First, I believe that people learn far more effectively when they're actively trying to find things out and explain and demonstrate them to others than when they sit and listen to them.

Second, I believe that there is no one authority who has the final word on literary journalism, nor on any one writer -- and if there is, it's certainly not me. In fact, it seems clear to me there is no final word -- as you'll have a chance to discover, people are continuously coming to new understandings and discovering new things about this genre. Thus it's at least as important to know how to learn about such a subject as it is to be aware of what others think they already know.

Third, and neither least nor last: working this way provides opportunities for (and, indeed requires) lots of writing, and lots of writing that is actually read, rather than merely being evaluated. Writing in this kind of situation is the best tool for learning I know of.

This course, then, is organized to promote (indeed, to require) the continuous active engagement of each member of the class in the process of investigation. The course is based on the presumption that every member of the class is interested (or is willing to become interested) in learning about these issues; and it tries to build on, extend, and deepen that interest.

It should be clear, though, that you're not "left on your own" to learn; I provide as much structure and support as I can, drawing on my own experience as a learner.

what I hope for as outcomes:

The outcomes I hope for from this course are simply stated. At the end of it you should be far more comfortable reading the kind of academic and journalistic texts that will form the main material of the course than you probably are now; and you should have a substantial store of information about, and understanding of, the ideas people have proposed about literary journalism. And I hope you'll find yourself more often choosing to read this kind of writing.

Perhaps equally important, you should have a clearer idea of what it means to study such a subject -- what academic research and understanding is all about, in other words -- and you should be a more confident and more skilled learner. You should, that is, have enriched many of the skills and much of the knowledge necessary to begin learning about any new field, not just this one.