Dr. Harvey presents several stories, each of which explore the power of naming. Starting with classic story "Rumpelstiltskin" from Germany, collected by the Grimm brothers in 1857, you'll also hear an Egyptian creation myth, a Judeo-Christian creation myth, the Egyptian story of Ra and Isis, and "Peerie Fool" from the Orkney Islands, which pulls elements from Norse and Scottish folklore.

Much like the setting and the character, the use or lack of violence, and the amount and intensity depicted, can provide more clarity into the mystery you’re trying to solve. And, much like the guidelines about using clues in suspense writing, there are so many exceptions to the rules of using violence that the rules themselves may need to be called into question.

Professor Cognard-Black introduces you to artistic proofs, which are grounded in your expertise and colored by your own observations and experiences. The most important artistic proof in any essay is ethos—the writer’s ethical appeal or credibility. She demonstrates how to effectively use ethos along with logos or rationality to bring reasonableness into your essays, which vital to writing effectively. You’ll examine the work of a pair of writers...

Once you have perfected the components already reviewed - a detective, a criminal, clues, and potentially a sidekick - all that remains is solving the mystery. But as you’ll learn in this lecture, it’s never that simple. Learn what makes for the perfect “big reveal” and why you don’t necessarily need one. See how open-ended mysteries walk the line between frustrating and compelling.

Cinderella stories go back 7000 years, and Mah Pishani is possibly one of the oldest. This Iranian story provides a very different take on the same themes you've become familiar with. Unlike the bickering evil step-sisters, this version is about finding connection with family and community - in particular among women - and about love that stretches beyond the grave.

Marketing your book is a huge part of becoming a best-seller, and much of the onus of marketing will fall on you. Learn about how you’ll be expected to provide support in order to help publicize your book, such as hosting author events, creating a presence on social media, and reaching out to your connections..

After discussing the importance of presenting a reasonable essay, Professor Cognard-Black explores the world of unreasonable essays, often written for the sake of humor or irony, or to be provocative, such as Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal.” You’ll explore an example of an essay that showcases conflicting views yet remains reasonable, and then look at examples where unreasonable writers use pure demagoguery to play on readers’ emotions....

Perhaps the most famous of the three defining dystopias of the early 20th century, George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four has created a vocabulary of ideas we continue to use in political discourse today. Trace the ways Orwell uses language to shape his dystopic vision and the way it both reflects and distorts reality.

Imagine having written thirty-eight plays…being an actor who became the most popular playwright of his time…and who’s legacy was to become the most enduring playwright of all time. Imagine writing something some four hundred years ago, and having us stand here in a theatre today still exploring, enjoying, and marveling at those golden words? Join our troupe of actors in various stages of rehearsal, presenting some of the bard’s most poignant...

The modern form of the essay may be seen daily in blogs, although not all blogs are essays—instead, many are no more than personal journals, rants, or fantasies without broader connections and appeals. Professor Cognard-Black provides examples of what components are required for a piece to be a fully formed blog essay. While looking at examples from her students and professional writers, including long-term essay blogger Robin Bates, you’ll discover...