 1660 to 1800.
ENGL 383 - Fiction Writing (4 Credit Hours)
An advanced workshop course in fiction writing. Students will be asked to read a wide selection of short fiction and to complete and revise a significant collection of their original work. Students will attain a working knowledge of fictional forms, techniques, and aesthetics.
Prerequisite(s): ENGL 237.
ENGL 384 - Creative Nonfiction Writing (4 Credit Hours)
Gives students in-depth experience in narrative writing in a variety of literary nonfiction forms, ranging from the lyric and personal essay to long-form reportage.
Prerequisite(s): ENGL 237.
ENGL 385 - Poetry Writing (4 Credit Hours)
An advanced workshop in poetry writing. Students will be asked to read a wide selection of poetry and to complete and revise a chapbook collection of their original works. Students will attain a working knowledge of poetic forms, techniques, and aesthetics.
Prerequisite(s): ENGL 237.
ENGL 386 - Multimedia Storytelling (4 Credit Hours)
This course explores nonfiction storytelling across multiple platforms. Students will learn how to edit audio and video stories using relevant and up-to-date programs. Most importantly, they will learn which is the most effective vehicle for the story they are telling..
Crosslisting: JOUR 201.
ENGL 391 - Nature's Nation (4 Credit Hours)
This course explores how a range of nineteenth-century American authors represented the natural world, examining how those representations of nature are informed by gender, class, and racial identities and how they become implicated in discourses of nationalism and imperialism.
Crosslisting: ENVS 391.
ENGL 399 - Advanced Topics in English (1-4 Credit Hours)
A general category used only in the evaluation of transfer credit.
ENGL 400 - Senior Seminar (4 Credit Hours)
A required course for senior English literature majors that offers students the chance to engage in intensive study of a particular theme or topic. All sections require frequent short reports to the class on research or reading. Each student will write a long paper as the basis for a seminar presentation. While the senior seminar is required for senior English literature majors, all senior English majors and minors (including both literature and creative writing students) may take the course and count it toward their 300-level major requirement. May be taken more than once for credit.
ENGL 451 - Senior Research (4 Credit Hours)
Senior students may work on an individually designed project for as much as two full semesters.
ENGL 452 - Senior Research (4 Credit Hours)
Senior students may work on an individually designed project for as much as two full semesters.
ENGL 453 - Senior Writing Project (4 Credit Hours)
This year-long project is required for a concentration in creative writing. Conducted under the directorship of a writing professor, each project will include an individual reading program and will result in a significant book-length manuscript of the student's creative work.
ENGL 454 - Senior Writing Project (4 Credit Hours)
This year-long project is required for a concentration in creative writing. Conducted under the directorship of a writing professor, each project will include an individual reading program and will result in a significant book-length manuscript of the student's creative work.