Critical & Reflective Inquiry: Theme - Origin Stories: Writing as Storytelling

Theme: Origin Stories: Writing as Storytelling

“When I write I am trying to express my way of being in the world. This is primarily a process of elimination: once you have removed all the dead language, the second-hand dogma, the truths that are not your own but other people's, the mottos, the slogans, the out-and-out lies of your nation, the myths of your historical moment - once you have removed all that warps experience into a shape you do not recognise and do not believe in - what you are left with is something approximating the truth of your own conception.”
― Zadie Smith

“We tell ourselves stories in order to live.”
—Joan Didion

Everything has a story. How do we find it? Who gets to tell it? Which form of writing might best allow for “approximating the truth” of a particular story: a nonfiction narrative, a research essay, an interview, a song, a poem? How might changing the form change the story? Perhaps most importantly: how do we begin?

In this course we will approach critical inquiry through the lens of creative writing, using techniques of storytelling to guide our research, thinking, and drafting. We will explore across genres, using works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry as models for our own experimentation with a range of written expression. We will play with the primary elements of storytelling, including point of view, figurative language, dialogue, story arc, and stylistic choices, and discover how techniques of fiction— and even poetry—can inspire and transform our nonfiction writing in all of its forms, from research essay to interview to creative narrative and beyond.

As with any college-level writing course, our work is a chance for you to practice rhetorical awareness, engage with texts, conduct effective research, understand genre, and cite your sources ethically and accurately. You’ll be incorporating relevant experiences from your life, and practicing your awareness of writing to specific audiences and with intention.