LITERARY EDUCATION IN PRACTICE

Abstract

While a Bachelor of Arts in English provides students with critical writing, reading, and thinking skills, it often fails to provide them with the professional development training that will prepare them for a career in the Arts industry after graduation. This paper will address that failure by discussing the findings of a recent pilot course designed and implemented with the aim of teaching students the professional elements of literary production, publication, and editing. The pilot course integrated into its curriculum brief modules pertaining to the history of literary presses, the business designs associated with literary production, the dynamics of editorial board membership, and the practical side of literary publication, including copy-editing, formatting, printing, e-publication, marketing, and distribution. A primary course requirement was the complete production and publication of a literary journal that featured creative submissions by members of the University community. The purpose of the pilot course was to increase student motivation by offering the opportunity to construct a material object, the literary journal that, unlike the typical essay, would have a life beyond the classroom. The pedagogical innovations implemented in this course integrated technology into literary learning paradigms. KEY WORDS: innovatoin, english literature, motivation, publishing, collaboration, creative learning. DOI:  http://dx.doi.org/ 10.15181/atee.v2i0.942