Free Online Class!

Something exciting is brewing over here:

The International Writing Program at the University of Iowa has recently started hosting international distance-learning courses that pair classrooms from such far-flung areas as Sierra Leone, Somalia, and Egypt with Iowa City. I’ve just been invited to teach an online course on International Issues in Creative Nonfiction: Immigration with Mariana Martinez Estens, a journalist and poet from Tijuana, Mexico. It’s looking like I will have at least one slot available to offer readers of this blog.

Here are the deets:

As a class, we’ll be reading four books about immigration: Devil’s Highway by Luis Alberto Urrea, What is the What, by Dave Eggers, Maximum City by Suketu Mehta, and Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston. We’ll be writing brief (350 word) academic and creative responses for each book; writing two 5-6 page workshop essays; participating in two sessions of Elluminate (which is like Skype on steroids) with our colleagues in Tijuana (all of whom write and speak in English); and commenting on each other’s work. The creative responses will involve venturing out of your typical social sphere and into worlds previously unknown to you, via visits to ethnic markets, cultural festivals, places of worship, etc.

The class will begin the week of January 16 and run through May 13, or 16 weeks altogether, with a week off March 12-18 for Spring Break. Thanks to a grant from the US State Department (which views this as an experiment in democracy), this class is available free of charge for auditors (that is, those who will not be receiving academic credit from a university).

So, my friends! Who’s in? If you’d like to be considered, please email me via Facebook or stephanie at aroundthebloc dot com by January 3. Tell me about your interest in creative nonfiction as an art form and immigration as an issue, plus a bit about your availability during the spring semester (such as how many hours you’d be able to commit to the class per week). I’ll be able to invite at least one writer to participate.

Many thanks, happy holidays, and best wishes!

Comments

  1. This is good stuff, Stephanie! I wish I were stateside so that I could attend. But I’ll be sure to plug the class on my fan page.

  2. Sounds like an amazing program. Thanks for sharing.

  3. Irina

    Great!!!
    What about far distance students?!..I am ukrainian:)!
    Would be glad to take part into yr online project,pls let me know!
    Happy holidays,

    BRGDS,Irina Corsini

    • Privyet Irina,

      Beautiful to hear from you, and thanks for your interest in the class. Most unfortunately, we’ve already filled our spring 2012 class, but I’ll keep your information in case of future possibilities.

      Best wishes to you,
      Stephanie

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