ENGLISH CACD: The Art of Criticism

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In the area below, provide basic, standard course information ahead of registration period to help students make informed course choices. Click the EDIT button and input your responses by over-writing the field description below each bolded heading. Consult the IT Help knowledge base or reach out to FAS Academic Technology at atg@fas.harvard.edu for assistance.

Course goals:

By the end of the course, you should have:

• Developed an understanding of and appreciation for different kinds of arts criticism
• Honed a capacity for critical analysis of arts criticism
• Experimented, struggled, and grown as a writer
• Honed your editorial skills, both oral and written
• Developed a sense of how criticism draws from and contributes to conversations and debates in the public sphere

Course format:

This course meets once a week on Wednesdays from 12-2:45. The meeting includes discussion of reading and peer or full class workshops of writing. 

Typical enrollees:

This course is open to all students. It's recommended that you have enthusiasm for the arts and for discussing, analyzing, and writing about art. Some students have found it helpful to have studied a given art form in an academic context, while others have benefited from having a creative practice of their own.

When is course typically offered?

This course has been offered once a year in the fall, but it may not be offered again. 

What can students expect from you as an instructor?

As an instructor, I aim to create an intimate and supportive classroom environment in which students feel encouraged to take risks, in writing and in speech. During our first class meeting, we'll work together to brainstorm class policies and best practices that will help us all feel comfortable and excited about the course. I encourage students to lead class discussions and workshops, and I make room for varying responses. As a professional writer and critic, I will sometimes draw on my own experience in the industry to provide context for a piece. I provide detailed written feedback on all student writing submitted, and I am available for consultations on ideas and drafts, or just for general conversations about the writing life. 

Assignments and grading:

Assignments

 

Short Writing Assignments: Every week for the first half of the course, you will write and revise short (500-1000 word) pieces of writing based on our area of focus that week. These assignments are designed to help you hone your analytical skills as well as your writing skills. For these assignments, you may write about any object of your choosing, but it must match the focus for that week. The goal is to get you to experiment, to challenge yourself, and to hone your critical thinking and reading skills. A short writing assignment may be revised and incorporated into your final piece. You will peer edit some of these assignments during class. Please submit these assignments by 11:59pm on the Tuesday before the relevant class meeting.

 

Workshop: You’ll draft at least 2000 words of your final piece to workshop with the whole class. By Friday at 12pm before your workshop, you’ll post your draft excerpt to Canvas, along with a brief cover letter that gives readers a sense of the goals of the piece and discusses any parts yet to be drafted. In your cover letter, you will also note what you think the draft needs; this will help direct your readers’ attention and feedback.

 

Presentation: In the second half of the semester, you’ll choose a week to select and present a piece of criticism to the class. You will choose this writing based on that week’s skill focus; for example, if you’re presenting during the week we’re discussing ledes, then you’ll want to find a piece with a great—or controversial!—lede. You’ll post the piece to Canvas by Friday 11:59pm before our Wednesday meeting. In class, you’ll speak for a few minutes about why you selected the piece you did, and you’ll lead a brief discussion about it. Please sign up to present on a different week from the week of your final piece workshop.

 

Final piece: Your final piece of criticism (2500-3500 words) will be due December 11^th at 11:59pm. Please include with it a 750-word reflection on the process of writing the piece. What did you learn? What was challenging about researching, writing, or editing this piece? What are you proud of? How did the process of writing this piece change the way you read nonfiction?

 

Editing: Throughout the course, you will be editing work by your peers. Sometimes this will take place in pairs or small groups; other times, we will workshop work-in-progress as a whole class. In-class editing will take place in a shared Google Doc. For full class workshops, please print, read, and markup the draft excerpts in advance of class. Please also write a 250-350-word memo to the writer, outlining strengths of the draft and responding to any areas of concern mentioned in the cover letter, as well as making additional suggestions for improvement. You will print and deliver these memos to me and to the writers after workshop. (In the case of printing challenges, you may email these documents instead.)

The grade breakdown is as follows: 

Participation: 30%

Short writing assignments: 20%

Editing: 15%

Presentation: 10%

Final piece (and reflection): 25%

 

Short writing assignments will be graded on a 10-point scale, as will presentations. You will not receive grades for editorial activity, such as writer memos or in-class editing, but you will be assessed at the end of the semester on the energy and care with which you engaged your classmates’ work. In general, if you are doing your work in a timely fashion, if you are taking risks and pushing yourself as a writer, if you are reading carefully and contributing during class, and if you are responding to your classmates with sensitivity and attention, you will do well in the class. Please feel free to be in touch if you’re concerned about your performance in class.

Sample reading list:

Please see the draft Syllabus in the files section of this site for a sense of the course readings. Please note that this is a draft, and that readings are subject to change prior to and during the semester. 

Enrollment cap, selection process, notification:

Our course is capped at 12 students. Students must apply through Submittable; applications should include a 1-2-page introductory letter and a 3-5-page writing sample; the sample can be any kind of prose (fiction, nonfiction, academic writing), ideally about art but not necessarily. Anything that gives me a sense of your voice and interests could work. Graduating seniors and English concentrators may receive extra consideration. Students will be notified via Submittable before the registration deadline.

Past syllabus:

Please see last year's syllabus here. Please note that this syllabus is subject to change. 

Absence and late work policies:

Because our course is founded on in-class discussion, and because we only meet once per week, your attendance is crucial. We will prioritize an in-person learning experience and will by consensus develop some best practices for discussion. That said, if you cannot come to class for reasons of illness/injury but are capable of engaging thoughtfully and energetically, and you let me know an hour before class, I will Zoom you in. You have one unexcused absence, but further absences may lower your grade. Three late arrivals (10+ minutes) will count as one absence. Absences for reasons of illness, religious observance, and family emergency will be excused. Please be in touch with me if any of these situations, or others, arise and we can think through how to keep you on track.

 

Extensions

 

Because our in-class activities depend on timely completion of assignments, options for extensions are limited. Most assignments are due the evening before we meet as a class; with my permission, you may submit work immediately before we meet as a class (so by 11:59am on Wednesdays). There will be no extensions for workshop drafts or for the final piece and accompanying reflection. As always, if there is an emergency, please be in touch with me to discuss options.