23 Wyatt Williams Food Writing Fall 2022
Title of Course: CNW:2680:0001 THE ART AND CRAFT OF CREATIVE NONFICTION: WANT TO WRITE ABOUT FOOD?
Course meeting time and place: 12:30P – 1:20P Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays 403 EPB
Instructor
Wyatt Williams
Description of Course
In this class, we’ll look at the way food writing can reveal the worlds both around and within us. We’ll get advice on restaurant criticism from A.J. Liebling and learn how to conjure our deepest memories through food from Marcel Proust. Michelle Zauner and David Foster Wallace will teach us about the stories just waiting to be imagined in the grocery store. Covering everything from personal essays to Netflix food documentaries, we’ll learn how food can show us a way to write about ourselves and the world around us today. Writers aspiring to be the next Anthony Bourdain or MFK Fisher are welcome here.
Learning Objectives
Through reading examples and weekly exercises, students will practice the art of drawing literary work from the material of daily life.
The class will demonstrate the ways that food is a lens, one of many available to nonfiction writers, through which the world may be studied and understood.
Students will produce of a portfolio of work that uses food to demonstrate their own unique perspective.
Textbook/Materials
- Eating Words: A Norton Anthology of Food Writing
ISBN: 9780393353518
Author: Gilbert
Publisher: W. W.Norton Co. Inc ©2016
Approximate Price: $23.25
All other readings will be available as pdfs on ICON.
Academic Honesty and Misconduct
All students in CLAS courses are expected to abide by the CLAS Code of Academic HonestyLinks to an external site.. Undergraduate academic misconduct must be reported by instructors to CLAS according to these proceduresLinks to an external site.. Graduate academic misconduct must be reported to the Graduate College according to Section F of the Graduate College ManualLinks to an external site..
Drop Deadline for this Course
You may drop an individual course before the deadline; after this deadline you will need collegiate approval. You can look up the drop deadline for this courseLinks to an external site. here. When you drop a course, a “W” will appear on your transcript. The mark of “W” is a neutral mark that does not affect your GPA. Directions for adding or dropping a course and other registration changes can be found on the Registrar’s websiteLinks to an external site.. Undergraduate students can find policies on dropping and withdrawing hereLinks to an external site.. Graduate students should adhere to the academic deadlinesLinks to an external site. and policies set by the Graduate College.
Course Grades
This course will be utilizing grading contracts. With no traditional percentages and points. This might be unusual, uncomfortable, and different to what you’ve done in the past. Contract grades are primarily a way to take off the stress of evaluation from learning. Instead, we will agree to terms outlined below.
All Students in this course will receive a grade of “B” or better if:
- Student attends all or most class sessions, with no more than 4 absences (including being more than 15 minutes late to class).
- Student participates in discussion, comes prepared for class, and is on time consistently.
- All assignments turned in at the due dates listed on ICON.
- 2 writing assignments (5 pages)
- 2 reading presentations (5-10 minutes)
- All students receive 1 late pass that must be redeemed BEFORE the assignment is due and assignment is no more than 72 hours (3 days) late.
- 80% of writing prompts (300-500 words)
- We will have about 10 discussion posts which means you can miss 2 without penalty.
This is all the required assignments and expectations for the entire course. This means if you do all the work outlined on this syllabus and our ICON page you are guaranteed a B.
Students in this course will receive a grade of “C” or better if:
- Student attends all or most class sessions, with no more than 6 absences (including being more than 15 minutes late to class).
- Student participates in discussion, comes prepared for class, and is on time consistently.
- Most assignments turned in at the due dates listed on ICON.
- 2 writing assignments (5 pages)
- 1 reading presentations (5-10 minutes)
- Assignments
- All students, regardless of contract signed, receive 1 late pass that must be redeemed BEFORE the assignment is due and no more than 72 hours (3 days) late
- To receive a C, no more than 2 assignments will be late.
- 60% of writing prompts (300-500 words).
- We will have about 10 writing prompts which means you can miss 4 without penalty.
- But what about an A? To receive an A for this course you must do everything outlined for a B, plus:
- 1 additional writing project (creative writing, critical essay, zine, or ?)
- Additional project requires 1-on-1 meeting with me by November 1.
- What happens if you sign a contract for an A but then you decide you can’t do the extra work? You come talk to me and you will still receive at least a B. If it’s more than halfway through the semester I will assess whether to grant a higher grade. You can always shoot for the A, there is a no punishment or penalty for trying for this grade, but if you miss the project meeting with me by November, you will not have an opportunity to complete the project to receive an A.
- What if you are doing everything to get a B but you were late or missed more assignments than outlined? You come talk to me and we decide if this warrants a lower grade or renegotiate some terms.
Work that is not showing real effort, lacks coherency, or is sloppy will not fulfill the contracts as outlined above.
Doing any less than is outlined in the C contract may result in a D or F. This isn’t something I want or like to do, but it is also your responsibility to come to me if issues arise that impede your coursework. I will work with you to the best of my ability, but cannot do that if students don’t tell me about problems well before the end of the semester. There is no way to save a grade if it’s December!
Date and Time of the Final Exam
The final examination date and time will be announced by the Registrar generally by the fifth week of classes and it will be announced on the course ICON site once it is known. Do not plan your end of the semester travel plans until the final exam schedule is made public. It is your responsibility to know the date, time, and place of the final exam. According to Registrar’s final exam policy, students have a maximum of two weeks after the announced final exam schedule to request a change if an exam conflict exists or if a student has more than two exams in one day (see the policy Links to an external site.here).
Calendar of Course Assignments and Exams
Week 1 (August 22-26)
M: Introductions + Syllabus
W: John McPhee “Oranges” + Genre + Form
F: How to find a story + “The Four Whys”
Week 2 (August 29- September 2)
M: Anthony Bourdain “Don’t Eat Before Reading This”
M: George Orwell “Down and Out in Paris and London”
F: Writing / Reporting (Asynchronous)
Week 3 (September 5-9): Food Memories
M: LABOR DAY
W: Proust from Swann’s Way
F: Writing / Reporting (Asynchronous)
Week 4 (September 12-16): Grocery Store
M: Zauner “Crying in H Mart” / Wallace “This is Water”
W: Student Work
F: Writing / Reporting (Asynchronous)
Week 5 (September 19-23): Family
M: Laymon “Da’ Art of Storytellin’” + Outkast “Hey Ya’”
W: Student Work
F: Writing / Reporting (Asynchronous)
Week 6 (September 26-30): Animals
M: E.B. White “Death of a Pig” + Wallace “Consider the Lobster”
W: Student Work
F: Writing / Reporting (Asynchronous)
Week 7 (October 3-7) Class
M: Wallace Stevens “Anecdote of the Jar” (in class exercise)
W: Student Work
F: Writing / Reporting (Asynchronous)
Week 8 (October 10-14) Hack Work
M: Reviews, Profiles, and Features + AJ Liebling “Just Enough Money”
W: Student Work
F: PITCHES DUE (Asynchronous)
Week 9 (October 17-21) Iowa
M: Mitchell & Frerick “The Hog Barons”
W: Student Work
F: Writing / Reporting (Asynchronous)
Week 10 (October 24-28) Poetry
M: Kurt Vonnegut “The Shape of Stories” (In Class)
W: Student Work
F: Writing / Reporting (Asynchronous)
Week 11 (October 31- November 4) Farm
M: Wendell Berry “It All Turns on Affection”
W: Student Work
F: Writing / Reporting (Asynchronous)
Week 12 (November 7-11) Recipes
M: Harry Mathews “Country Cooking in Central France” and Ntozake Shange
W: Student Work
F: Writing / Reporting (Asynchronous)
Week 13 (November 14-18)
M: Harry Mathews “Country Cooking in Central France”, Ntozake Shange, and Samin Nosrat
W: Student Work
F: Writing / Reporting (Asynchronous)
Week 14 (November 21-25)
Thanksgiving Break
Week 15 (November 28-December 2)
M: Discuss and share recipes
W: Student Work
F: In Class Conferences
Week 16 (December 5-9)
M: In Class Editing + Feedback
W:
F: Feedback and Last Supper
Week 17: Finals Week
The final exam schedule for each semester is announced around the fifth week of classes; students are responsible for knowing the date, time, and place of a final exam. Students should not make travel plans until knowing this final exam information.