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  • Berkeley Global

The Craft of Reading

ENGLISH X429

41113
Delivery Options Online

To write well, you must read well. By learning to read with the eyes of a writer, you can develop an understanding of what makes great literature work. Class readings include novel excerpts, short stories and memoirs, from classics to contemporary treasures. Weekly writing assignments emphasize analytical responses to the works, while providing the chance to practice writing strategies revealed through close reading. Appropriate for all levels of writers, this course teaches you to read widely, respond deeply and turn any piece of writing into your own best teacher.

Course Outline

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Course Objectives

  • Gain the tools to read any text with an eye towards how it was constructed
  • Explore a variety of writing techniques
  • Acquire analytic skills to read and write with fuller comprehension
  • Be better prepared to carry on with your own creative projects

What You Learn

  • What it means to read as a writer
  • Voice, including the difference between voice and narration
  • How a narrator moves through time using language
  • Varieties of tension
  • Themes
  • The art of the memoir
  • The difference between a memoir and an autobiography
  • Audience’s effect on your writing
  • Choosing a point of view
  • Magical realism
  • The line between fiction and memoir
  • Components of style and structure
  • Finding the climax
  • Anchoring your story in a time and place
  • Writing with authority about the larger world
  • What is nonfiction
  • Setting as a character
  • Comedic writing: rhythm, juxtaposition, repetition and other elements
  • The difference between comedy and satire
  • Writer as a social critic
  • Special demands of creating unknown worlds

How You Learn

  • Lecture notes
  • Reading assignments
  • Writing assignments (including two short papers for online sections)
  • Discussion participation and assignments
  • Student feedback
  • Final paper
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Sections

Section 052

Feb 07 to Apr 25

Type: Online, Fixed Date

Instructor:

  • Katie M. Flynn

Cost: $750.00

See section 052 Details

Type Online, Fixed Date

Dates

Feb 07, 2023 to Apr 25, 2023

Instructional Hours

30.00

Delivery Options

Online

Available for Credit

2 semester units

Section Notes

This is an Online, Fixed Date course that starts on February 07 and ends on April 25.


Fixed-Date online courses have specific start and end dates. Your access to the course content begins on the course start date. You will complete assignments within the specific dates posted in your online classroom, and as set by your instructor in the course syllabus.

 

TEXTBOOK NOTE:  Any complete edition may be used.

Section Materials

  • Textbook

    (Mandatory)

    The Lover by Marguerite Duras

    © 1998 Pantheon/Random House ISBN 0375700528 Textbook ISBN: 9780375700521
  • Textbook

    (Mandatory)

    Of Love and Other Demons by Gabriel García Márquez

    © 2008 Vintage/Random House ISBN 1400034922 Textbook ISBN: 9781400034925
  • Textbook

    (Mandatory)

    Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin

    © 2012 Beacon Press ISBN 0807006238 Textbook ISBN: 9780807006238
  • Textbook

    (Mandatory)

    Dear Life by Alice Munro

    © 2013 Vintage/Random House ISBN 0307743721 Textbook ISBN: 9780307743725

Section 051

Feb 23 to Apr 27

Type: Live Online

Instructor:

  • Amy Catania

Cost: $750.00

See section 051 Details

Type Live Online

Days

Th

Time

6:00PM to 9:00PM Pacific Time

Dates

Feb 23, 2023 to Apr 27, 2023

Location

Live Online

Schedule and Location

View Details

Instructional Hours

30.0

Location

Live Online

Delivery Options

Online

Available for Credit

2 semester units

Section Notes

This Live Online course starts on February 23 and ends on April 27. Textbooks are TBA.

Access classroom-style interactive learning from anywhere in the world! Attend scheduled online sessions with your instructor and classmates in addition to completing your coursework. Live Online format allows you to take classes from anywhere with an internet connection. Learn more about this format.  

Equipment

The following minimum recommendation for remote learning:

  • Apple MacBook or PC

  • 8 to 16GB RAM

 

TEXTBOOK NOTE:  Any complete edition may be used.

Spring enrollment opens on October 17!

This course applies to the following programs:

Interdisciplinary Writing Program

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Individualized Study Plan

  • Effective Writing in the Workplace
  • Writing for Social Media
  • Grammar, Mechanics and Usage for Editors
  • Journalism Workshop
  • Science Writing
  • Writing the Feature Story
  • Introduction to Public Relations Writing
  • Writing and Editing Internship Program
  • Editorial Workshop I: Introduction to Copyediting
  • Writing Skills Workshop
  • Writing Creative Nonfiction
  • Creative Nonfiction Workshop
  • Developing the Memoir
  • Developing the Memoir II
  • The Craft of Reading
  • The Craft of Writing
  • Exploring Creative Writing
  • Introduction to Writing Fiction
  • Intermediate Fiction Writing
  • Advanced Fiction Writing
  • Developing the Novel
  • Screenwriting: The Art of Visual Storytelling
  • Poetry Workshop
  • Poets Studied and in Conversation
  • American Fiction
  • Great Novels You Always Meant to Read
  • Mystery Fiction
  • Shakespeare
  • Editorial Workshop II: Intermediate Copyediting
  • Advanced Editorial Workshop
  • Indexing: Theory and Application
  • Technical Communication I
  • Technical Communication II
  • Technical Communication III: Information Design

Learn More About this Program

Certificate Program in Writing

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Required Courses

  • The Craft of Reading
  • The Craft of Writing
  • Writing Skills Workshop

Electives (Literature)

  • American Fiction
  • Contemporary Voices: Speaking From the Margins
  • Fact or Fiction: Reading and Writing the Personal Essay
  • Great Novels You Always Meant to Read
  • Great Writers Steal: How the Work of Other Writers Can Inform and Inspire You
  • The Handmaid’s Tale: Writing Dystopia, the Female Gothic and Social Commentary
  • Mystery Fiction
  • Re-envisioning the Past Through Historical Fiction
  • Shakespeare
  • Short-Story Masterpieces
  • Meet the Writer: Guided Study and Discussion With Fiction Writers
  • Ursa Minor Production Class

Electives (Writing Workshop)

  • Exploring Creative Writing
  • Introduction to Writing Fiction
  • Intermediate Fiction Writing
  • Advanced Fiction Writing
  • Writing Genre Fiction: Science Fiction, Mystery, Romance and More
  • Mystery Writing
  • Developing the Novel
  • Screenwriting: The Art of Visual Storytelling
  • Screenwriting Workshop
  • Writing and Appreciating Poetry
  • Poetry Workshop
  • Poets Studied and in Conversation
  • Writing Creative Nonfiction
  • Creative Nonfiction Workshop
  • Developing the Memoir
  • Developing the Memoir II
  • Journalism Workshop
  • Science Writing
  • Writing the Feature Story
  • Writing and Editing Internship Program

Courses of Related Interest

  • Story Lab

Learn More About this Program

Notes

The course number has been changed. Previously, it was listed under ENGLISH X7.

Departmental contact: extension-letters@berkeley.edu | (510) 643-1110


Instructional Types

Live Online
Live Online courses provide an interactive learning experience with scheduled synchronous online sessions held via Zoom video conferencing (Pacific Time). Learn more about the Live Online format.
Online, Start Anytime
Continuous enrollment course begins when you enroll. You have a minimum of 90 days and a maximum of 180 days to complete the course.
Online, Fixed Date
Enroll in this course by its start date and complete it by its specified end date. There are no live sessions, but plenty of opportunities to collaborate with your classmates and instructor.
Classroom
Take classes in-person at one of our buildings or partner locations.

English Language Proficiency Requirements

All of our courses are taught in English. If English is not your first language, please use the following test scores as guides in order to be successful:

  • TOEFL: 90
  • IELTS Academic Format: 7
  • DAAD: C1
  • TEM-4 or TEM-8: Level 70
  • Duolingo: 115

Note: You do not need to submit test scores.

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Berkeley, CA 94704-7000

extension@berkeley.edu

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The University of California, Berkeley, is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). UC Berkeley Extension—like all other UC Berkeley schools, colleges and departments—is accredited by WASC through the University.

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Course Fee

Katie M. Flynn

Katie M. Flynn’s short fiction has appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, Tin House, and many other publications. She has been awarded Colorado Review’s Nelligan Prize for Short Fiction and the Steinbeck Fellowship in Creative Writing. Her first novel, The Companions, came out March 2020, and her interlinked collection of short stories, Island Rule, is forthcoming from Scout Press/Gallery Books.

Online

Course Fee

Amy Catania

Amy Catania, M.L.I.S., Ph.D., holds a doctorate degree in comparative literature with a graduate minor in women’s and gender studies from UC Berkeley. She also earned a master’s degree in library and information science. Dr. Catania has taught several English classes, information literacy courses, an introduction to women’s and gender studies course, and lessons for the Second Year Research and Creative Experience (SYRCE) program at Sonoma State University, as well as has been a guest lecturer for film studies classes. Her research interests include Romanticism, Medieval French and Spanish literature, postcolonial Caribbean literature, palimpsestic world literature, oral histories of indigenous peoples and film adaptations of musicals.

ENGLISH X429 - 051 - The Craft of Reading

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