Class Title: "Personal Maps and Place as Story" Instructor: Susan Wittig Albert Class Term: Fall 2008 enroll in this class We are not accepting any more enrollments for Susan's class; it is now full. Synopsis A "personal map" is a representation of our personal understanding and awareness of the places we inhabit, based on our daily practices, life experiences, and cultural values. Whether our maps focus on the external geography (the physical reality of a place) or our inner geography (the way we feel about it), they help to clarify not only our understanding of a particular place and its local and larger contexts, but our changing relationship to it. In this class, we will draw personal maps and explore the idea of place as story. We will also read and discuss one book together; students will choose one book to read and present to the group via email. In this class we will draw several draw personal maps; write about places we have lived and traveled, and use the idea "place as story" as a way to expand and enlarge our own personal stories. Using a Yahoo Group page as a meeting site and place to share ideas, we will read and discuss one book. You will also read one book independently, and share that book with the others. Class Description I'll post class materials on our Yahoo site and communicate with you via individual and group emails. You will write four short essays (1200 words), and email them to me as a Word file. I'll print your work, and edit and suggest revisions the old-fashioned way (in pencil), then snail or fax your writing back to you. If you choose, you may scan your maps and place photos and upload to the Yahoo site; you may also use the Yahoo list to communicate with each other, if you choose. Class Outline This six-week class is made up of 4 units. We'll spend about 1 1/2 weeks on each unit. In each unit, we'll construct a map and write an essay (max 1200 words). You should expect to spend 4-6 hours on each unit. Unit 1: Mapping Your Life: Past/Present. Where have you lived? Traveled? Where did your family come from? What are your connections with these places? What is their significance in your present life? Unit 2: Mapping Your Community. Where do you live, work, shop, play, worship, learn? How do you get from here to there? What places do you find most attractive (culturally/physically)? What places do you avoid? What is the significance of all these places in your life? Unit 3: Mapping Your Place. Where do you live now? What are its public/private areas? What boundaries define it? What are its attractive features, unattractive? How is it (or not) an extension/metaphor/expression of your personal identity? Unit 4: Place as Story. How do we "story" our places? We'll read and dicuss some books, and write our own place story. Student Skills, Equipment required This class is for people who are able to compose in Word, send Word attachments via email, create simple hand-drawn maps (no artistic ability required), and use Yahoo Groups. If you want to upload your maps and photos to share with others, you may need a scanner. You should be able to write at an intermediate level; this is not a class for novice writers who have difficulty with sentence mechanics. Enrollment is limited to 5. Instructor's permission required: you will be asked to submit a writing sample before your enrollment is confirmed. Required Reading (click on title to purchase from amazon.com) Little Things in a Big Country, by Hannah Hinchman. Other books will be recommended. Tuition/Fees for this course SCN members: $200. Non-SCN members: $225. Instructor Bio Susan Wittig Albert is the bestselling author of over 35 books in three mystery series: the China Bayles mysteries; The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter; and the Robin Paige Victorian/Edwardian mysteries, written as Robin Paige, with her husband, Bill Albert. She has also written two nonfiction books: Work of Her Own and Writing From Life: Telling Your Soul's Story. In addition, she has published widely in young adult fiction, including books in the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series. Her memoir, Landscapes of the Heart: A Memoir of Marriage and Place, will be published by the University of Texas Press in Fall, 2009. Albert is a former Professor of English and has taught and spoken at many writers' conferences. She is the founder and past president of the Story Circle Network. Her websites: About Thyme; Mystery Partners; Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter; Lifescapes (blog). Praise for Susan's Classes I so much appreciated the comments. They were constructive and encouraging. They helped with the "nuts and bolts" and also with the larger issues of character development, story development... [This instructor] was the best I've ever had, and I've taken a lot of writing classes. Thorough, professional, demanding.but inspiring, too. What more could I ask? I can't wait to take her next class! This course gave me the confidence that I can write and motivated me to want to do it, even when I don't feel like it. More, more! Susan is tough and makes you work hard, but she's still warm and approachable—pretty remarkable for somebody who's published so many books. This was the best class ever! Didn't think I could learn so much and feel so good about what I wrote.