To some people, there isn't much difference between writing about Shakespeare and writing plays to become the next Shakespeare. But the organizers of the Literary Arts Program see a difference, and they've set plans in motion to create a concentration in literary arts - formerly called creative writing - so that budding Bards can concentrate on their craft.
Although the launch of the Literary Arts Program must be approved by the College Curriculum Committee, Forrest Gander, director of the Graduate Program in Literary Arts, said he is confident that the concentration will be available by Fall 2006.
Gander said the English department is moving more toward cultural studies, while the Literary Arts Program strives to focus on contemporary writing and plays. Citing the growth of the Literary Arts Program, which now has 14 faculty members, Gander said the program "will function better independent of the administrative structure found in the English Department."
Assistant Professor of Literary Arts Thalia Field also stressed the advantages of a separate concentration. "What we do as writers teaching writing and literature has a different emphasis than English professors and their subjects. Thus, (the possibility of a concentration in literary arts) can only be a benefit for Brown students," she said.
The literary arts concentration, if created, will have new requirements independent of the English Department. The newly formed concentration will include poetry, playwriting, fiction, electronic writing and cross-genre writing. A literary arts concentrator would pick one of these five divisions for his or her focus. The department offers diverse training in all of these fields; a playwriting concentrator, for example, could take advantage of Brown's relationship with Providence's Trinity Repertory Company to work with professional actors and directors, Gander said. In addition, the requirements for the literary arts concentration leave open the possibility of double concentrating, he said.
For students interested in exploring literary arts without declaring it as a concentration, the creative writing honors program for English concentrators and the Capstone Project program for non-concentrators will remain available.
