Work in Progress: Writing, Life and Literary Autoethnography 3700-AL-WPWLA-OG

This course attempts to study the processes involved in writing a literary text by foregrounding the ways in which the writer’s life as well as her reading and writing habits influence her writing process on the basis of twentieth-century and contemporary English and related literature. It takes as its focus ‘work’ understood as a gradual process rather than a final product. ‘What do literary authors do when they write and how do they do it?’ ‘How do they record their observations and experience?’ ‘What is the relationship between the writer and her work?’ ‘Does great literature come from inspiration or perspiration, as the saying goes?’ To address these questions, we will study literary essays on writing, writer’s notebooks, journals, diaries and letters, as well as compare published versions of novels with their early drafts. In the first part of the course we will examine a number of literary essays concerning the nature and techniques of writing and storytelling. The second part of the course takes as its focus the concept of literary autoethnography. We will study selected writer’s notebooks, diaries, drafts of novels, marginal notes, as well as compare literary works in their various stages of writing and production to explore the complexities involved in the work in progress. In the third and final part of the course, students will be asked to discuss the results of their Reading Journal in the classroom (see description of the Reading Journal component in sections below).

Type of course

general courses

Prerequisites (description)

Students with a good command of English (B2 or better), as well as basic knowledge in English and related literature are welcome to enrol. As the course involves a number of selected readings and a writing assignment, students must be prepared to find time for self-study.

Course coordinators

Paweł Wojtas

Learning outcomes

Knowledge: the graduate student
K_W02 is familiar with basic terms used in literary studies and understands the cultural role of these terms
K_W05 is familiar with basic methods of analysis and interpretation of cultural and literary works
K_W06 is familiar with basic trends and concepts in literary studies

Skills: the graduate student knows how to
K_U02 analyse artworks, scholarly publications, and source texts using selected research methods (literary and archival analysis, literary autoethnography)
K_U04 formulate themes and problems (in fulfilment of the Reading Journal component)
K_U07 demonstrate the results obtained through individual work and teamwork in the classroom (in fulfilment of the Reading Journal component)
K_U08 complete basic (autoethnographic) research assignments in writing (in fulfilment of the Reading Journal component)
K_U10 communicate in English at the intermediate level

Social competencies: the graduate student
K_K01 is prepared to foster lifelong learning
K_K02 knows how to work in groups
K_K03 is willing to explore new research methods
K_K04 knows how to use various resources for specific purposes
K_K05 knows how to independently assign tasks

Assessment criteria

‘Reading Journal’ is a continuous writing component. The purpose of this task is to encourage students to reflect on their own experience of reading and writing through an autoethnographic research; an approach that will help them better internalise the processes involved in writing a literary work, which is the central focus of this course.

Students will be asked to:
a. make regular notes on their experience of reading the texts discussed in class on a weekly basis,
b. submit their final and complete Reading Journal at the end of the course (minimum 2000 words; there is no upper limit due to the continuous character of the task),
c. discuss the results and experience of keeping and completing their final Reading Journals in the classroom.

Assessment is based on attendance (up to two absences allowed; absences 3-4 must be certified and/or made up; absences 5 and over result in failure to pass the course), in-class performance, timely submission of the final Reading Journal and presentation of results of this task in class (see section above for details).

Bibliography

Attwell, David. J.M. Coetzee and the Life of Writing: Face-to-Face with Time. Oxford UP, 2015.
Auster, Paul, and J. M. Coetzee. Here and Now: Letters 2008-2011. Vintage Books, 2014.
Baldwin, James. Collected Essays. Library of America, 1998.
Beckett, Samuel, et al. The Letters of Samuel Beckett. Cambridge University Press, 2014.
Coetzee, J. M., and David Attwell. Doubling the Point: Essays and Interviews. Harvard University Press, 1992.
Didion, Joan, and Ellen G. Friedman. Joan Didion: Essays & Conversations. Ontario Review Press, 1984.
Dillard, Annie. The Writing Life. Harper Perennial, 2013.
Foster Wallace, David, The Nature of the Fun, https://www.michaelfuchs.org/re/index.php?story=2010-02-18Accessed 13 Nov. 2023.
Lopate, Phillip. The Art of the Personal Essay: An Anthology from the Classical Era to the Present. Anchor Books, 1995.
Orwell, George. Why I Write. Renard Press, 2021.
Porter, Max. The Death of Francis Bacon. Faber & Faber, 2022.
Steinbeck, John, and Robert J. DeMott. Working Days: The Journals of the Grapes of Wrath, 1938-1941. Penguin Books, 1990.

Selected archival materials: notebooks, drafts, letters, and other writings

Additional information

Information on level of this course, year of study and semester when the course unit is delivered, types and amount of class hours - can be found in course structure diagrams of apropriate study programmes. This course is related to the following study programmes:

Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system:

Description of 3700-AL-WPWLA-OG in USOSweb