2011 pdf - International Writing Program - University of Iowa

DISTANCE LEARNING
Bringing Our Literary Resources to Students Around the World
Distance Learning Overview:
2011 saw the rapid expansion of the IWP’s Distance
Learning (DL) program, a branch of the IWP that
uses internet technology to pursue groundbreaking
methods of educating writers throughout the
world—anytime, anywhere. The courses link international
and domestic students and instructors via
the most advanced technology available: websites,
live video conferences, and Web 2.0 multimedia.
This year, the DL Program undertook efforts in the
Gaza Strip, Sierra Leone, Jordan, The United Arab
Emirates, Spain, Mexico, Egypt, New Zealand, Iraq,
Scotland, and Lebanon.
Offerings encompassed readings and
short-term writing groups, a number of full semester
courses, in-person teaching tours, and follow-on
websites. The guiding aims of these programs were
threefold: to provide creative writing instruction to
regions in need; to model creative writing pedagogy;
and to engage participants in cross-cultural
discourse through writing.
Full semester courses ranged from writing
workshops to investigations of global issues in
literature. Topics covered indigenous peoples’
writing, young adult fiction, graphic novels, and
contemporary literature.
In addition, shorter, five-week courses
aided in teaching introductory creative writing
skills to students who had little prior instruction in
the craft, connecting a domestic instructor with an
international group in real-time. Additionally, the
DL Program pursued low-tech alternatives in order
to extend its influence to less accessible regions of
the world.
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Spring 2011:
The Courses:
Lebanon Fiction and Poetry Workshop
Native American-Maori Reading Group
International Poetry Writing
Fall 2011
Young Adult Fiction
Graphic Novels Seminar
Full-semester courses are the core of the
program, providing long-term creative development
through the study of advanced topics.
Using secure websites and extensive multimedia,
the sessions model collaborative workshopping
through message forums and video
chats, and encourage the dynamic interpersonal
and intellectual relationships that distinguish
in-person workshops.
The “Lebanon Fiction and Poetry Workshop”
built upon a teaching tour to American
University of Beirut, reuniting the Lebanese
participants to further develop their skills. Poets
Lauren Haldeman and Kei Miller (IWP, 2007) led
“International Poetry Writing,” an intermediate
level course that linked groups in Iowa and
Scotland to discuss new international verse and
create their own work in response. Hinemoana
Baker (IWP, 2010) facilitated a reading group
between the US and New Zealand that
discussed indigenous peoples’ literature
critically and creatively.
Fall-semester courses hybridized critical
and artistic approaches to writing, encouraging
students to initiate creative projects in response
to class readings and academic discussions.
Professors Luis Humberto Crossthwaite and Jose
Manuel Trabado developed a seminar focused
on internationally prescient graphic novels,
linking groups in Spain with University of Iowa
students. Egyptian and American students came
together under Ghada Abdel Aal (IWP, 2010) and
DL coordinator James O’Brien led a class focused
on international young adult fiction that entailed
discussions about representations of youth and
environment while workshopping students’
fiction.
Utilizing message boards, email, and web-based videoconferencing
technologies like Elluminate Live!, IWP
instructors are able to meet with students in digital
environments to run creative writing classes like the
ones shown here, featuring IWP instructors Marcela
Fuentes and Blueberry Morningsnow who taught
through the American University of Beitrut.