Syllabus // Intro to Narrative Journalism Spring 2017

Instructor Holly Tavel ENG 273 Mondays, 4:00–6:30

Phone Course Description [Telephone] This course will explore the art of telling stories – true stories. The craft is known by various names, including called narrative or literary journalism, creative Email nonfiction, new journalism, or what writer John McPhee calls the literature of [email protected] fact. We’ll talk about finding story, about reporting and of course about writing, about how one goes about making sense of the tale at hand. We’ll explore basic Office Location journalism concepts, reporting tools, conducting interviews, coming up with story ideas and resolving ethical dilemmas. We’ll read and discuss many examples of Orlando Hall well-written articles published in newspapers, magazines and on the Internet, listen to podcasts and broadcast interviews, and watch two documentary films. Office Hours Two of your articles will be workshopped in class. We’ll use the insights and TBD critiques of students, guest speakers and the instructor to come up with ways to weave creativity and style as well as substance into our nonfiction. Prerequisite: ENG 140 or consent.

Course Materials

Kramer, Mary and Wendy Call. Telling True Stories: A Nonfiction Writers' Guide from the Nieman Foundation at Harvard University. New York: Plume, 2007. Credit Hour Statement: This course is a four credit-hour course. The value of three credit hours results from work expected of enrolled students both inside and outside of the classroom. Rollins’ faculty require that students average approximately 2 ½ hours of outside work for every hour of scheduled class time. In this course, the additional outside of class expectations include:

Weekly reading: Usually, 2 online articles/essays, plus a chapter from the book Research & reportage: a written or recorded and transcribed interview, source verification and documentation, fact-checks, permissions, etc. Writing: 1 response paper, 1 interview, 2 longer essays and 1 final essay. The 3 essays will require drafts, outlines, lists of sources with signed permission statements, bibliographies, etc.

Course Goals/Learning Outcomes

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Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:

 Demonstrate a commitment to and engagement with the readings  Demonstrate an ongoing engagement with their own writing  Demonstrate and be able to deploy basic reporting techniques, including fact-gathering, research, fact- checking, interviewing subjects; demonstrate an understanding of journalistic ethics  Be able to critically analyze their own work and that of their fellow students  Engage in constructive criticism of their peers’ work

Assignments and Grading

All writing assignments will be uploaded to Blackboard.

Assignment 1/Response to a 10% recent article/essay (300 words)

Assignment 2/ interview (written 15% or audio; if audio, upload as .wav or .mp4) (5-10 minutes or 8-10 questions)

Assignment 3/Profile of a person 15% (750 words)

Assignment 4/Place-specific 15% article; OR arts/culture piece

(750-1000 words)

Assignment 5/ Final/ Long-form 20 % article on a social justice topic

(1500 words) 10% Assignment 5b/ Final presentation

---- Remainder of grade (15%) is based on class participation and attendance

Classroom/Attendance Policies

More than two unexcused absences will result in an automatic grade lowering (A to B); more than three unexcused absences may result in dismissal from class and a grade of INC or WD.

Grading Policy

For final grades, Rollins uses a plus/minus system, with the exception of A. The grade of A is the highest recorded.

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Students with Disabilities

Rollins College is committed to equal access and inclusion for all students, faculty and staff. The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 create a foundation of legal obligations to provide an accessible educational environment that does not discriminate against persons with disabilities. It is the spirit of these laws which guides the college toward expanding access in all courses and programs, utilizing innovative instructional design, and identifying and removing barriers whenever possible.

If you are a person with a disability and anticipate needing any type of academic accommodations in order to fully participate in your classes, please contact the Disability Services Office, located in the Mills Memorial Building, Room 217, as soon as possible. You are encouraged to schedule a Welcome Meeting by filling out the “First Time Users” form on the website: http://www.rollins.edu/disability-services/ and/or reach out by phone or email: 407-975-6463 or [email protected].

All test-taking accommodations requested for this course must first be approved through the Disability Services Office (DSO) and scheduled online through Accommodate at least 72 hours before the exam. Official accommodation letters must be received by and discussed with the faculty in advance. There will no exceptions given unless previously approved by the DSO with documentation of the emergency situation. We highly recommend making all testing accommodations at the beginning of the semester. DSO staff are available to assist with this process.

Academic Honor Code

Membership in the student body of Rollins College carries with it an obligation, and requires a commitment, to act with honor in all things. Because academic integrity is fundamental to the pursuit of knowledge and truth and is the heart of the academic life of Rollins College, it the responsibility of all member of the college community to practice it and to report apparent violations. The following pledge is a binding commitment by the students of Rollins College:

The development of the virtues of Honor and Integrity are integral to a Rollins College education and to membership in the Rollins College community. Therefore, I, a student of Rollins College, pledge to show my commitment to these virtues by abstaining from any lying, cheating, or plagiarism in my academic endeavors and by behaving responsibly, respectfully and honorable in my social life and in my relationships with others.

This pledge is reinforced every time a student submits work for academic credit as his/her own. Students shall add to all papers, quizzes, tests, lab reports, etc., the following handwritten abbreviated pledge followed by their signature: “On my honor, I have not given, nor received, nor witnessed any unauthorized assistance on this work.” Material submitted electronically should contain the pledge; submission implies signing the pledge.

Course and Instructor Evaluation

At the end of each semester, students are asked to evaluate the course and instructor. These evaluations are extremely valuable in the teaching and learning process on our campus. Student evaluations help assess student perceptions of classroom learning and often lead to improved teaching. Your feedback is important and Rollins students are encouraged to be honest, fair, and reflective in the evaluation process.

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The online evaluative survey is anonymous. Students are never identified as the respondent. Instead, each student’s comments are assigned a random number. You will be asked to rate your course and instructor on a numerical scale and through narrative comments.

For the fall and spring terms, the online Course and Instructor Evaluation (CIE) process opens at 8:00 a.m. on the first scheduled date. It remains open for a period of 14 days (2 weeks) until 12:00 a.m. (midnight) on the final scheduled date. For the summer term, the CIE process will be open for a period of seven days for the six- week sessions. The evaluation period ends prior to the start of final examinations and faculty cannot access completed evaluations until 10 days after the end of final exams.

Students will receive one email at the start of the CIE period, one after the 15th day, and a final reminder the day before the CIE period ends. Students who complete evaluations for all classes will be able to view grades ten-days before students who do not complete an evaluation form.

Please note that independent studies, internships, and applied music courses (MUA) are excluded from the online process. Also excluded for confidentiality reasons are courses with enrollments of three or fewer students.

Title IX Statement Rollins College is committed to creating and maintaining a community in which students, faculty and staff can work together in an atmosphere free of sex and gender based discrimination. Rollins is strongly opposed to all forms of sex and gender based discrimination (including sexual assault, intimate partner violence, stalking, and sexual harassment) and is committed to providing support, resources, and remedies to individuals that have experienced sex and gender based discrimination. Faculty members are responsible employees under Title IX and must share information about sex and gender based discrimination with the Title IX Coordinator. Information about available confidential resources, support services, and reporting options can be found online at www.rollins.edu/sexual-misconduct.

Class Schedule (Subject to change)

Week 1: Jan 23

HW:

 In Telling True Stories (hereinafter abbreviated as TTS), read: Preface; “Stories Matter”; “The Narrative Idea.”  Online, read: “John Wayne: A Love Song,” by Joan Didion; “Off Diamond Head” by William Finnegan

Week 2: Jan 30

Discussion: Introductions; journalism, news, media, fact and opinion; skim through Chapter 1 of the book.

Assignments:

 Write a 250 to 350-word essay about a recent (within the last month) article that you found compelling –not only because the story itself interested you, but because of the way the story was told. Choose an

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article focused on a social/political issue, current affair, or personal-interest story. How did the journalist bring the topic to life? How was the subject addressed from a fresh, unusual angle? Was the topic one you were familiar with or was it something completely new to you? Was the writer trying to convince you of something – and did he/she succeed? What was his or her point of view? Bring a copy of the article to the next class.  In TTS, read: Part II, Intro; “Finding Good Topics: A Writer’s Questions”; “Reporting for Narrative: 10 Tips”.  Read: “The New Mecca” by George Saunders

Week 3: Feb 6

Assignment one due

Discussion of reading; listen to excerpts from Fresh Air.

Assignments:

 In TTS, read: “Interviewing: Accelerated Intimacy”; Part IV, “Hearing our Subjects Voices: Quotes and Dialogue”; “…Keeping it Real and True”.  Begin interviewing, hanging out with, researching, your profile candidate. Bring your notes to class next week.  Read: “Meet the Shaggs,” by Susan Orlean

Week 4: Feb 13

. Guest speaker (via Skype): Dave Mandl. Dave is a Brooklyn-based freelance writer/editor/journalist whose writing has appeared in The Village Voice, Slate, The Believer, The Rumpus, Flavorwire, Mute, Semiotext(e), American Book Review, LA Review of Books, Sound Collector, The Wire, The Chicago Reader, and many other publications. He was Music Editor at The Brooklyn Rail from 2003-2013 and hosts a weekly radio program, “World of Echo,” on the country’s longest-running freeform radio station, WFMU.  In TTS: Read in Part II, “Being There”; in Part III, Introduction; “Profiles”; “Every Profile is an Epic Story”.  Read: Errol Morris Interview

Week 5: Feb 20

Assignment Two due

Discussion of reading

Read: “The Doctor;” “The Friend.”

Week 6: Feb 27

Film: Vernon, Florida (1982).

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 In TTS, read: Part V: Introduction; “Developing Character”; “Setting the Scene”; “The Emotional Core of the Story”.

Week 7: March 6

Assignment Three due.

In-class workshop, part one

Read: “Seattle 1974”; “Ticket to the Fair”.

Week 8: March 13

In-class workshop, part two

Discussion: Other Media: Radio and Podcasts. Begin listening to “Serial”.

Read: “The Secret Life of Tumblr Teens;” “Don’t Ignore Signs;” “Annotated Mixtape”

SPRING BREAK – NO CLASS MAR 20

Week 9: March 27

Assignment 4 draft.

Workshop, part one

Discussion: Journalistic ethics.

Read in TTS: Part VI, Introduction; “The Line between Fact and Fiction”; “Toward an Ethical Code for Narrative Journalists”; “Dealing with Danger”.

Read: “A Cool Dip and a Little Dignity.”

Week 10: April 3:

Workshop, part two

Discussion: Ethics, part two. Fact-checking.

Read: “What Happens in Vegas,” from Lifespan of a Fact, by John D’Agata and Jim Fingal

Week 11: April 10

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Assignment 4 due

Discussion: Writing a long-form piece as a series of short pieces—a walk through a long article.

Assignments:

 Read in TTS: Part VII, Introduction; “A Writer and Editor Talk Shop”; “Revising”; “How to Come up Short”.  Read: “How to Destroy an American Family”  Write a 2-page proposal detailing what you’d like to do for your final.

Week 12: April 17

Bring ideas for final.

Film: Witness (2016)

 Begin reporting and researching your final project; bring all of your materials to class next week and the week after.  Individual meetings part one  Read: “The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved,” by Hunter S. Thompson

Week 13: April 24:

Discussion: Your final. Individual meetings, part two; building an outline.

• Read in TTS: Part IX, Intro; “Making it as a Freelancer”; “Not Stopping: Time Management for Writers”; “Crossing Over: From Advocacy to Narrative”.

 Continue reporting and researching your final project  Begin writing your final.

Week 14: May 1:

Class presentations

Week 15: May 8

Class presentations

Final Due.

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