Critical Social Inquiry 0282 - Crafting Truth

In this course, we will explore the relationship between methods of critical social inquiry and creative forms of writing and representation. While discipline has traditionally bound method to form in the social sciences, we ask: what forms are necessary for conveying what kinds of truths? We will consider the possibilities and limits of our research tools-the interview, the archive, ethnography, memory-while working the borders of non/fiction for the kinds of knowledge to which different forms give us access. We will look at examples of hybrid non/fiction forms including ethnographic fiction, documentary theatre, experimental memoir, and the lyric essay along with the genre-bending work of Gloria Anzaldua, Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, B.J. Hollars, Shailja Patel, Paisley Rekdal, and Art Spiegelman. We will also hold a weekly hybrid documentary film series. Students will consider questions of craft, as they research, imagine, and workshop pieces of their own writing and explore their choices as researchers and writers in search of form.

Independent Work Writing and Research Students are expected to spend at least six to eight hours a week of preparation and work outside of class time.