Gabriel A Cortez-Jerome’s Profile Student Toggle navigation

All writ­ing is cre­ative, in­clud­ing the writ­ing you do for school, in­ter­net posts to so­cial media, and text/email mes­sages. Where there was a blank page–vir­tual or oth­er­wise–and you fill it with your words, you have, in fact, drawn on your in­tel­lec­tual re­sources to cre­ate pat­terns of mean­ing with those words. “Cre­ative writ­ing,” how­ever, gen­er­ally refers to po­etry, fic­tion, drama, and some forms of non-fic­tion–mem­oirs and nar­ra­tives that use the tech­niques of story-telling. We will focus on un­der­stand­ing how form and mean­ing work to­gether and on un­der­stand­ing the types and com­plex­i­ties of each genre–no­tably, fic­tion, non-fic­tion, po­etry, drama, and cross-gen­res–so each stu­dent can begin to de­velop their unique, in­di­vid­ual voice.

All writing is creative, including the writing you do for school, internet posts to social media, and text/email messages. Where there was a blank page–virtual or otherwise–and you fill it with your words, you have, in fact, drawn on your intellectual resources to create patterns of meaning with those words. “Creative writing,” however, generally refers to poetry, fiction, drama, and some forms of non-fiction–memoirs and narratives that use the techniques of story-telling. We will focus on understanding how form and meaning work together and on understanding the types and complexities of each genre–notably, fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama, and cross-genres–so each student can begin to develop their unique, individual voice.

The pur­pose of this course is to gain a bet­ter un­der­stand­ing of the pop­u­lar genre of the Gothic as it was de­vel­oped and prac­ticed in the late-eigh­teenth cen­tury and through to today in a va­ri­ety of cul­tural con­texts. An im­por­tant foun­da­tion to this class is the idea that the Gothic is more than sim­ply mys­te­ri­ous or strange; it is a trans­gres­sive and provoca­tive sort of strange. The course will focus on key con­cepts such as hor­ror, haunt­ing, mad­ness, mon­sters, and the un­dead, con­cepts that serve as entry points to the­o­ries such as the un­canny, queer­ness, and the sub­lime. Stu­dents will crit­i­cally read, an­a­lyze, and write about the ways that the Gothic ques­tions what it means to be nor­mal or ac­cepted. The class will learn about and prac­tice using tools for read­ing, in­ter­pret­ing, and crit­i­cally re­spond­ing to fic­tion, film, po­etry, and other cul­tural man­i­fes­ta­tions of the Gothic. In ad­di­tion, stu­dents will par­tic­i­pate in con­ver­sa­tions about con­tem­po­rary Amer­i­can iden­ti­ties and also en­gage in ex­pe­ri­en­tial learn­ing through field trips to Gothic ar­chi­tec­tural spaces. Avatar photo by James Cherry, used with per­mis­sion of the artist

The purpose of this course is to gain a better understanding of the popular genre of the Gothic as it was developed and practiced in the late-eighteenth century and through to today in a variety of cultural contexts. An important foundation to this class is the idea that the Gothic is more than simply mysterious or strange; it is a transgressive and provocative sort of strange. The course will focus on key concepts such as horror, haunting, madness, monsters, and the undead, concepts that serve as entry points to theories such as the uncanny, queerness, and the sublime. Students will critically read, analyze, and write about the ways that the Gothic questions what it means to be normal or accepted. The class will learn about and practice using tools for reading, interpreting, and critically responding to fiction, film, poetry, and other cultural manifestations of the Gothic. In addition, students will participate in conversations about contemporary American identities and also engage in experiential learning through field trips to Gothic architectural spaces. Avatar photo by James Cherry, used with permission of the artist

This is a course com­par­ing mo­tion pic­tures to their lit­er­ary source sto­ries. D550 Fri­days 11:30 – 2:00 This course will allow stu­dents to ex­am­ine the re­la­tion­ship be­tween film and their lit­er­ary sources. Through class­room dis­cus­sions and out-of-class as­sign­ments, stu­dents will an­a­lyze clas­sic and con­tem­po­rary lit­er­ary texts and their cin­e­matic ver­sions. Stu­dents will ex­am­ine the re­la­tion­ship be­tween film and lit­er­a­ture, with spe­cific focus on the tech­niques used in fic­tion, drama and film and the in­flu­ences of cen­sor­ship and so­ci­ety. Stu­dents will focus on the sim­i­lar­i­ties and dif­fer­ences of lit­er­ary works adapted into films.

This is a course comparing motion pictures to their literary source stories. D550 Fridays 11:30 – 2:00 This course will allow students to examine the relationship between film and their literary sources. Through classroom discussions and out-of-class assignments, students will analyze classic and contemporary literary texts and their cinematic versions. Students will examine the relationship between film and literature, with specific focus on the techniques used in fiction, drama and film and the influences of censorship and society. Students will focus on the similarities and differences of literary works adapted into films.

“I went into pho­tog­ra­phy be­cause it seemed like the per­fect ve­hi­cle for com­ment­ing on the mad­ness of today’s ex­is­tence.” — Robert Map­plethorpe This course sur­veys the his­tory of pho­tog­ra­phy from its be­gin­nings in the early nine­teenth cen­tury to the pre­sent. We will ex­am­ine the use of pho­tog­ra­phy for aes­thetic, doc­u­men­tary, and “sci­en­tific” pur­poses, styl­is­tic shifts in pho­tog­ra­phy re­lated to aes­thetic con­cerns, and vary­ing in­ter­pre­ta­tions of sub­ject mat­ter based on so­cial and cul­tural con­cerns at spe­cific mo­ments in his­tory. We will also con­sider the re­la­tion­ship be­tween pho­tog­ra­phy and the vi­sual arts in gen­eral, which cul­mi­nates with the pri­macy of pho­tog­ra­phy as a medium by the late twen­ti­eth cen­tury.

“I went into photography because it seemed like the perfect vehicle for commenting on the madness of today’s existence.” — Robert Mapplethorpe This course surveys the history of photography from its beginnings in the early nineteenth century to the present. We will examine the use of photography for aesthetic, documentary, and “scientific” purposes, stylistic shifts in photography related to aesthetic concerns, and varying interpretations of subject matter based on social and cultural concerns at specific moments in history. We will also consider the relationship between photography and the visual arts in general, which culminates with the primacy of photography as a medium by the late twentieth century.

This is a course in ef­fec­tive essay writ­ing and basic re­search tech­niques, in­clud­ing use of the li­brary. De­mand­ing read­ings are as­signed for class­room dis­cus­sion and as a basis for essay writ­ing.

This is a course in effective essay writing and basic research techniques, including use of the library. Demanding readings are assigned for classroom discussion and as a basis for essay writing.