Non-Fiction Writing: Self-Writing

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

Self-Writing Foucault describes self-writing as writing that “transforms the things seen or heard into tissue and blood.” Our own self-writing practice will begin with a close reading of Augustine’s Confessions, which will be our guide as we build a reflective journaling practice rooted in both our everyday experiences and meditation on reading. Drawing on the material from these journals, we will then have the opportunity to workshop longer pieces in autobiographical, memoiristic, epistolary, and autofictional forms. Readings from Gertrude Stein, Clarice Lispector, Georges Perec, Fernando Pessoa, Kathy Acker, and Virginie Despientes will help us in these experiments. While the writing in this course will predominantly take the form of creative nonfiction, writers of all disciplines should enjoy the opportunity to play with authorial voice.