Creative Writing Summer Institutes

For High School Students

Institute I: Non-Fiction
July 9-13, 2012
9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Main Campus-South Orange
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Institute II: Fiction and Poetry
July 16-20, 2012
9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Main Campus-South Orange
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The Creative Writing Summer Institutes are two, one-week summer programs designed for high school students interested in creative writing.  Institute I focuses on creative non-fiction writing; Institute II focuses on fiction and poetry.  Students may register for one or both Institutes.  Co-taught by Seton Hall University creative writing experts, the programs will introduce students to the fundamentals of three genres of creative writing:  fiction, poetry and creative non-fiction, as well as the rudiments of literary craft.  Students will explore a range of literary styles, both through daily reading assignments and daily writing exercises.  Complementing the morning writing sessions will be a variety of afternoon activities, including one field trip.

Institute I: Creative Fiction
Instructor: Gita DasBender, Ph.D.

  • explore and organize experience and ideas in a compelling manner
  • produce essays that examine the meaning of experience
  • engage in discussions of writing strategies 
  • complete short writing assignments that lead to a longer non-fiction essay
Institute II: Fiction and Poetry
Instructor: Phil Schochet, M.F.A.
  • learn the nuances of literary craft
  • develop original creative work 
  • participate in informal discussions of writing exercises and workshops 
  • develop individual interests in creative writing

Activities: Students will go on one field trip and enjoy at least one guest speaker geared to the works studied.

Faculty Biographies

Gita DasBender (Ph.D., New York University) is a Senior Faculty Associate in the Department of English at Seton Hall University, where she is the Coordinator for Second Language Writing. Her research interests include second language writing, assessment, knowledge transfer of multilingual students, directed self-placement, creative non-fiction, and the essay. She has published on critical thinking in college writing, teaching literature in the writing class, literacy history of multilingual students, and the effect of reflective practices on L2 writing knowledge. She is currently a Fulbright Specialist candidate and is also the Secretary and Treasurer of the New Jersey College English Association.

Phil Schochet, M.F.A., is a poet, fiction writer, and essayist residing in Brooklyn, NY. He has an M.A. in English from Seton Hall University and his M.F.A. in Fiction from the New School. He has been teaching writing at Seton Hall since 2006 and has been a member of the prose staff of the literary magazine, LIT, since 2009. Professor Schochet's work has appeared or is forthcoming in Chavez, New Jersey College English Notes, Tribe, and Beat Valley.

Tuition: $699 (per Institute)
Note: Lunch is not included. You can bring a brown bag lunch or you can purchase lunch at the cafeteria.