Writing for Social Justice

Overview

What I have most wanted to do… is to make political writing into an art George Orwell    

How do we give voice to social or political injustices? As writers, how do we respond to crises such as climate change, institutionalised racism, pandemics or the rise of populism? How do we express opinions powerfully, shape passionate and logical arguments, while not losing sight of the impulse to produce work that resonates?  

Writing for Social Justice is for anyone (from the beginner to the more experienced writer) who wishes to develop their voice as a socially engaged writer, to highlight injustice, shape opinion, and even change people’s minds.  

The emphasis will be on creative non-fiction; the personal essay and the polemic in particular. Students will also be encouraged to apply, and experiment with, a range of creative writing techniques including scene-setting, building a narrative, rhetoric and satire.   

 This course will cover:  

• Keeping a journal to record ideas, reflections and injustices that you feel strongly about.  
• Identifying the injustice you are burning to write about. 
• Researching your story and gathering evidence.  
• Writing with persuasion and passion: crafting an argument that appeals to both logic and the emotions. 
• Polemical and satirical writing: examples and techniques.  
• The personal is political. The personal essay. The social justice memoir. The braided essay for social justice.  
• Building vivid scenes and compelling narratives.  
• Developing your voice as a socially engaged writer. Shaping and structuring stories. 
• Applying fictional techniques (e.g. structure, scene-setting, point of view) to true stories. 
• Writing as a process. Drafting, redrafting and editing.  
• Finding an audience: blogs, newspapers and magazines, literary and/or political journals, competitions, publishers.  

Programme

Activities and tasks will be embedded into each unit so students can practise the techniques they have learned and develop their skills. Students will be encouraged to share their own work and participate in discussions on Blackboard. Alongside the learning materials on Blackboard the tutor will be on hand via email to answer any queries and provide guidance throughout the course. They will also participate in the online discussions.    

Unit 1 – An introduction to the course   

Unit 2 – Identifying your subject. Crafting your argument. Drafting and redrafting  

Unit 3 – The personal and the political: The personal essay for social justice. Scene building  

Unit 4 – Developing your voice. Be your own editor. Getting published. Course summary.  

Conclusions  

• Live Teams Meeting – a celebration! At the end of the module the tutor will hold a live webinar to bring all the strands of the module together and students can submit questions to be answered.  

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this module, students should be able to:  

1. Identify and evaluate various approaches to writing creative non-fiction for social justice.
2. Demonstrate a critical awareness of the various styles and stances of writing for social justice, within the genre of creative non-fiction.  
3. Demonstrate an ability to develop and produce a short piece of non-fiction work with a social justice narrative (800 words.)  

Assessments

1. An essay OR an excerpt from a longer work-in-progress which focuses on a social justice issue (800 words; 60% of the overall mark). 
2. A brief reflective essay in which the student reflects on their writing experience during this course. Brief reflections on the work of peers, as well as relevant published authors, are also encouraged. (800 words; 40% of the overall mark)  

Reading Suggestions

Reading suggestions will be offered throughout the course. 

Entry Requirements

This course is for everyone. No previous experience is needed and there are no formal entry requirements.

What Do I Need?

As this is an online course, you would need the following:

• Internet access
• Access to a laptop or computer with a web camera and microphone; the use of headphones might also be of benefit
• Use of the Chrome web-browser where possible.