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

Mixed Lecture/Discussion
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-lesson structure as follows:
• Lecture 1: Introduction to the Poetics
• Workshop 1: Your Narrative's Purpose
• Lecture 2: Character and Theme
• Workshop 2: Discovering Your Character and Theme
• Lecture 3: Structure
• Workshop 3: Unfolding Your Story's Structure
• 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  Confirmed  Hybrid

If you're interested in this course...

If you have any questions about the SPACE program, please reach out to [email protected].