CREATIVE WRITING STUDIES

Course Description

In this introduction to creative writing studies, we will explore the history of creative writing within academic institutions and critically examine what it is we do in the creative writing workshop. We will study and discuss a number of creative writing pedagogies and consider the following questions: What historical factors have informed the institutionalization of creative writing? How do dominant ideological forces impact creative writing workshops? How is value established in creative writing, and where do directives such as “show don’t tell” and “write what you know” come from? Finally, what might the future of creative writing studies entail? At the end of the quarter, students will design their own creative writing course that is conversant with some of the many dynamic conversations surrounding the field of creative writing studies.

Required Text

Chavez, Felicia Rose. The Anti-Racist Writing Workshop
Salesses, Matthew. Craft in the Real World: Rethinking Fiction Writing and Workshopping
Vanderslice, Stephanie and Rebecca Manery. Can Creative Writing Really Be Taught? Resisting Lore in Creative Writing Pedagogy (10th anniversary ed)
Additional readings from D.G. Myers’ The Elephants Teach; Katherine Haake’s What Our Speech Disrupts; Bell Hooks’ Teaching to Transgress, and others. Rebecca will be providing the readings as PDFs and they will be available on Canvas.