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CS92PROD
Fact into Fiction
WRCT 215
Spring 2025
Section: 01  
Crosslisting: COL 215, ENGL 259

Although we think of literature as the realm of the imagination, many works of fiction are inspired by facts. A Kentucky slave's attempt to murder her child rather than let it grow up in bondage; a bombing in Saigon that ushered the U.S. invasion of Vietnam; the transformation of the Congo in the years after its independence from Belgium; and the epic journey of the bank robber Ned Kelly in Australia: all these are true events that have inspired the novels we might read in this seminar. How do novelists take history and turn it into story? How do they fashion characters out of real people? And how do they create fully realized worlds none of us who are alive have seen? We will examine aspects of characterization, point of view, plot, narrative time, setting, dialogue, language, structure, themes, imagery, and subtext. We will also read some theoretical texts to help us expand the language we use to describe and discuss novels. The goal of this seminar is to teach you to read like a writer.
Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: HA WRCT
Course Format: Lecture / DiscussionGrading Mode: Student Option
Level: UGRD Prerequisites: None
Fulfills a Requirement for: None
Past Enrollment Probability: 50% - 74%

Last Updated on DEC-08-2024
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