creative writing and newmedia

One definition of new media includes new modes of composing, and therefore new ways of reading. In the intro to creative writing course that I teach, my students took note of the way images change meaning. Studying Alison Bechdel's graphic memoir Fun Home, students began to see that meaning is changed, enhanced, made more sophisticated than language alone would convey (in the case of this novel). Images were not added to the text, and text was not added to image. They were composed to speak hand in hand.

Yes! Indeed!

So when we take another meaning of "new media", one that includes say the multimedia blog, webpage, filmic essay, students agree that composing takes on added complexity.

But, they seem resistant to composing in an academic setting. Creative writing pedagogy is understood as composing on the literal page. Alternatives are scary. It is intimidating enough to share thoughts out loud, in a workshop setting. Something about mediating their language, or composing multimedially is even more nerve racking for them. Their role as students/artists/composers is renegotiated in the space of a classroom, since these media are new. That does not happen often, and so they resist. Squirm even.

I have to wonder though, if we push through that resistance, if pedagogy does shift---which it will---perhaps the squirming will cease.