Department of English
M.A. Writing & Editing Track: An Overview
This is a 12-hour track in the Masters program. Three core courses (9 hours) are taught by Professor Robert Langenfeld. E-Mail him if you have questions.
ENGLISH 620 (CONTEMPORARY PUBLISHING)
English 620 is designed to familiarize you with issues relevant to the fundamentals of publishing, especially as they relate to the role of the editor. We combine the practical with reflections on what contemporary publishing is concerned with today, while keeping traditions in mind. By way of background, I present lectures on subjects pertinent to the topics listed below. Throughout the semester we practice editing skills (with two case studies from English Literature in Transition), discuss background readings (from e-reserves in the library), and utilize the course website to further explore topics and publish your essays. Videos from C-SPAN and two guest speakers will also be part of English 620. You conclude the semester by either creating a graphics project using Adobe's Photoshop and Illustrator. This course is required for those who wish to do advanced work in English 621 (Seminar in Publishing).
- Texts:
- Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed.
- Essays on Electronic File Jackson Library
ENGLISH 621 (SEMINAR IN PUBLISHING)
Our seminar on publishing mixes the old and the new. Students team up to lead discussions on John Tebbel’s seminal history of American publishing, Between Covers: The Rise and Transformation of Book Publishing in America. Contemporary issues are part of our discussions as we talk about current articles from Publishers Weekly Online. Further context will emerge from your book critiques of biographies of twentieth-century editors and publishers and our discussions of Al Silverman's The Time of Their Lives and a collection of letters by Random House's Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer.
In the major assignment you team up with a fellow student to ready a "book" for press. You and your colleague will originate an idea for a book, select a press, write a proposal, and then design your book (ad copy, book jacket, prelims, opening pages of chapter one). This desktop publishing project will employ Adobe's InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop. You will learn to use these programs. In addition to our readings on book cover design, I will offer background on book design, book proposals, and copy writing. At the end of the semester you will present your book to the "editorial board" (i.e., the class).
This seminar advances the study of subjects initially covered in the prerequisite course, English 620 (Contemporary Publishing) and prepares students for English 622 (Writing and Editing Internship).
Texts
» Publishers Weekly Online
» John Tebbel. Between Covers: The Rise and Transformation of Book Publishing in America
E-Reserves in Jackson Library via Your Blackboard Account» Titles for book critiques will be on 1-week reserve. Reserve Room, Jackson Library
» One Book/ Five Ways Copies to share from my library
ENGLISH 622 (PUBLISHING INTERNSHIP)
English 622 is where students test what they've learned in English 620 and 621. Your interests lead the way in locating an appropriate internship. In the past, students have interned (15-20 hours per week during the semester) with printers, small presses or corporations with publishing units. They have also interned with Oxford University Press (Cary, NC), Wake Forest University Press, Algonquin Press, and Blair Press, among others.
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Requirements:
- Two reflective essays
- Portfolio of work during the internship
Other Courses to Complete the 12 hours
English 604 (Electronic Discourse and User Information)
Theory and application of computer technology in the study of language, rhetoric and composition, and literature, including related ethical, social, and philosophical issues.
English 524 (Writing-Advanced: Analytical and Technical)
Problems of organization and express in books, articles, and reports. For those writing for publication, or whose work in business or government requires a great deal of writing.
Note: English 623 (Writing-Advanced: Non-Fiction) is open to all interested graduate students the English and Creative Writing Programs.
Also: A Course Approved with Permission of the Director of Graduate Studies