On Jan. 14, 2020, Meredith announced a new creative writing minor. Students can enroll in the new courses for the minor starting in Fall 2020. Any student who wishes to express their creativity, improve their craft or gain new skills for the workplace can minor in Creative Writing.
English professor Dr. Rebecca Duncan attributes student interest to be the main motivation for developing the creative writing minor. Combined with the success of the Professional Writing and Presentation Media minor, she and other English professors thought, “why not have creative writing as well?” Dr. Duncan explains that “students sometimes bring whole novels or fanfictions” when they first come to a creative writing class, “so we know that we have talent.” Classes that are part of the program of study for the Creative Writing Minor include Introduction to Creative Writing, Writing Poetry, Writing Fiction and Playwriting and Publishing and Editing, among others.
In addition to the new minor, the English department continues to evolve by revamping long-existing classes. The popular Chaucer course has been renamed “Errant Knights and Powerful Ladies.” This course provides a different experience for students each year, because the School of Arts and Humanities’ theme changes annually. This year’s theme is “Activism Through Literature.” According to Dr. Duncan, updating these literature classes over time is essential because “the way we read [books] changes,” and these new perspectives allow us to “value the old as well as the new.”
More information about the Creative Writing minor can be found at https://www.meredith.edu/english/creative-writing-minor.
By Molly Perry, Contributing Writer