Upcoming Roster

Summer 2026

The MLAS Summer 2026 term will run from June 2 through August 6.

 

MLAS 6400: Seminar in Literature and Creative Writing: Introduction to Creative Writing
Prof. Major Jackson ,  Department of English and Director of Vanderbilt's Creative Writing Program
Monday evenings, 6:00-8:30 pm
Course Description: Introduction to Creative Writing  is designed to develop creativity and fluency in identifying and writing in three genres: poetry, short fiction, and creative non-fiction. Students are expected to engage in a search for artistic excellence, which through plenty of writing and rewriting, is obtainable in a course of this magnitude. Such a noble goal includes reading and talking and debating and listening, and exchanging ideas about what constitutes a perceptive and evocative work of literary art. Further, it is expected that each participant will acquire the artistic discipline and a professional attitude requisite to creating new works of literary merit. The course is offered as a series of workshops and craft lectures. Our course work will include group discussions and critiques of work produced in the course and that of established, contemporary and canonized writers. Most of all, we will be moved by each others stories and poems while also delighting in having fun as a community of writers .
(Literature and Creative Writing, Fine and Creative Arts)

 

MLAS 6600: Seminar in Social Science: The President, the Courts and the Constitution
Prof. Carrie Russell ,  Department of Political Science and Director of Pre-Law Advising
Tuesday evenings, 6:00-8:30 pm
Course Description: This course examines the dynamic—and often contentious—relationships among the presidency, the federal courts, and the Constitution, with special attention to moments of constitutional stress and crisis. Through focused readings, guided discussion, and analysis of current and recent “hot-button” controversies, students will explore executive power, judicial review, separation of powers, and the rule of law in real time. Emphasizing critical thinking over rote doctrine, the class invites students to grapple with how constitutional principles are tested, stretched, and sometimes redefined during periods of political polarization, national emergency, and institutional conflict.
(Social Science, History). 

 

2/12/26