ENGW1911W: Eat, Write, Learn: Creative Writing in Spain

This freshman seminar/writing class, which satisfies the Writing-Intensive requirement, focuses on travel writing, with spring break dedicated to an immersion experience in Toledo, a small medieval city in the center of Spain which has been declared, in its entirety, a national monument. For centuries an historic, scholarly, and artistic center, Toledo was long famed for its religious tolerance, with Christian, Jewish, and Muslim populations coexisting within its walls. Class will begin in Minnesota with writing experiments, readings, and discussions: why do we travel and what do we gain from a journey into the unfamiliar? How have travelers past and present reacted to cultures and environments not their own? In preparation for spring break in Spain, students will respond to a variety of writing prompts and assignments: the travel memory, the food review, the creative tour guide, the work of ekphrasis, the annotated map, etc. Then, on arrival in Toledo, students will wander through tangled streets, cathedrals, fortresses, synagogues, and museums, keeping a detailed travel journal and taking notes for a final essay as they go. We'll benefit from guided tours of Spanish monuments and museums and take day trips to Madrid and to Segovia. Writing and revising will be emphasized throughout the semester as modes of discovery. No knowledge of Spanish is required for this class.

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