P2 Women Writing, Lives Changing
with a social justice twist
Our class was so great--we have come so far, trusting one another with our words and trusting the process. I loved it! It was very meaningful; in fact, I will remember this month of sessions for decades to come. --participant
Women Writing, Lives Changing is a creative writing class that supports the lives of women for whom writing is, or is becoming, an important creative and spiritual practice. This class is designed to provide a safe and supportive space for women who want to explore their writing voice. Women are encouraged to tell their stories in whatever written form they wish to pursue, whether it is fiction, poetry, journal, essay, or drama. This opportunity to write, listen and be heard among a diverse, international, and intercultural community of writers gives voice to the depth and breadth of each woman’s story. 3 cr.hrs. Note: This course involves an online writing circle once each week for six weeks.
Hi, I'm Phebe, your facilitator
I see this October course as a respite as well as a place of empowerment for those who work in areas of social justice. Too often we feel alone or isolated. In this online course, participants will have safe space to write about their hopes and dreams, share their frustrations, and feel supported by other people working to make this world a better place for all. Whether you are a community organizer, a volunteer in a group that fights for equality, or feel isolated and powerless in your hope for a better world, you will find a home here. The class will allow each time and space to pause, look, share, and return to her chosen work with renewed vision and energy to continue.
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Bridges of Solidarity with Women in India
Dr. Vaijayanti Gupta writes as follows:
The literary landscape of India is one of the most exciting, yet daunting and complex ones in the world, with over 18 officially recognized languages, over 400 dialects and a 5000 year old culture that has evolved differently in different regions of the country. Throughout the region's history, women have excelled at literature, but writing has traditionally been regarded the domain of men. As elsewhere in the world, women's writing in India has been multi-faceted, but often persisting secretly, and sometimes in defiance and pain. . . .
The women writers' workshops explored the contents, languages, experiences of women writers and challenges faced by them and tried to identify issues that sweep across the spectrum of languages and those that are unique to writing in a certain language. Even today, Censorship - social, professional and personal - are the biggest constraints while the need to build a strong network of support amongst women writers and to find a bridge between women's movement and women's literature are key to liberation and progress (www).
What to Expect from Online Writing Classes
- Skill building and depth of expression
Creative activities in specific genres (e.g. poetry, fiction, autobiography) encourage participants to build on existing skills and cultivate depth of expression in their writing. - Respectful and helpful feedback
Teachers and peers provide feedback which is responsive to each writer's stage of development. - Dedicated teachers
The staff consists of dedicated teachers skilled and experienced in creative writing and facilitation. - Encouragement and support
Participants receive encouragement and support toward an ongoing writing practice. - A diverse and vibrant community
Classes provide opportunities to participate in a diverse and vibrant community of women writers. Our writing circles embrace different nationalities and different cultures.
Learning Style
Preparation: The course presumes no special previous training; however, someone without a good reading comprehension of English will find themselves severely limited throughout the course. Be consoled, however, correct spelling and punctuation are not our primary focus--honest and straight-forward self-expression is primary!
Interactivity: Besides offering one's own thoughts for comment, each participant normally spends ten to twenty minutes each week reflecting upon and offering feedback regarding the reflections of others in the class. Guidelines for offering feedback are presented and implemented in such a way as to assure respect for the individuality of each participant and to provide a safe atmonsphere for free and open exchanges.
Cross-cultural component = +6 Based on a scale +1 to +10. This rating indicates the degree to which the presentation of this course includes an examination of (a) the rich diversity of cultures existing today and (b) the transformations that a given culture experiences over a span of time.
Chatroom sessions: 
Since participants in your writing circle live in various times zones, I ask that you click here in order to determine the local time for you when it is 9:00 am in New York city. Please arrive in the chatroom 10 minutes early so that everyone can begin together on the six Saturdays. The final Saturday will feature a read-around, and each person will be able to invite visitors to take part.
To activate the chatroom, paste this address into your browser or click here: http://phs.basechat.com/basechat/aspxChat/basechat.html.aspx?rid=D19QTX0001R8 Please try out this link now so that you can assure yourself that it will work for you when you need it.
Participants are welcome to meet with other participants in the chatroom at times and for purposes they set for themselves at any time during the course.
Tutor availability: You may contact your facilitator via email anytime (and, in some instances, via phone during limited hours) anytime during the course. You will receive regular feedback, encouragement, and challenges from all the members of your writing circle each week.
Textbook: none. All readings are posted online.
Time required each week: We anticipate three six to ten participants, which will be meeting for a 90-minute online session each week for six consecutive weeks. Participants spend an additional 90 minutes each week working online at a time of their own choosing.
Introduction to our writing circles
Q: But isn’t online learning a lonely enterprise?
A: Well, to begin with, women who arrive in our virtual classrooms immediately discover that they are never alone. Using simple rituals, each woman introduces herself and then gets to interact with the others who have already introduced themselves. Right from the very beginning, therefore, the participants begin bonding with each other and preparing themselves to take part in a learning circle.
Q: Ah, I see, even though your participants never meet each other face to face, they do, nonetheless, strongly engage each other in collaborative learning.
A: Exactly. Online, however, the possibilities of collaborative learning exceed those found within the live classroom.
Q: Really? Prove it to me!
A: Well, for starters, when you arrive for your online class, you are accepted on the basis of your own story and your own skills. You may be exceedingly attractive or very plain. You may be rich or very poor. You may be graceful or painfully awkward. Online, however, these things simply don’t get in the way of internet exchanges in the way that they do in real life exchanges. And another thing. The anonymity of the internet enables women who might normally be too afraid to speak out in a classroom discussion to present themselves quite forcefully and quite sophisticatedly within an internet forum.
Q: I hadn’t ever thought about that . . . . Is this borne out in fact?
A: Going further, Catherine College firmly believes that any classroom that has only one teacher is impoverished. In the best of classrooms, everyone has something to teach and everyone has something to learn, including the professor. The most critical role that the professor plays is often to make a safe place in her classroom wherein women can find their true voices and to express themselves freely. The bonding that takes place in the virtual classroom must accordingly be joined with a shared sense of respect and mystery in the face of co-learners struggling to become their authentic selves even when they have for so long been beaten down and forced to adapt roles that conceal their true voices.
Q: Do you imply that learning at Catherine College can allow women to recover lost parts of themselves?
A: In my own practice as a teacher, I have always noted that deep learning is always accompanied with a transformation of self that is liberating, healing, and empowering. This is where the traditional classrooms so miserably fail. So much attention is given to mastering a subject in a prescribed manner that there is no time or place to acknowledge the personal joys and frustrations, insights and healing that necessarily accompanies deep learning. And this is true whether one is studying physics or philosophy, literature or women’s studies. But already, I am gratified to say, the women in our pilot classes have again and again said to us that we are doing something very important, very healing, and very academic—all at the same time.
Q: Does all this apply to your Virtual College?
A: Well, take the case of the Women writing, lives changing. Even with only five sessions online, here is a sampler of what three participants were saying:
Our class was so great--we have come so far, trusting one another with our words and trusting the process. I loved it! It was very meaningful; in fact, I will remember this month of sessions for decades to come.
I am reflecting and feeling empowered that there is a place for me and for my contributions in this world. . . . And to the other women in this class -- you are valuable and you matter, too. I treasure the sharing that you have done and look forward to upcoming sessions.
I loved this session. I loved being accountable and not being able to run away and hide -- knowing that I needed to put my best foot forward and write and post and share.
Lifelong Learning
In growing up female in patriarchial societies, we women have, to a greater or lesser degree, lost our voices. Our writing circles empower women to find and to express their lost selves. Having done so, we are emboldened to act in the world and to bring others to see what we see and to hear what we hear. You will never be able to just be a bland listener ever again. If you aspire to be a story teller or a writer, the skills learned here will go a long way toward enabling you to enrich the story you wish to tell.
What former participants were saying (click here)
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