The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Writing in Service of Public Discourse. This prestigious grant is funding visiting assistant professors who also write for the mainstream press, as well as a robust set of innovative courses with public discourse writing at their center.
A Culture of Care >> Read Smith’s plans for the fall 2021 semester.
Writing & Public Discourse at Smith
Writing about what matters. Having the courage and conviction to speak up and speak out. These are hallmarks of what it means to learn and study at Smith College, and to live a life as an engaged global citizen who is ready to address society’s challenges. Thanks to a dedicated faculty and staff, and supported by prestigious foundations, Smith is transforming how we teach students to write across courses, disciplines, programs and events, with public discourse at the center. Students don’t just practice writing in the classroom, they get a chance to put their ideas into action and make a difference in the world.
Taking Initiative
Thanks to nearly $1.6 million in funding, since 2019 Smith has embarked on writing and public discourse initiatives that will continue through 2022 and beyond. These initiatives involve every level of the college, from revising and developing individual courses, to bringing on new faculty members, training faculty in a Writing Enriched Curriculum, and infusing the college at an institutional level with a philosophy that puts writing and public discourse at the forefront.
Calderwood Seminars in Public Writing. Modeled after courses started by David Lindauer at Wellesley College, these capstone seminars translate disciplinary knowledge to broad audiences, letting students fully explore how to use their voices to effect change.
Writing Enriched Curriculum Supported by the Davis Educational Foundation. This grant supports departments in rethinking their writing curricula to make them more public-facing, a process grounded in the model developed at the University of Minnesota.
LEARN MORE ABOUT SMITH COLLEGE’S WRITING ENRICHED CURRICULUM
Featured Projects
Real-world writing. Smith students express insightful opinions based on compelling evidence and strong argument. They regularly publish articles in mainstream media outlets and scholarly journals, either independently or with faculty. The Jacobson Center provides editorial guidance.
Ideas That Resonate
Anna Dragunas ’21, “Arkansas’ SAFE Act—keeping youth unsafe,” Daily Hampshire Gazette, May 17, 2021
Isabel Fields ’21, “Why Women Need the Paycheck Fairness Act,” Ms. Magazine, April 16, 2021
Katie Fleisher ’21, “Time to Push ROE Act Over the Finish Line,” Daily Hampshire Gazette, October 27, 2020
Ari Jewell ’22, “Lil Nas X, Gender Nonconformity and the Fight Against Transphobic Legislation,” Ms. Magazine, April 15, 2021
Lucy Metz ’22,“Massachusetts Is About to Set a Tough New Climate Goal—We Need Ambitious Policy In Place Fast to Get There,” medium.com, August 3, 2020
Sophie Willard Van Sistine ’22J, “Figuring Out (Im)mortality,” Oakland Arts Review, September 9, 2020
Communicating the Science of the Pandemic
More than 70 students in a fall 2020 biology course created an array of projects designed to explain critical scientific information about the coronavirus to mainstream audiences.
Read the Gate Article
Ambitious Projects. Positive Impacts.
Year on Democracies
In 2021–22, Smith College is hosting a collegewide initiative under the organizing theme “Year on Democracies.”
View moreSmith Writes
An interdisciplinary, nonfiction journal features the work of students in Writing Intensive courses.
View moreThe Amplify Program
Sponsored by the Wurtele Center for Leadership, Smith students can give a public voice to their perspectives through writing, art and speaking.
View moreGlobal Impressions
A journal by Smith students, Global Impressions provides a public forum for students and alumnae to share their experiences abroad and at home.
View moreThe Narratives Project
Students reflect on their identity, goals, dreams and opportunities, discovering what it means to fully immerse themselves in leading their best lives.
View moreCelebrating Collaborations
Students present their scholarly work as part of oral sessions, panels, poster sessions, exhibits and performances.
View moreWordsmith: Smith Alumnae Authors
Smith alumnae have made their mark in literature.
View moreVoices & Visions Journal
The Voices & Visions literary journal publishes the visual and written works of phenomenal women.
View more
Reflections
“I think my opposition to a future career in public writing stemmed mainly from an insecurity that I could not create something worth reading. Journalism and all of its cousins have seemed unattainable to me, like there was a standard for it that I would never understand, let alone reach. In this way, this seminar has had such a profound effect on how I view myself as a scholar and the avenues open to me as an English major, as I now no longer shrink away from job postings with the word ‘journalism’ or ‘writing’ in them.”
—Student from a Calderwood Seminar
—Student from a Calderwood Seminar
“Students’ writing improved dramatically over the semester. Their growing ability to convey relatively complex sociological content in clear prose impressed me. Their ability to edit and workshop each other’s writing also improved. At the beginning of the semester, they were more tentative and more focused on copy editing; by the end, they were engaging with questions about organization, rhetoric and the underlying ideas that writers sought to convey. The sense of community and mutual respect in the class was palpable.”
—Nancy Whittier, Professor of Sociology
—Nancy Whittier, Professor of Sociology
“I feel as if this course filled a gap in my skill set and education that I didn’t quite realize I had: how to articulate (for myself, but then for a larger audience) exactly why my thoughts and ideas are important. While my entire education has encouraged me to think deeply, and to feel confident about my thoughts, this was one of the first times in which I felt able to connect certain patterns of thinking and analysis to mainstream media and knowledge, and then, to a piece of writing accessible to a larger audience.”
—Student from a Calderwood Seminar
—Student from a Calderwood Seminar
Directors
Julio Alves
Director of the Jacobson Center
Richard Millington
Helen and Laura Shedd Professor of English Language & Literature
Hélène Visentin
Associate Dean of the Faculty; Professor of French Studies
Mellon Visiting Assistant Professors of Public Discourse in the Disciplines
Evangeline Heiliger, American Studies
David Howlett, Religion
Jordan Taylor, History
Daniel Vahaba, Biological Sciences
Melissa Yates, Philosophy
Writing & Public Discourse Committee Members
Julio Alves and Richard Millington, co-chairs
Sara Eddy, Assistant Director of the Jacobson Center
Suzanne Gottschang, Professor of Anthropology and of East Asian Studies
Travis Grandy, Interim Team Lead, Learning and Design
Alice Hearst, Professor of Government and Director of First-Year Seminars
Alexandra Keller, Professor of Film and Media Studies and Director of the Kahn Institute
James Lowenthal, Mary Elizabeth Moses Professor of Astronomy
Jane Stangl, Dean of the First-Year Class
Nancy Whittier, Sophia Smith Professor and Professor of Sociology
Calderwood Seminar Instructors
Carrie Baker, Professor of the Study of Women & Gender
Nalini Bhushan, Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities and Professor of Philosophy
Anna Botta, Professor of Italian Studies and of World Literatures
Sergey Glebov, Associate Professor of History
Barbara Kellum, Professor of Art
Dana Leibsohn, Alice Pratt Brown Professor of Art
Richard Millington, Helen and Laura Shedd Professor of English Language & Literature
Tom Roberts, Assistant Professor of Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies
Julianna Tymoczko, Professor of Mathematics & Statistics
Camille Washington-Ottombre, Associate Professor of Environmental Science & Policy
Nancy Whittier, Sophia Smith Professor and Professor of Sociology
MJ Wraga, Professor of Psychology
Melissa Yates, Mellon Visiting Assistant Professor of Public Discourse in the Disciplines: Philosophy
Contact
Writing & Public Discourse Initiatives
Email:
jalves@smith.edu
To share ideas or questions about Smith’s Writing & Public Discourse Initiatives, please contact Julio Alves at the Jacobson Center for Writing, Teaching & Learning.