Training in writing expository prose. Further instruction in expository writing in conjunction with reading literature. Satisfies the second half of the Reading and Composition requirement.

Most of us encounter fiction in oral or visual forms long before we can read the written word. Telling stories aloud was once the only way that humans had to pass their fiction from person to person, and the effects of this long history have not disappeared with the advent of the written word, motion pictures, and internet communication. The influence of oral literatures persists even into these newer media: written forms of poetry and prose fiction have origins in oral traditions, film and television often adapt stories from fairy tales and legends, and modern urban legends and internet creepypasta certainly contain the spirit of oral memetics. In this class, we will closely examine the written records of oral traditions coming out of various cultures across the world, including those of Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas. These readings will include both traditional oral narratives that have been adapted to written form and newer literatures that attempt to achieve the same goals as fairy tales, fables, and legends. Our main goal in this class is to become better readers, writers, and researchers. To do this, we will develop the skill of “close reading” to better understand and analyze our subject matter. We will “close read” all the media we encounter in this class—even when that media is not in written form—by paying close attention to detail, which will help us to improve our own writing by making it as clear, concise, and evidence-driven as possible. Your work in this class will culminate in a research project that will be supported by shorter assignments across the semester. You will be tasked with researching a piece of oral literary culture and using that research in an analytic essay that displays the skills you have developed in this class.

Book List:

Fairy Tales, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm; Fables, Aesop; 1001 Nights (alternative title: Arabian Nights); Myths of the Cherokee, James Mooney; The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum; selections of children’s literature, urban legends, and internet stories.

Requisites

• Previously passed an R_A course with a letter grade of C- or better. Previously passed an articulated R_A course with a letter grade of C- or better. Score a 4 on the Advanced Placement Exam in English Literature and Composition. Score a 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement Exam in English Language and Composition. Score of 5, 6, or 7 on the International Baccalaureate Higher Level Examination in English.

Repeat Rules

Course is not repeatable for credit.

Requirements class fulfills