{"id":837,"date":"2022-11-17T19:43:49","date_gmt":"2022-11-18T03:43:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/engl\/?page_id=837"},"modified":"2025-11-14T12:01:35","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T20:01:35","slug":"maymester","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/engl\/undergraduate\/courses\/maymester\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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\n Maymester\n <\/h2>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n
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The Maymester programs offered by the Department of English provides undergraduate students the opportunity to explore language and literature during a four-week course commencing at the end of the spring semester in May.<\/h4>\n

Maymester Application<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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\n Maymester Zoom Informational Sessions\n <\/h2>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n
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If you are interested in learning more about the English Maymester programs and would like to hear from the faculty leading the programs Professor Sligar (Studying Narrative: Fairy Tales| ENGL 270g) and Professor Chater (Bookpacking New Orleans | ENGL 352g) (Bookpacking Paris and London | ENGL 352g) view the zoom recordings below.<\/h4>\n

Studying Narrative and New Orleans Info Session\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

New Orleans Info Session<\/a><\/p>\n

Paris and London Info Session\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div> \n <\/div>\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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\n Bookpacking\n <\/h2>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n
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This four-unit Maymester course is an exercise in “bookpacking”, an innovative form of literary travel in which novels serve as portals through which to explore regional history and culture. The course takes us to New Orleans and Southern Louisiana, a unique and extraordinary destination formed of a fusion of cultural strands: French, Creole, Cajun, and African-American.<\/p>\n

The objective of this Maymester course is to reach a critical understanding of the eclectic nature of New Orleans. It\u2019s not enough to see that New Orleans is different\u2014we intend to understand why it\u2019s different. We might describe New Orleans as wild, transgressive, vibrant, atmospheric, nocturnal, decadent, a \u2018party city\u2019\u2014but what explains these particular characteristics? How has the city evolved to become the extraordinary place we know today?<\/p>\n

We aim to use novels as guidebooks, steering us through the physical, cultural, and spiritual heart of New Orleans and its environs. This is a unique humanities experiment that will demand an authentic desire to dig deep, open ourselves up to new experiences, test our feelings, and encourage empathetic responses as readers and as travelers. Our goal, over four weeks, is to know New Orleans in the connected way that escapes most tourists, but which all true travelers understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n\n

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\n Studying Narrative\n <\/h2>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n
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This course is an immersive literary experience in which students will explore the history of familiar European fairy tales by reading canonical versions in the very places where they were first published. We will discuss these tales from the perspective of narrative studies, an interdisciplinary field that examines narrative structure and the narrative\u2019s role in society.<\/p>\n

The key locations for the course will be Paris, France (home of Charles Perrault and Madame d\u2019Aulnoy), and Copenhagen, Denmark (home of Hans Christian Andersen). At each location, we will visit a variety of historic sites, museums, and other destinations to gain insight into how each version of a fairy tale reflects its specific cultural context and the creator\u2019s experience. We will also read contemporary adaptations of fairy tales in order to think critically about what these modern versions might say about our society. Through these discussions, students will develop an understanding of the core topics of narrative theory, including plot, character, story worlds, audience, adaptation, and performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n\n

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\n Featured Videos and Testimonies\n <\/h2>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n
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“This has been absolutely one of my favorite, most enjoyable, most enriching, most fun, most you-name-it courses I have taken at USC. I feel I have grown both as a poet and a person, and you can’t put any kind of price on that. If I could take this class again I would. And twice on sunday. And especially if it lasted for a whole semester.”<\/p>\n

– Billy<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n\n\n

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\n The American Indian Lives Project: Volume 1, Ojibwe Country<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n \n
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\n The Poet in Paris 2012<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n \n
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\n Bookpacking Maymester in Louisiana<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n \n \n <\/div>\n\n
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