Outreach Courses

The IWP's online outreach courses and projects are developed in collaboration with U.S. embassies and/or international schools and universities for groups of participants in one or more selected regions. Outreach courses offer live video lectures and discussions; reading and writing assignments, and synchronous and asynchronous online workshopping. Instructors are experienced teachers of creative writing and literature with strong publication records and a passion for recreating the workshop model within an online learning environment. Supported by the United States Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, each outreach course or project is designed to provide an opportunity for creative writing, community-building, and cultural exchange.

 

CURRENT Outreach CourseS AND PROJECTS

 

“MY LANGUAGE CAN”

4-28-2023 through 6/6/2023 (Yemen)

This creative writing course in Arabic will focus on the power of creative writing to transform individuals and communities, especially (though not exclusively) through creating narratives of inclusion.

The course will promote diversity and a plurality of voices while at the same time celebrating shared values and cultural heritage. It will also promote writing and the arts generally not only as creative pursuits but as viable professional endeavors and vital components of the creative economy.

Instructor for this course is Iman Humaydan, former IWP Fall Resident (2011) and Lebanese novelist, scenario writer, translator, and university lecturer. She is the founder of ARRAWI, for Culture and Literature aiming at supporting young writers. 

View text galleries of some of the course assignments submitted by the participants on this page

 

CREATIVE WRITING AND DISABILITIES AWARENESS: TELLING OUR STORIES

Projected dates 6/15/2023 through 12/15/2023 (to be offered to sub-Saharan African nations)

This creative writing project, building on the frameworks of IWP’s earlier projects on creative writing and healthcare, will focus on the power of creating narratives of inclusion, human rights, and disability awareness. 

Instructors are all prominent US disabilities activists and creative writers. Instructors will include:  Saleem Hue Penny, a Black “rural hip-hop blues'' poet, arts educator, and mutual aid advocate; Jennifer Bartlett, co-founder of Zoeglossia, a literary organization pioneering an inclusive space for poets with disabilities; Laura Van Prooyen, creative writing instructor and poet, whose most recent collection of poetry was a Finalist for both the Texas Institute of Letters Helen C. Smith Memorial Award for Best Book of Poetry and the Writers’ League of Texas Book Awards; Walela Nehanda, Black, ace spec, queer, disabled, cultural worker, and poet who works towards people seeing art as a vehicle for not only emotional catharsis but a catalyst for social change; and Camisha Jones, writer, spoken word poet, and former Managing Director for nearly 9 years at the national social justice poetry non-profit Split This Rock.

 

WRITING LIFE: GROWING YOUR VOICE AS A STORYTELLER

Projected dates 9/2023 through 12/2023 (Afghanistan, Pakistan)

This university-caliber creative writing course in English will be offered to Afghan females, both within Afghanistan and in Pakistan. The course will be taught by IWP Former Fall Resident (2021) Sanam Maher, an award-winning Pakistani writer. Sanam Maher will guide participants in using creative writing, including memoir and other types of creative non-fiction, as a tool for exploring identity and building resilience. 

 

OUTREACH COURSES

Outreach courses are developed in coordination with international institutions for small groups of students in a specific set of cities or countries.

 

EXCHANGES AND EVENTS

Exchanges provide space for creative collaboration between rising writers and artists in far-flung communities. Events offer virtual access to creative voices around the world.

 

MOOC SYLLABI  

The syllabi contain each MOOC’s core content, packaged with a how-to guide and extra instructional materials. Using a MOOC-Pack, anyone can lead a writing class or a study group.

To join our mailing list to receive notifications regarding future courses, please fill out the sign up form here.

For inquiries about the Digital Learning Program, please email us by selecting "Digital Learning courses"  from the drop-down menu on our contact form here >

Happening Now

  • Congratulations to our colleagues Jennifer Croft and Aron Aji, who are among those serving as judges for the National Book Awards this year, in their case in the category of translated literature.

  • Ranjit Hoskote’s speech at the 2024 Goa Literary Festival addresses the current situation in Gaza.

  • In NY Times, Bina Shah worries about the state of Pakistani—and American—democracy.

  • “I went to [Ayodhya] to think about what it means to be an Indian and a Hindu... ”  A new essay by critic and novelist Chandrahas Choudhury.

  • In the January 2024 iteration of the French/English non-fiction site Frictions, T J Benson writes about “Riding Afrobeats Across the World.” Also new, a next installment in the bilingual series featuring work by students from Paris VIII’s Creative Writing program and the University of Iowa’s NFW program.

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