Welcome to SPACE, our adult continuing education program which offers interactive monthly courses for personal enrichment! Learn more here.

Mixed Lecture/Discussion • Medium intensity
What makes a good story? How can we make our characters feel like real people?

Using a combination of recorded lectures, in-class discussion and exercises, you will find out how to employ Aristotle’s precepts on character, theme and emotional catharsis to enrich your creative practice. You will also discover how Aristotle’s teleological understanding of causality can help you discover the final design of your creative work. This module will be a must for fiction authors, screenwriters and directors, RPG game masters, or anyone who wants to weave a dynamic tale!

The module will follow an 8-session structure as shown below:
Outline 8-Session Structure
Week 1 Lecture 1: Introduction to the Poetics
Workshop 1: Your Narrative's Purpose
Week 2 Lecture 2: Character and Theme
Workshop 2: Discovering Your Character and Theme
Week 3 Lecture 3: Structure
Workshop 3: Unfolding Your Story's Structure
Week 4 Lecture 4: Catharsis
Workshop 4: Sticking the Landing

Required Texts

Students will need to access a translation of Aristotle's Poetics. Many reliable public domain translations are available online for free.
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Iterations

May 2024  Spotlight  Hybrid  FULL

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