Students will gain an exciting insider’s look into the world of journalism by partnering with practicing journalists and pursuing an in-depth writing project from field notes to publication. Working together, students and journalists will define and develop a project—either a series of stories or a long-form investigative piece—and in the process explore the critical thinking, ethical considerations and journalistic practices that go into preparing a story for public consumption. Students will learn how to make a story relevant to readers, how to deploy context and background in storytelling, how to interview sources and gather critical information, and how to navigate questions of objectivity and subjectivity as they tell the true stories of Southeast Michigan.

Half of the credit hours will be devoted to work with a journalist outside the classroom; the other half will focus on classroom instruction. Much of our class time will be spent engaging in an ongoing, rigorous conversation about individual writing projects as they unfold. To better understand the craft and conventions of long form narrative nonfiction, we will read and discuss a number of published pieces, including selected works produced by the journalists connected to the course, who will also join us as guest speakers to discuss their work.