Course Descriptions for Spring 2026 Offerings

WR 200.02: Intro to Creative Nonfiction

Counts as a Peace and Justice Minor Studies elective.

Instructor:  Prof. Jane Satterfield 
TTH 12:15-1:30pm

Creative nonfiction is true stories artfully told. Nonfiction writers hail from all disciplines and walks of life; they top bestseller charts with styles that range from the traditional to the experimental. They pay witness to and advocate for the common good. In Introduction to Creative Nonfiction, you’ll learn strategies successful writers use to protest, persuade, and entertain while drawing on the dynamic energy of great fiction.  
 
We’ll read personal essays and profiles with a special focus on today’s cutting-edge flash nonfiction to help you explore outlets for your publishing future. Our class will offer a supportive atmosphere where you can receive feedback and cultivate creativity. By semester’s end, you’ll have a portfolio of work that showcases your unique take on stories that matter most to you. 
 
Whether you want to preserve the people and places and things you love, share your discoveries with the world, or speak out for social justice, our class will help you harness the power of real-life stories to reach a wider audience in the classroom, in the workplace, and beyond. All majors and levels of experience welcome!

WR 220: Introduction to Rhetoric

Instructor: Dr. Peggy O'Neill
TTH 9:25-10:40

Through close analysis and production of nonfiction prose, students develop an understanding and appreciation of how historical and contemporary writers employ various rhetorical strategies-first articulated by classical rhetoricians-to persuade a range of audiences. Special emphasis is given to the dynamic relationship between writer, audience, text, and social context. Ideal for students who wish to further develop skills essential in both academic, professional, and civic settings. This course fulfills a Diversity-Justice requirement. Students will research and write about contemporary issues related to diversity and justice. 
 
Textbook (required) : Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students, 5th edition (print). Pearson.  ISBN 13: 9780205175482

WR 230: Introduction to Poetry and Fiction

Instructor: Prof. Karen Fish
TTH 12:15-1:30

This is a foundational course for those with little or no experience with fiction and/or poetry. You might simply want to “try it out.” I find it impossible to teach writing without teaching close reading. Students will learn to read like writers and gradually notice the many technical choices that authors regularly make. Reading closely can give us ideas and provide context. I am interested in inspiring you and fostering an atmosphere where it is enjoyable to experiment and practice, rewrite and revise. Writing is finally about studying good writing and finding things worth writing about.

WR 244: Fundamentals of Film Studies

Instructor: Dr. Brian Murray
TTH 3:05-4:20

In Fundamentals of Film students watch and analyze movies that represent different eras and countries, and reflect a variety of styles and genres, including Comedy, Horror and Science Fiction. We will also become acquainted with the language of film—with the wide variety of shots, angles and special effects that have made movies by such directors as Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, and Stanley Kubrick both highly popular and critically acclaimed. We also examine the significance of key cinematic movements, including Italian Neorealism and the French “New Wave.” We also discuss and write about the wide effects of the Motion Picture Production Code, as well as the technological and economic factors likely to change the way movies are made and watched in the future. Course requirements include weekly written responses and a critical essay on a related film topic of the student’s choice.  Fundamentals of Film also counts toward the Film Studies minor.

WR326: Professional Writing

Instructor: Dr. Tiffany Curtis  
M 4:30-7:00

Each discipline has its own unique requirements for writing. One requirement these different disciplines share is the ability to write clear prose that meets the needs and expectations of an audience. In WR325 Professional Writing, we will focus on the reader-centered approach, which allows you to compose effective workplace documents for a wide range of audiences.

The workplace documents you will complete in this class include cover letters, résumés, memos, reports, and proposals. The job search document assignment will help you apply for internships and positions in your field. You may also create documents for application to graduate school. The report on workplace writing assignment will help you understand the unique requirements of writing in your discipline. You will conduct secondary research, and you will interview a person in your field to discover more about the writing you will do in your career.

For the final writing assignment, you and your group will compose a proposal to address an ethical issue facing your discipline. This issue could be a topic in forensic science, a social science, education, a pre-health area, business, or in the humanities. All groups will present their proposals at the end of the semester.  

WR 333: Writing Fiction

Instructor: Prof. Helen Hofling
MW 3:00-4:15

WR 340: Writing Poetry

Instructor: Prof. Jane Satterfield
TTH 10:50-12:05

This course will offer an overview of contemporary poetry while providing a great opportunity to develop your poetic skills. We’ll read poems that speak to the issues of the moment, as well as poems informed by nature, art, popular culture, and science that cast light on broader human experience. Lively discussions and writing exercises will push your work in new directions. Workshops will offer supportive, in-depth discussion and suggestions. By the end of the course, you’ll have created a portfolio that reflects your best work.

Poetry invites us to say more with less: paying close attention to language will help you refine your style for other genres, too. All majors and levels of experience are welcome. The class is perfect for those who are new to poetry, those who are already committed fans, and anyone who is looking to deepen their creative practice. All majors and levels of experience are welcome!

WR 355: Travel Writing

Instructor: Prof. Jane Satterfield
Asynchronous Online

This course develops your skills in travel writing, a literary genre that invites you to fully immerse yourself in new surroundings and to reflect on the rewards and challenges of travel. You’ll read contemporary travel writing and use these essays as inspiration for your own work. Throughout the course, you’ll maintain a travel journal of photographs and writing that documents your experiences studying abroad. You’ll also connect online with other Loyola students and learn about each other’s locations by reading and responding to each other’s writing.

WR 385: Special Topic: Inspiration Across Genres

Instructor: Prof. Karen Fish
TTH 1:40-2:55

There are certain texts that transcend specific genre interest, those essays, stories, novels and poems come to define an era intellectually and imaginatively. In this class we will read across the boundaries of genre and find inspiration and context for the modern experience. Students will write reflections, mimics, do short creative exercises and have their own work informed by close reading and class discussions. Whether a student is primarily interested in poetry, fiction and/or nonfiction this class will provide grounding in a larger situational context. Great fiction has incredible poetic moments, great poetry has story narrative and nonfiction relies on anecdotal summary and emblematic descriptive details. Writers regularly employ a variety of techniques out of another genre toolbox and get ideas and inspiration by reading widely. Let’s read widely and study, imitate and become familiar with the work of some of the greats!

Authors will include: Joan Didion, Timothy Snyder, Toni Morrison, Susan Sontag, David Sedaris, Louise Gluck, Michael Ondaatje, Julie Otsuka, Malcolm Gladwell, Richard Ford, Lorrie Moore,  Ross Gay, Victor Frankl and Ocean Vuong.

WR 400.01: Senior Seminar (Creative Writing)

Required capstone for Writing majors and minors

Instructor: Dr. Brian Murray
TTH 4:30-5:45pm

Senior Seminar invites graduating students to think about mainly non-fiction prose in a sophisticated way, focusing on matters of voice and style. It examines works by classic as well as contemporary writers, allowing students to consider how the essay form has changed and remained constant over the years. As importantly, Senior Seminar gives students the opportunity to write effective, well-crafted essays of their own, drawing on previous writing classes and on literary models examined in Senior Seminar. Senior Seminar encourages students to draw upon personal experience, but also to locate their writings within a larger literary conversation, using other resources and voices to add to their own. We read essays and watch relevant videos related to a variety of topics, including status, food, and various aspects of modern consumer culture.

WR 402: Writing Internship 

Restricted to junior and senior writing majors, interdisciplinary writing majors, or writing minors. Written or electronic permission of the internship coordinator or department chair.

Instructor: Dr. Andrea Leary

You have taken the classes, completed the assignments, and polished your writing.  You’ve worked hard in each writing class to hone the skills you need to make your mark in the workplace. Taking the internship class will give you that extra edge. Not only will you gain valuable work experience in this course, you will leave with a professional portfolio, a potential supervisor recommendation, and opportunities for reflection and discernment.
 
WR402, the three-credit internship class, allows you polish your resume, locate a workplace that fits your future goals, and learn in that environment for 120 hours during the semester (essentially 8-10 hours per week). Because this is a class, you will be asked to do some reading and writing on your experiences, but we will not meet in a classroom in order to allow you ample time at your internship. Instead, much of our communication will occur online, as we discuss your goals, challenges, and successes. You will work with The Successful Internship:  Personal, Professional, and Civic Development in Experiential Learning as a text, which will give you advice along with the opportunity to apply that advice to your experiences in your workplace. In addition, you will have the chance to read your classmates’ reflections and offer advice there as well.
 
Classroom learning builds your foundation. Combine classroom learning with an internship, and you’ll have the experience you need to help you land that first job.