Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Spring 2025 - ENGL 472W E100

Seminar in Advanced Creative Writing (4)

Class Number: 3346

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Jan 6 – Apr 9, 2025: Thu, 4:30–8:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    ENGL 372 or 374.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

An advanced seminar-workshop in the theory and practice of poetry or fiction. Genre varies from term to term. Students with credit for ENGL 472 prior to fall 2015 may not complete this course for further credit. Otherwise, course may be repeated for credit when the genre varies. Writing.

COURSE DETAILS:

Archival Poetics

This advanced creative writing seminar invites students to explore how poets and writers engage with archives to challenge, reconstruct, and reimagine history. The course focuses on the conceptual and creative practices of archival poetics, a field where poetry and historical materials intersect. Students will read, analyze, and produce poetry that interacts with archival documents, personal records, and historical artifacts.

Throughout the semester, we will examine four major approaches to archival poetics— deconstructive, reconstructive, speculative, and documentary—investigating how poets break down, piece together, and imagine archives as sites of memory, power, and resistance. The course moves beyond the study of individual books, incorporating excerpts from a wide variety of poets and writers who embody these distinct approaches.

Students will engage with the works of key practitioners of archival poetics, including Jordan Abel, M. NourbeSe Philip, Eve L. Ewing, Claudia Rankine, Robin Coste Lewis, Matthew James Weigel, and others. We will explore how these writers transform historical records, found texts, and speculative archives into powerful poetic forms that grapple with race, colonialism, memory, and silence. Additionally, students will engage with archival theory through critical readings by Julietta Singh, Jacques Derrida, Saidiya Hartman, Avery Gordon, and Stuart Hall, among others.

Beyond close reading and critical analysis, students will have the opportunity to interact with archival materials firsthand. In partnership with SFU's Special Collections and Rare Books, the course includes an archival workshop and a guided tour of the collections. Each student will select a specific archival object or collection as the foundation for their final creative project. The seminar will culminate in a chapbook of original poetry, where students apply one or more approaches to archival poetics, creatively engaging with archives to challenge, reconstruct, or reimagine the past.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

By the end of this course, students will:

  1. Develop a deep understanding of archival theory and the four major approaches to archival poetics (deconstructive, reconstructive, speculative, and documentary).
  2. Analyze a wide variety of poetic texts that engage with archival material.
  3. Gain practical experience working with archives and integrating archival theory and materials into creative projects.
  4. Produce a chapbook of original poetry that creatively engages with archival material from SFU’s Special Collections.
  5. Critically reflect on the role of archives in shaping cultural memory, history, and identity.

Grading

  • Critical Response Paper 15%
  • Archival Reflection 10%
  • Archival Proposal 15%
  • Draft Submission and Peer Workshop 20%
  • Creative Revision Plan 10%
  • Final Chapbook Project 30%

NOTES:

Critical Response Paper (15%): Write a 3-page response analyzing an archival poetics approach (e.g., deconstructive, speculative) from the course readings. Focus on how the approach shapes the interpretation of archival material. 

Archival Reflection (10%): After visiting SFU’s Special Collections, submit a 1–2 page reflection on the archive you plan to work with. Discuss why it interests you, potential approaches for engagement, and challenges you anticipate.

Archival Proposal (15%): Submit a 2-page proposal outlining your chosen archive, how you will creatively engage with it (e.g., deconstructive, reconstructive, speculative, etc.), and how this aligns with course concepts.

Draft Submission and Peer Workshop (20%): Submit a 5–7 page chapbook draft inspired by your archive, with a 1-page reflection explaining your approach and areas where you’d like feedback. Participate in a peer workshop to exchange drafts and provide constructive feedback.

Creative Revision Plan (10%): Submit a 2-page plan detailing how you will revise and expand your draft for the final chapbook. Reflect on workshop feedback, challenges, and your strategy for achieving thematic and stylistic coherence in your final work.

Final Chapbook Project (30%): Submit a 15–20 page chapbook inspired by your archival object, showcasing your creative engagement with archival poetics. The chapbook should reflect thoughtful experimentation, thematic unity, and a strong connection to your archival material. Include a 2-page reflective statement on your creative process.

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

All readings will be provided via Canvas. 

REQUIRED READING NOTES:

Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.

Department Undergraduate Notes:

IMPORTANT NOTE Re 300 and 400 level courses: 75% of spaces in 300 level English courses, and 100% of spaces in 400 level English courses, are reserved for declared English Major, Minor, Extended Minor, Joint Major, and Honours students only, until open enrollment begins.

For all On-Campus Courses, please note the following:
- To receive credit for the course, students must complete all requirements.
- Tutorials/Seminars WILL be held the first week of classes.
- When choosing your schedule, remember to check "Show lab/tutorial sections" to see all Lecture/Seminar/Tutorial times required.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

SFU’s Academic Integrity website http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the university community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the university. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the university. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION

Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the term are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.