School of Critical & Professional Studies Fall 2020 Academic Plan

All Critical Studies classes will be fully-remote. The Critical Studies program is invested in your success and studied student survey responses to the spring 2020 remote term very carefully. Below are a few highlights of what you can expect in your remote Critical Studies courses this fall in:

  • All classes will meet synchronously – all together – at least once per week online and only during regularly scheduled class time as it appears in your Student Self Service planner. Some work will be asynchronous – on your own time – when not meeting all together as a group. YourCritical Studies faculty will communicate what digital tools you will use to meet as a group. 
  • All Critical Studies faculty will be available for online office hours. These hours will be communicated in all course syllabi.
  • All Fall 2020 semester classes will use letter grades (e.g., A, A-, B+) for final grades.
  • Please work closely with your advisors in the Advising Center on registering for fall 2020 Critical Studies courses.
  • As of fall 2020, all BUSN (business) classes at UArts now count for Critical Studies elective credit.
  • All first-year students are required to complete the online writing placement exam (the submission deadline was extended to July 20). Questions about the exam should be directed to Dr. Emily Mattingly (emattingly@uarts.edu). 

In the fall 2020 remote learning environment, Critical Studies courses will continue connecting you with other students from all fields of study to explore how to use critical thinking and creative insight in your artistic practices. No matter if you are interested in studying a new language, examining diverse historical time periods and themes, building your business skillsets or doing a deep dive into the field of psychology, our extensive list of course offerings will bring to life the unique UArts learning experience you’ve come to expect while using a wide variety of online tools like digital discussion groups, videos, and more. 

Creative Writing
What we do as writers is find ways to speak into and through complexity. We respond to what the moment offers. Our responses expand what we can say and think. That responsiveness is a way of being responsible. We are eager to help our new students feel connected to our community of writers and for that community—and our program—to continue to respond to your interests and values.

  • Some Creative Writing and Literary Studies courses will be held remotely, and some will be held in person.
  • We've scheduled courses for first-year students to meet in person, which will help first-year students meet one another and build community, they are:
    • CRWT 101 Intro to Contemporary Poetry
    • CRWT 102 Intro to Contemporary Fiction, and
    • CRWT 140 The Writing Life. 
  • Most upper-level workshops for majors and some for non-majors will also be taught face-to-face:
    • CRWT 181 Poetry Workshop for Non-Majors
    • CRWT 182 Fiction Workshop for Non-Majors
    • CRWT 202 Intermediate Fiction Workshop
    • CRWT 214 Modernism (Blended face-to-face and online)
    • CRWT 404 Senior Seminar in Poetry
    • CRWT 405 Senior Seminar in Fiction I
  • All other courses are scheduled for remote-only instruction with weekly synchronous times scheduled to ensure connectivity, community and collaborative learning spaces.

Our course offerings remain top-notch. We'll also offer our usual selection of workshops at all levels, Discipline History courses, and Literary Editing and Publishing.  The syllabus for writers, in the end, is reading, writing, talking about writing, connecting writing to the world. That can require new methods, new sources. We are heartened, continually, by knowing that you are also engaged in this work, in its assertion of value, its ongoing discovery. We are eager to connect with you in fall!