This seminar will explore the craft of writing criticism for magazines and newspapers. Over the course of the semester, we will look at different genres of the form--the book review and the "briefly noted," the 4,000-word review-essay and the blurb, memorial essays and "braided" criticism--to consider the protocols of writing for different publications and publics. Students will be assigned to write four works of criticism of varying lengths and will be asked to select a different object for each assignment (e.g. novel, film, album, exhibition). A series of shorter reflections will also be assigned on questions of rhetoric, affect, and style in response to weekly readings. The course will be offered in conjunction with the Shapiro Center's "The Art of Editing" series and its master classes on editing and fact-checking taught by members of The New Yorker staff. |