What Is the Writing Minor?
Spelman has educated some of our country’s most talented authors, activists, and creative voices. Alice Walker, Marian Wright Edelman, Bernice Johnson Reagon, Pearl Cleage, and Tayari Jones all passed through Spelman’s gates and spent some time developing their expressive selves here. The Writing Minor, a key resource in sustaining the tradition of cultivating writing talent at Spelman, offers students across disciplines an opportunity to develop their communicative expertise and creative sensibilities in ways that will prepare them to engage boldly in the diverse communicative practices of 21st-century work, art, and activism.
The courses offered for the 20-credit minor allow you to choose either to develop skills across a broad range of writing practices or to focus in on the art and craft of writing in a particular genre. The range of topics of writing courses include creative writing (fiction, creative nonfiction, screenwriting, poetry), journalism, professional writing, social activist writing, and writing with digital media. As a student in the minor, you work closely with your advisor to create an individual course plan that fulfills your specific interests and goals.
Why Minor in Writing?
Our Writing Minor allows you to develop your identity, confidence, skills, and portfolio as a writer in whatever ways best support your developing interests and future goals. Not only can studying and practicing writing help you enhance your academic performance in your major while at Spelman, but graduating with an official credential in Writing will communicate to graduate schools or employers that you are one of the most valued contributors to a 21st-century workplace: a skilled written communicator.
In a 2017 survey conducted by the nonprofit National Association of Colleges and Employers of over 200 companies and organizations, large and small, 80 percent of employers listed written communication skills as a top attribute they look for on a candidate’s resume. The Writing Minor can enhance your quality of life as a Spelman student by giving you the skills and opportunity to express yourself creatively and academically — and it can also help enhance your career prospects after graduation.
What Courses Should I Take as a Writing Minor?
The courses offered within the minor provide a range of options to help you develop into the kind of writer you want to be: courses in creative writing (fiction, creative nonfiction, screenwriting, poetry), journalism, professional writing, social activist writing, and writing with digital media. The minor requires five courses (20 course hours), with one prerequisite and four electives. The richness of the minor’s course offerings is enhanced by the option to cross-register at other Atlanta-area campuses through the
ARCHE program for up to two of your minor electives. (Electives taken at other campuses must be approved by the student’s advisor and the English Department Chair.)
