English CLPG. Art of Sportswriting

Instructor: Louisa Thomas
Monday, 12:00-2:45pm | Location: TBD
Enrollment: Limited to 12 students
 

In newsrooms, the sports section is sometimes referred to as the “toy department” -- frivolous and unserious, unlike the stuff of politics, business, and war. In this course, we will take the toys seriously. After all, for millions of people, sports and other so-called trivial pursuits (video games, chess, board games, and so on) are a source of endless fascination. For us, they will be a source of stories about human achievements and frustrations. These stories can involve economic, social, and political issues. They can draw upon history, statistics, psychology, and philosophy. They can be reported or ruminative, formally experimental or straightforward, richly descriptive or tense and spare. They can be fun. Over the course of the semester, students will read and discuss exemplary profiles, essays, articles, and blog posts, while also writing and discussing their own. While much (but not all) of the reading will come from the world of sports, no knowledge about sports is required; our focus will be on writing for a broad audience.

Supplemental Application Information: To apply, please submit a brief writing sample of 200-500 words on any sport or game. (This can be a mini-profile, or a meditation on a particular sport written in the first person, or a dispatch, or a description of a singularly important moment in a game -- feel free to interpret the assignment broadly. Have fun with it.)  

Apply via Submittable (deadline: 11:59pm EDT on Sunday, November 9)