Interest: Literature
Interest: Literature
Crime Literature
Starting with the birth of detective fiction, one of the most popular literary genres, and moving to creative nonfiction, we will consider the appeal of stories about grisly murders and trace an arc from a more comfortable belief in the nature of justice to suspicion about police powers. Coinciding with this increased suspicion is a movement away from white detectives and white victims, to crimes targeting people of color, who were legally barred from giving testimony (and thus seeking legal redress) for much of the country’s history. Do stories give us cathartic release when a bad guy is punished? Is there some sort of poetic justice in exposing the inequities of the past even if the murderers have gone free? And what does crime fiction’s popularity suggest about our relationship to our criminal justice system, about our perception of its workings, and about the larger American tenet of equality before the law?
This class will have a particular focus on the skills of reading and creative writing.
Literature of Food
For millennia, humans have had a unique and ever-shifting relationship with their food. From growing vegetables in the soiled ground to buying a Big Mac at the drive-through, we all relate to and connect with food and tastes in varied ways. Additionally, from Fatima Ali to Rebecca May Johnson to Will Guidara, chefs and authors have explored what we eat, how we eat, and how our relationship with food matters. In this class, we will read, write, cook, and eat. Using a range of narratives, we’ll examine the politics of food, food insecurity, and how our relationship to what we eat and how we eat informs, nourishes, and shapes our lives. This class will have a particular focus on the skills of creative writing and project design.Student Directed Project – SDP
- Creating an architectural model using 3D architectural software
- Through their eyes: Photo and interview series of veterans
- Robosub electromagnetic linear accelerator
- Acoustic pinger for Robosub
- Virtual Reality game for visually-impaired persons
- Creating a concept album
- Dispute: Landlord-tenant board game
- Multimedia journalism: Producing a podcast series
- Perplex: English and Theater Study
- Sensors and fiber optics: Building a fiber optic dress
- Haptic technologies: Force-Feedback Virtual Reality
- Applications of integrals to analytical continuation of functions
Screenwriting
How do the stories that we write change when we know that they will be interpreted visually and audibly? In this course, students will craft compelling narratives written in the form of scripts. Together, we will view and critique film and brainstorm and workshop ideas With an emphasis on dialogue and indirect characterization, students will learn how to use screenwriting programs to develop short films or television episodes. Over the course of the term, students will storyboard, pitch, workshop, iterate, and see their ideas be reinterpreted through the production and acting of fellow collaborators. Think you have the next great idea for a (short) screenplay? Now is your chance to give it life. This class will have a particular focus on the skill of creative writing.Drama Workshop
This one-term spring workshop is designed for the actor developing his/her craft. This course is for students who wish to explore theater for the first time and the dedicated drama student. It will focus on exploring each student’s areas of interest and curiosity. Projects may include scene study with an emphasis on improvisation, contemporary theater, monologue preparation, musical theater scenes, stand-up comedy, devised work, directing and other forms of performance art. Past classes have included trips to see professional improv shows in and around Boston and we hope to do this again. One Term Course: Spring Term No Prerequisite Required.Advanced Spanish
Prerequisites: Demonstration of mastery of Intermediate Spanish skills and Departmental Recommendation Required. Course topics are briefly outlined below. Environments in Crisis: This course focuses on current environmental challenges. Students will be encouraged to analyze the connections between the social contexts and contemporary environmental crises. Through case studies, students will explore the interrelationships between human activity and environmental change. The topics to be studied will include the destruction of the rainforest, water pollution, exploitation of natural resources, habitat destruction, and endangered species. Students will examine how social media, community engagement, and advocacy initiatives have played key roles in the positive outcomes of environmental problems. Social Justice in Latin America: In this course, students will investigate the key social justice issues facing the Spanish-speaking populations of the Americas. We will examine struggles for equity among various groups, including indigenous populations, political dissidents, and the poor and disenfranchised. Using a variety of authentic sources from the media, such as news articles, documentaries, music, literature and poetry, we will compare and contrast the multiple perspectives of people of Latin American descent. Students will be expected to demonstrate their understanding and express their opinions in discussions, essays and projects. One of the goals of this course is for students to understand the societal forces that shape the beliefs and attitudes of diverse groups of people. Spanish Literature: In this course, students will explore literary works of The Latin American Boom, a modern literary period known for blending fantasy, magic, and journalistic stories with everyday life. This class will discuss the movement as a product of the political, historical, and social context in Latin America in the 20th century. Through fragments of novels, short stories, film, art, and history, students will explore the importance of the movement in the culture of the region and its global impact. Class activities will include discussions, written and oral reflections, presentations, debates, and creative writing. Research Seminar (H): This course will offer students the opportunity to explore a topic of their choosing related to their Spanish studies. This course will represent an automatic Honors credit and a culmination of students’ language studies at Beaver. Students will work with the teacher in the class environment to craft a final research project on their topic, while sharing their discoveries with other students in the classroom setting.Short Stories
How does something so small pack such a big punch? Such is the nature of a short story. You’ll hone in on story elements by investigating a variety of stories and writers. Everyone has a story to tell. You’ll experiment with turning your own stories into short fiction, and you will continue to develop analytical essay writing skills. This class will have a particular focus on the skills of reading, analytical writing, and creative writing.Chinese Introduction to Conversation and Storytelling
Storytelling Workshop
In this course, students will expand their creative capacity and explore their voice through learning elements of writing craft and engaging in a workshop community. Students will identify what elements of storytelling matter most to them and will produce fiction, poetry, memoir, or oral stories. They’ll learn workshop protocols and engage in revision processes to refine their work. We will read writing about writing and mentor texts to inspire and inform our writing. Students will end the term with a social action project, using storytelling to create cultural change within their communities. Learn to own your voice, recognize its power, and use it for impact in your community. This class will have a particular focus on the skill of creative writing.Great Books
When was the last time you were responsible for picking your reading for a course? At the beginning of this class, you will generate a list of books you want to read, and then you will campaign for your favorite; after the campaign season ends, you’ll vote, and several books will win. We’ll spend the term reading them, examining them for character, theme, structure, style, and message. How does choosing the text intersect with investment in the reading? Is the text a great book? Ultimately, you decide whether the books deserve spots on the shelf and how you go about choosing your next read. You will respond to the reading in various forms of writing, class discussions, projects, and presentations.
Previous winners: 1984, Room, Lolita, Brave New World, Catch 22, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Lord of the Flies, Scarlet Letter, On the Road, The Kite Runner, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Gone Girl, Fight Club.
This class will have a particular focus on the skills of reading and analytical writing.