[Cwgrad-announcements] (no subject)

[Alba Hacker]

I agree 100%.
 
Granted, my undergrad is English and I do enjoy research, particularly cross-cultural and postcolonial studies. However, I do believe that taking courses beyond our creative boundaries can only help us (as writers) to increase our knowledge base and expand our horizons.
 
I took a Cultural Studies seminar with Prof. Deborah Willis at the English Dept., dealing with the history of witchcraft in 16th C. England (mainly).  Needless to say, it was informative, challenging, and very enjoyable. For my final paper, she allowed me to explore Santeria, a syncretic religion (mostly Yoruban & Catholicism).  It was right within my target cultural area and at the same time within the scope of the class.
 
Thank you so much for bringing these thoughts to the forefront, Mary.
 
Alba


From: PoetN8 at adelphia.netTo: cwgrad-announcements at lists.ucr.eduDate: Thu, 10 May 2007 12:13:23 -0700Subject: [Cwgrad-announcements] (no subject)




I thought I would share my thoughts regarding courses we are required to take outside the Creative Writing Dept., i.e. English Seminars – I know some of you are working on an intro for new MFA’s for next year.
 
While it is true some English professors will allow you to write a “creative” piece instead of an academic paper for English seminars, I would like to suggest that some of you might consider taking up the challenge of writing an academic piece for whatever English seminar you choose.  I believe we are required to take these classes for a reason—to stretch our range, and hopefully be more prepared should we enter the teaching field.  After all, many of us are going to need some sort of income while we continue to write.  
 
That said, I’m sure there are some professors that are more helpful in this area than others.  Speaking from experience, I took Dr. Steven Axelrod’s English Seminar on “The Poetry of Grief and Sadness in the Cold War Era.”  It was informative, and opened my eyes to new works and new ways of thinking about poetry.  He was also very helpful and supportive and gave a lot of input into my academic paper and put me at ease, even though I was in a class with several Ph.D. candidates (who often seemed to speak in a different language J  ).  If you feel you simply can’t do it, then of course, approach your professor about writing a creative work – but we certainly get a lot of that in our workshops and other classes, don’t we?  I encourage everyone to challenge themselves and make the most of your time here at UCR.  It goes by all too fast.
 
Mary Copeland
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