Agenda

1. Introductions & Technology

2. Course Review

3. Review Conditionally Approved Courses submitted and try to make decisions on them

4. Updates
   1. Statewide Information - Below is a link to HB 2965 sponsored by Rep. Costello, which is a Higher Education Core Transfer Library bill. 

http://ilga.gov/legislation/billstatus.asp?DocNum=2965&GAID=12&GA=98&DocTypeID=HB&LegID=74815&SessionID=85

2. IAI Information
   1. Further discussion of a previous topic regarding creative writing being included in Humanities and Fine Arts.  New proposal submitted by another institution:  Joshua Woods of Kaskaskia – see beneath Agenda.  The proposal includes both a rationale for the inclusion and two possible course descriptions, as could appear alongside the other approved course descriptions on the GECC Humanities and Fine Arts list.
3. Personnel Changes
4. Items From Members

5. AnyMeeting Info:

Proposal for Creative Writing

IAI should include Creative Writing classes on the GECC Humanities and Fine Arts list.

Creative Writing is the fine art of constructing narrative and of conveying concepts through the careful use of written language.

Creative Writing is the fine art of constructing narrative:

• Constructed narrative pervades all the arts—drama, film, opera, dance, painting, etc.—for, as the experts in these arts freely admit, each of these arts strives to tell a story about their subject matter, and this most often refers literally to a story.
• Constructed narrative also pervades most other disciplines that express their information by telling a story: the commercials and ads produced in Marketing, the case as envisioned by the prosecution or the defense in Law, the account of what happened in History, etc.
• A student who has had the benefit of a Creative Writing class is better able to not only construct and present such narrative but also to better understand and analyze such narrative when it is presented by others.  

Creative Writing is the fine art of conveying concepts through the careful use of written language:

• The careful use of written language as a medium pervades all arts, for they all strive to find the most fitting and most meaningful words to label or explain their works.
• The careful use of written language pervades all disciplines in higher education, so long as we as instructors continue to express ideas through the best possible choice of words, and so long as we as instructors expect students to express their own ideas through the best possible choice of words.
• A student who has had the benefit of a Creative Writing class is better able to convey ideas through a series of carefully chosen words and is better able to understand ideas when presented as a series of carefully chosen words.

Is Creative Writing too narrow a focus for General Education?

• Creative Writing is not at all a narrow focus in terms of General Education since (1) its specialty—narrative—pervades all other arts and most other disciplines, and since (2) its medium—language—pervades all of higher education.
• Creative Writing is far more comprehensive a subject matter than almost all of the other subjects that are currently accepted as GECC Humanities and Fine Arts options. Specifically, Creative Writing is more comprehensive than:
  • F1900 : Music Appreciation
  • F1901 : Music History and Literature I
  • F1902 : Music History and Literature II
  • F1903N : Non-Western Music
  • F1904 : Introduction to American Music
  • F1905D : Ethnic Traditions in American Music(3 semester credits)
  • F1906 : Appreciation of Dance as an Art Form
  • F1907 : Theatre Appreciation
  • F1908 : History of Theatre
  • F1909D : Ethnic Traditions in American Theatre
  • F1910 : Opera Appreciation
  • F2902 : History of Western Art II
  • F2903N : Non-Western Art
  • F2904 : History of Photography
  • F2906D : Ethnic Traditions in American Art
  • F2907D : Art and Gender
  • F2908 : Film Appreciation
  • F2909 : Film History
  • F9900 : Introduction to the Visual and Performing Arts
  • HF906D : American Ethnic Cultural Expression
  • HF907D : Cultural Expression of Gender
  • HF908 : Film and Literature

Is a Fine Art like Creative Writing relevant to Illinois beyond the classroom?

• According to the state of Illinois, the Creative Economy, which necessarily includes the specialty, the medium, and the subject of Creative Writing, is of vital importance. As reported by many news sources, such as The Murphysboro American, Governor Quinn said that to strengthen the creative economy in Illinois is to “create more economic growth and make Illinois an even more vibrant place to live and raise a family.” Such sources also report, “According to the Illinois Arts Alliance, the arts contribute at least $2.75 billion annually to our economy, creating more than $300 million in state and local tax revenue and supporting 78,000 full positions.”

Is there any harm in denying the legitimacy of Creative Writing as a General Education Fine Art option?

• Yes, there is significant harm in denying the legitimacy of Creative Writing as a General Education Art option:
• Such a denial tells the Creative Writing student, “Another student’s choice among the fundamental arts—such as music, painting, or film—is more valid than yours.” Such a message from IAI is painfully inequitable.
• Such a denial also unwinds the logic of having approved the other arts and subjects currently on the GECC Humanities and Fine Arts list, meaning that such arts ought to be re-evaluated by the same standards that Creative Writing is being evaluated and ultimately denied as well.
• Finally, such a denial keeps the list of approved courses completely absent from any writing art whatsoever. All writing arts excluded from the list of General Education Fine Arts… careful consideration of this fact reveals that it is a mistake and that it needs to be remedied. Including Creative Writing on the GECC Humanities and Fine Arts list is such a remedy.

Introduction to Creative Writing

A study of the fine art of creative writing, emphasizing the construction of narrative and the careful use of written language in the creation of stories, poems, novels, scripts, etc., also emphasizing the fundamental elements of storytelling and poetry that appear in other forms and in all other cultures

Creative Writing: Fiction

A closer study of creative writing in the mode of fiction, with more emphasis on the construction of narrative and the careful use of written language as used in stories, novels, and scripts, also with emphasis on the fundamental elements of storytelling that appear in other forms and in all other cultures

Created 3/22/2013

By Josh Woods

Kaskaskia College

jwoods@kaskaskia.edu

618-545-3241