Minnesota – Writing for Social Change
Fall Semester
Writing for Social Change is based on the longstanding tradition in Western culture of using literature as a tool for social critique, as a means of calling for social change and justice, and as a tool for social transformation. The course combines traditional methods of literary and cultural analysis with a balance of creative writing workshops in fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction, and makes use of HECUA’s approach to interdisciplinary, reflective critique. The course explores the ways in which creative writers and literature impact communities, and examines the role creative writers and literature play in addressing pressing social issues. Writing for Social Change combines critical, analytical seminars, creative writing workshops, field study, and a professional internship with a Twin Cities literary arts organization or K-12 school in need of reading/writing tutors, to give students an integrated, experiential learning opportunity.
"I was inspired to bring forth social critiques in new and creative ways that have inspired me in my desire for social change." - Sarah, College of St. Catherine |
Example Internship Placements
Internship options center around themes of the program such as:
- Freedom of expression: finding voice, identity, and power through literature
- Literacy programs in schools
- For-profit and non-profit publishing
- Storytelling / Spoken word
- Censorship
- Theater / Performing Arts
Hands-On Experience
The course will serve students from a variety of academic backgrounds who have a particular interest in writing, and who want to explore how they can use their craft to help create the kind of change they want to see in the world. The course will focus on the development of each student writers’ craft and “voice,” and on the notion that claiming one’s own voice is an important step toward self-empowerment and actualization.
Courses
- Reading for Social Change: Literature in Political, Social, and Historical Contexts
1 course credit / 4 credit hours - Writing for Social Change: A Creative Writing Workshop in Fiction, Poetry, and Creative Nonfiction
1 course credit / 4 credit hours - Internship Placement and Seminar
2 course credits / 8 credit hours
"WSC gave me the opportunity to learn more about myself, study and participate in ideas surrounding social change, improve my writing and performance skills, and network within the close knit and exciting nonprofit community here in the Twin Cities." - Becca, University of Minnesota – |
Total: 4 course credits / 16 credit hours
The four courses are taken as an integrated whole and provide the equivalent of a semester's worth of credit, i.e. four course credits, or sixteen semester hours.
Faculty
Extras
Seminars and field study address the social, cultural, and ideological contexts of creative writing and literary production, and the ways in which this work links to community building. The goal is to facilitate the growth of students as writers, as readers, and as actors in our democracy by examining the role of literature and literary production in creating social transformation. As the students in Writing for Social Change are mentored by the creative writer who teaches the course, the students themselves will have the opportunity to serve as tutors; thus the HECUA principle that “everyone is a teacher and everyone is a learner” is brought home in a very concrete way.
If you would like to know more about the program fee, dates or other specific application information please visit the General Program Information page.
| Program Documentation |
(For students to share with advisers, faculty advisers, faculty committees, and/or study abroad administrators awarding credit equivalencies.)
| Sample Syllabus |
(A recent syllabus for the program.)
Check out the other USA programs:
| City Arts | Environmental Sustainability | Metro Urban Studies Term |
