The Chronicle: Colloquy: The question

THE QUESTION

Many colleges are reporting sharp increases in the number of their English majors who focus not on reading literature, but on writing it. Classes and programs in writing fiction and poetry are attracting more students, and colleges are hiring professors to meet this demand. Many of the students and professors in these programs say that the programs are rigorous -- and include plenty of the traditional English curriculum along with "workshop" classes in which students write and offer critiques of the work of their classmates. But some English professors worry that many of the students aren't ready to do this kind of writing and that they would be better served by more literature courses. Should colleges encourage the trend in which more English majors focus on writing their own fiction and poetry?

For further information, see this background article:

Undergraduates Heed the Writer's Muse (3/15/2002)

: 20 RESPONSES (New 4/12)

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