2025 - Spring

The Longform Essay

Course Number: JOUR-GA 2056.001

Day & Time: Wed | 9:30 AM – 1:00 PM

Location: 20 Cooper Square, Rm 700 (Library)

Instructor: Katie Roiphe

(CRC Priority)

This is an advanced writing course with a rigorous focus on the mechanics of the essay. How does a great essay work? We will examine the elusive elements of precision, originality, and style. Over the course of the semester students will focus on developing and refining their own voice. Writers under discussion will include: Edmund Wilson, Vladimir Nabokov, Kenneth Tynan, Elizabeth Hardwick, Randall Jarrell, Virginia Woolf, Janet Malcolm, David Foster Wallace and James Wood.

Pitching stories to professional sites with an eye to publication is an integral part of this class. International students who wish to use the Curricular Practical Training option for this practicum class should contact the NYU Office of Global Services.