The WRITING FACULTY

William Sweigart, a rotating co-coordinator of the Writing Program, enjoys teaching advanced expository writing but also, and often, teaches basic writing, a task he enjoys as well. He has served in the Peace Corps in Liberia, West Africa, and has taught high school English and college English at several California Universities. His work has appeared in the English Record and Research in the Teaching of English, and his current work, focusing on the assessment of writing abilities, appears in Research and Teaching in Developmental Education.

Annette Wyandotte, also a co-coordinator, specializes in composition at all levels. Also a lawyer, she designs argument and professional writing courses around realistic case studies of ethical and other conflicts. Blending healthy competition with cooperative mentoring and the phsychology of personality, she invites students to learn to negotiate meaning and policy through respectful dialogue and thoughtful inquiry. She has published in The Holistic Education Review and The Journal of Teaching Writing.

Susan Mann has previously coordinated the writing program. She enjoys teaching literature as well as expository writing on all levels, and, especially, W290 and W405. She defines herself as a researcher -teacher, and stresses that the ability to do research--and to analyze and synthesize the results--affects the quality of everyday life, not just for a university researcher but for everyone. She has written two books and a series of journal articles on British and American literature in its social and historical context.

Virginia Anderson, also a co-coordinator, has published several novels and specializes in teaching writing. She emphasizes rhetorical theory--the study of how people shape reality through words. She hopes to help students learn to deal with language as a powerful force in their daily lives. Her academic work has appeared in The Journal of Advanced Composition and College Composition and Communication, and her current research looks at the relationship between language and ethics.

Patrick Daly earned his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois. He brings to IUS  a keen interest in writing pedagogy, especially writing-to-learn methodologies for teaching literature. His other research and teaching interests include seventeenth- and eighteenth-century British literature; Milton; the epic; ancient literature; and anthropology and the oral tradition. He has published in Milton Studies and English Literary History.

Samantha Earley, who earned her Ph.D. from Kent State University, specializes in American literature before-1900, African American literature and culture, issues of race, gender, and multi-ethnicity; and constructions of identity through discourse.

Tom O'Neal enjoys teaching developmental composition, W131, and W290. He also writes poetry and studies the intertextual relationship between music, art, film making, and writing. His other interests include studying anicent civilizations and archetypal psychology, which he feels enhances his teaching and his understanding of the writer’s creative process.

Michael Jackman has a broad writing background that he applies to his teaching. He worked as the first Web editor for the Courier-Journal and has published poetry, fiction and essays as well as journalism. He enjoys teaching all types of writing courses and was a student of acclaimed writer and Kentucky Poet Laureate Sena J. Naslund.

Tresa Reynolds enjoys helping students use writing and literature to develop self-awareness and personal growth. She publishes poetry and employs her Literature for Life philosophy to illustrate the lifelong enrichment process begun in class.  Her varied research interests include Hypatia and other women of the ancient world, as well as Jane Austen and Louise Erdrich.

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The WRITING CONCENTRATION

This concentration prepares students for a wide variety of writing opportunities that will make a difference in their futures, helping them to build careers, pursue personal fulfillment, and take charge of their lives.

Students in the Writing Concentration must complete the courses required for all English majors. In addition, they will take

1.  W203 Creative Writing (3 cr.)
2.  G205 Introduction to the English Language (3 cr.)
3.  One of the following (3 cr.):

a. W350 Advanced Expository Writing
b. W420 Argumentative Writing

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The WRITING MINOR

The Minor in Writing requires 18 credit hours at the 200 level or above, including:

1.  W203 Creative Writing (3 cr.)
2.  G205 Introduction to the English Language (3 cr.)
3.  One of the following (3 cr.):

a. W231 Professional Writing Skills
b.  W290 Writing in the Arts and Sciences
c.  W234 Technical Writing
d.  W315 Composing Computer-Delivered Text

a. W270 Argumentative Writing
b.  W420 Argumentative Writing

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Courses

W203Creative Writing Introduces the forms and techniques of poetry and short fiction, with a focus on creative writing as a social and communicative activity. Attention to the changing role of creative writing in a technological world. Summer, Spring, and Fall.

W290Writing in the Arts and Sciences Practice writing in three academic and professional fields: the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities. Use of evidence and critical thinking to construct intelligent arguments on a wide range of intellectual topics. Summer, Spring, and Fall.

W231Professional Writing Skills Introduces the ways language skills contribute to business success and the ways business needs shape language choices. Workshops, generous feedback, and exposure to real-world writing help students define their own practical communication needs. Summer, Spring, and Fall.

W270/W420Argumentative Writing Instruction and practice in writing argumentative essays about complicated and controversial issues, focusing on strategies for identifying issues, assessing claims, locating evidence, deciding on a position, and writing papers with clear assertions and convincing arguments. Fall.

W234Technical Report Writing Instruction in preparing engineering and other technical proposals and reports, with an introduction to the use of graphics and design. Fall and Spring.

W301Fiction Writing/W401Advanced Fiction Writing Taught concurrently. Practice in the techniques and theory of the short story, with attention to fiction writing in its cultural and historical context. Spring.

W303/403/613Writing Poetry Explores the relationship of form and content, with a focus on interpretive, critical, and editorial communities. Every other Fall. 

W310Language and the Study of Writing (3 cr.) P: W131 with a grade of C or higher. Designed as an introduction to the logical foundation and rhetorical framework of effective writing.  Scheduled periodically as needed.

W311Writing Creative Nonfiction (3 cr.) P: submission of acceptable manuscripts to instructor in advance of registration. R: W103 or W203. Writing workshop in such modes as personal essay, autobiography, and documentary. May be repeated once for credit.  Every other Fall.

W315Composing Computer-Delivered Text Introduces students to new forms of writing (beyond word processing and desktop publishing) made possible by computers and explores what impact these new forms will have on literacy skills for writers and readers of such computer-delivered texts. Explores the relationship between Web page design and text. Every Spring.

W350/W553Advanced Expository Writing Taught concurrently at undergraduate and graduate levels. Introduces theories of writing as real-world practice in a variety of situations, emphasizing written communication as a human social activity. Spring and Fall.

W405 Writing Prose Nonfiction A writing workshop in nonfiction prose. Students complete an extended inquiry project and a reflective essay on themselves as writers, specific topics to be approved by the instructor. Intensive daily participation and interactive peer review of work in progress. Spring and Fall.

W490Writing Seminar A capstone writing seminar. Students will do 1 major and 1 minor project in nonfiction prose and either poetry or fiction. The major project is mentored by the instructor and another IUS faculty member or professional outside of IUS and is presented publicly to students, IUS faculty, and mentors. Students will also complete a reflective essay on themselves as writers. Spring.
 

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