Creative Writing Articulation. Friday, May 8, University of British Columbia

Transcription

1 Creative Writing Articulation Friday, May 8, 2009 University of British Columbia PRESENT: Crystal Hurdle (Capilano University), Frank Moher (Vancouver Island University), Aislinn Hunter (Kwantlen University), Almeda Glenn Miller (Selkirk College), Ramon Kubicek (Langara College), Derek Hanebury (Northern Lights College), Sean Johnston (Okanagan College), Anne Fleming (UBC- Okanagan), Nina Johnson (Thompson Rivers University), Jeanne Iribarne (Camosun College), David Leach (University of Victoria), Rob Budde (University of Northern British Columbia), Graham Pearce (College of Ne w Caledonia), Steve Collis (Simon Fraser University), Katherine Sutherland (Thompson Rivers University), Reg Johanson (Capilano University), Bryan Wade (University of British Columbia), Glenda Leznoff (Douglas College). 1. Review of 2008 minutes: Approved 2. Review of 2009 agenda: Approved 3. Schedule & Location of upcoming meetings: a. Friday, May 14, 2010: UBC Okanagan b. May 2011: Langara College 4. Secondary School representation & libraries update: Past practice included a position on CW Articulation Committee for a Secondary School representative. Government funding for this was cut; Greg Lainsbury, Chair of the BCCAT Creative Writing Articulation Committee, wrote to BCCAT regarding this position; he also investigated funding cuts to Secondary School libraries. Several articulation committees continue to lobby the BC Provincial Government for funding for Secondary School representation at articulation meetings and improved Secondary School library funding. 5. Southern Interior Writers Program: This project involves a consortium of institutions and writers; the mandate is to create articulation agreements, including block transfers, to allow movement of students between writing programs within the BC post secondary system. This initiative also involves blended learning models. FTE allocation remains an issue. Thus far, the partners include Okanagan College, College of the Rockies, Eastern Washington University,

2 Oxygen Arts Center, Selkirk College, and the University of Calgary. There is a Moodle site that provides more information at: This project currently seeks funding from Canada Council and additional external private funding sources; funding has also been secured from BC Campus. Future partners may include University of Calgary and Thompson Rivers University. There are some concerns about articulating a balance between regionalism and homogeneity as these partnerships develop. Discussion ensued around possible tie-ins to institutionally shared author tours, readings and mini-festivals. 6. Hiring Criteria in Creative Writing: When CW programs are housed within English programs, problems arise around qualifications in multiple areas: an MA in English may be preferred to an MFA, as an instructor may teach both writing and literature; in small programs, faculty may not teach Creative Writing full-time. Additionally, newer universities may not have promotion and tenure guidelines, forcing the assignment of a Creative Writing position to an under- or lesserqualified person based on other elements in the teaching load, such as Composition courses. There is a need to weigh professional practice, publication and the terminal degree in areas such as Creative Writing. Additionally, there is a need to articulate qualifications in a way that is consistent with Collective Agreements but not too restrictive in the context of disciplines that involve creative rather than academic practice. The value of a PhD in Creative Writing was discussed. A balance between writer and teacher is complex and difficult for the Creative Writing professor: creative and teaching competencies are not necessarily compatible. 7. Pedagogy & Best Practices: Numerous programs are being pressured to have high intakes in first and second-year CW programs to support smaller upper-level and graduate seminars and classes. A series of issues flowing from this pressure was discussed. a. Managing large sections of CW: i. Student Assistants: Second year students run small seminars while lecture classes are taught by professor. Graduate students can help with grading. Peer teaching can be effective, particularly during the draft stage; the professor only reviews the final draft. Also, practicums in Education Programs might involve 4 th year Education students (with writing as teachable subject) acquiring teaching experience in 1 st year CW courses. ii. Workshops: The use of the workshop model in first year courses was discussed. b. Delivery models:

3 i. Blended learning models, with online workshops, might be effective. Student demand seems to be increasing for online Creative Writing course. Capilano University has blended learning courses, alternating weeks between online and face-to-face delivery; although there is debate about pedagogical issues, this has potential for distance students. 1 At Vancouver Island University, 25% (10/40) Creative Writing courses are offered online; both face-to-face and online options available to first year students. UBC offers a fully online MFA, which has been very successful. c. Marking practices: Marking practices might need to be modified, with fewer detailed comments on final portfolios, which students might not collect. Professors might want to move to feedback on request models, including request for self-addressed, stamped envelope for return of graded materials per student request/ initiative. Grading templates can be effective workload management tools. d. Course construction: Daily journals may be most valuable for the development of discipline and need not necessarily be closely read or graded. Another benefit of journals is to allow introverted students to engage with idea of reader/ audience. 8. Program Reports: A brief synopsis of each report follows; please see attached reports for greater detail. a. Camosun: New Associate Degree in CW; new mandate to maintain 90% capacity in classes, which has led to some cancellations; program journal Beside the Point is thriving b. Capilano University: First year Associate of Arts degree completed; though numbers are strong, program coherence is still underway; have approval to offer 3 rd and 4 th year courses; new Children s Literature course has strong enrollments; two reading series; new press called CUE has been established along with Open Text Anthology, which publishes proceedings of Open Text Reading Series. c. College of New Caledonia: Two 2 nd year CW courses, both overloaded ; discussion around developing 1 st year courses; successful year for Caledonia Writers Series. d. College of the Rockies: Representative not present; report attached. e. Emily Carr: Representative not present; report attached. 1 While Cap U does deliver blended learning courses, this is not the primary method of delivery; the majority of Cap courses are face-to-face.

4 f. Douglas College: Also have 90% capacity expectation; this has caused hiatus for Historical Fiction and summer poetry course; magazine writing course switched to Print Futures writing/ journal course; new department chair g. Kwantlen University: New CW minor; increasing cross-listing of courses to maintain enrollments in anticipation of major; increasing theory and interdisciplinary courses; working to create unique identity and niche for program; first dedicated CW scholarship created; soft-funded writer in residence program; new chair; ARC will be initiating a CW competition for each program to select and submit best project for inclusion in publication h. Langara: Maintaining same 5 CW courses as historically; no first-year CW courses; frustration over lack of institutional support; lack of campus community support/interest in Canada Council sponsored writer series i. Okanagan: Difficulty with enrollment in 2 nd year courses; developing 2 nd year independent study course to allow students flexibility to choose genre of study; development of applied degree in writing/publishing; starting literary quarterly called Ryga j. North Island College: Still 6 courses and 2 instructors; launching a first edition of an undergraduate magazine, Zeitgiest: Spirit of Our Time k. Northern Lights College: Small enrollments and a decreasing number of courses offered. l. Selkirk: Please see attached report. m. SFU: One CW course, capped at 15 students; new Chair (also articulation rep) approved addition of 2 new CW courses; these will be combined with Screen Writing, Publishing and Communications courses to create a certificate in writing; writer-in-residence program funded through president s office and Canada Council matching finds; however these funds will be cut with retirement of current president; new endowment of $50,000 plus matching funds from university up to $120,000 at this point; at $200,000, the fund should sustain the residency program n. TRU: English and Modern Languages Department has been split; Technical Writing and Rhetoric will be combined with Journalism, and Creative Writing will stay with Literature; hope to launch CW minor by 2010; will be requiring a first-year prerequisite (ENGL 115); CUEF scholarships have allowed students to attend CW conferences; plans to launch readings in conjunction with creative writing workshop; four writers coming in

5 through Canada Council; faculty and students planning to go into high schools to work with creative writing classes & clubs o. UBC Okanagan: New faculty member in CW; new anthology of Canadian Nature Poetry, Open Wide a Wilderness; working on interdisciplinary fine arts studies models; new course in Screen Writing; introducing a new intro course with 60 students to be taught by 1 instructor and 2 TAs p. UNBC: Creative Writing degree combined with Emily Carr art program; enrollments steady; new president is more supportive of Arts; first MA with creative thesis graduated q. UVic: New MFA program with 5 current students and 5 to come; undergoing external review; biggest challenge is very high enrollments in 1 st year, creating bottle-neck at 2 nd year; first year courses cover 4 genres and consist of 4 sections of 35 students r. Vancouver Island University: Some discussion of a Masters Degree, perhaps in Digital Journalism; developing a Journalism Minor; developing Digital Video courses to link to these programs; have developed Ralph Gustafson chapbook series, based on lectures delivered in 3-day poet residency series. s. UBC: Various issues have arisen around combined lecture and workshop models, particularly with regard to the use of TAs; this is related to the increase in size to second year classes (202 has 100 students per session); new faculty member had been hired; new courses, including Fiction Writing on Second Life 9. National Organization/CCWP (Canadian Creative Writing Programs): Organizational meeting will be in October in Banff & Calgary in preparation for the inaugural meeting of CCWP. An organizing committee, including representation from University of Calgary, Banff Center, and York University, has been established and met on February 21, 2009, to create draft terms of reference and an agenda for the inaugural CCWP meeting. The first CCWP conference will be held October 7-11, 2010; the meetings will be split between Calgary and Banff. Motion: That Aislinn Hunter represent the BCCAT CW Articulation Committee at the CCWP Conference and report back to the BCCAT CW Articulation Committee. Moved: Almeda Glenn Miller Seconded: Crystal Hurdle 10. New Chair: Graham Pearce (College of New Caledonia) was elected by unanimous vote. Greg agreed to be co-chair for another year and to attend the October meeting for SLRs and Articulation Chairs in October at the River Rock Casino.