Course Description

We live at a time of increased, almost overwhelming, access to stories appearing on all types of platforms from Tik Tok to Instagram to Netflix to Twitter.  Yet each of us can identify stories that have impacted how we feel about a person, place, thing or event. In this class, we will pursue current research on our processes of feeling by exploring the field of “affect theory.” In particular, we will explore what components of storytelling compels us feel empathy, fear or a desire to change.

The course content will include close readings of select narratives as we begin to compose our own stories. Then we will examine several modes of storytelling by taking field trips into Los Angeles, visiting museums and taking a tour of street murals. Students will end the course by submitting either an original story (in a mode of their choice) or a critique of a story that we have experienced in the class.