Open Educational Resources
Document Type
Syllabus
Publication Date
Fall 9-3-2025
Abstract
The Prose Workshop (Fall 2025) is a zero-textbook-cost (ZTC) course at The City College of New York that integrates open educational resources (OER) to develop students’ skills as writers, readers, and critics. Structured in two major parts, the course begins with cultural criticism, guiding students to produce a polished 750–1000 word essay that combines close observation, analysis, and creative voice. The second half focuses on longform narrative nonfiction, culminating in a 3,000-word editorial essay intended for submission to a real-world publication. Alongside these core projects, students engage in weekly homework blogs, annotated course readers, and a final creative experiment in lyrical prose or prose poetry, celebrated in an open mic event. The syllabus emphasizes inclusive pedagogy, diverse voices, and student-centered learning, while foregrounding process-based instruction in research, drafting, revision, and peer feedback. By combining critical interpretation with imaginative expression, the course prepares students to enter broader conversations in arts, culture, and public discourse with confidence and craft..
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Comments
Funded by the OER Initiative