This course will examine the techniques and skills of first person reportage, where the writer is present and part of the story. We will find and hone your own voices and points of view. We will examine the myth of objectivity; issues of fairness, accuracy, and moral relativity; the perils of cultural appropriation; the savior complex; and exoticism.
The course will include several short essays and one longer final project. It will draw on readings from The London Review of Books, The New York Times magazine, National Geographic magazine, Granta, Paris Review, The New Yorker, and the following authors: Lyn Freed, Rian Malan, Jonny Steinberg, Doris Lessing, Ryszard Kapuscinski, W.G. Sebold, Bruce Chatwin, VS Naipaul, Justice Malala, George Orwell, Zawe Ashton, Julian Sayararer, Cathy Renzenbrink, Sisonke Msimang, Thomas Paige McBee, Ahmet Altan, and Peter Godwin.
This course is offered by 2019 Koeppel Journalism Fellow, Peter Godwin. He is the author of five nonfiction books and is an award-winning journalist, war correspondent, and documentary filmmaker. Godwin's bio can be found here: https://petergodwin.com/about/ |