Fall 2024: September 9 – December 27
Subject: WRIT (Written Arts)
Course Level: 100
Number of Credits: 4 U.S. / 8 ECTS
Max Enrollment: 22
Schedule: Tue Thurs 16:10 – 17:30 CET (Berlin) |10:10 – 11:30 EDT (New York)
Language of Instruction: English
Course Prerequisites: English B2 / Equivalent or higher

Writing Across Disciplines is a modular weekly writing workshop geared towards improving writing skills of the OSUN community and its associates. The workshop’s goals include introduction of the  Liberal Arts and Sciences methodologies to a wider audience and community building around its core values. Themes of the workshop will be centered around the psychology and psychophysiology of empathy, listening, understanding, embodied mind, and contemporary art. Methodologically, this course is grounded in the techniques developed by Bard’s Institute of Writing and Thinking, such as “writing in the zones,” “dialectical notebooks,” “loop writing,” “believing and doubting,” “text explosion / text rendering,” and others. We will combine these approaches with a variety of experimental and non-linear writing: text generators, chatbots, Twine, and beyond. GPT4, Midjourney, and Dall -e- will be integrated in the course on an experimental basis, with an aim to explore how these lab projects can stimulate and diversify thinking and writing styles. Collective writing will also be practiced in different forms. Thirty classes (fifteen in each semester) will be offered. Participants will have to apply by submitting a small writing portfolio; the course assessment will be based on their enhancement of the texts within the portfolio. The submissions may include academic and formal writing, such as motivation letters, research statements, artist statements, descriptions of artwork, academic papers, and so on, as well as fiction and poetry.

 Guidelines for the Statement of Purpose:

Craft a reflective statement of purpose explaining your interest in the Smolny Beyond Borders online course. The file should be saved with your name and course title as the filename and uploaded accordingly. Your statement’s clarity and substance will significantly influence our selection. Convey your motivations and aspirations for this course succinctly but thoroughly. Kindly write your statement in the course’s Language of Instruction.

Application Portal Instructions:
1) Use the Latin alphabet for all entries on the portal, including your name. If the Language of Instruction is Russian, you may use Cyrillic only within the Statement of Purpose file, and the title of the file should still be in English.
2) Refrain from using email addresses associated with Russian or Belarusian educational institutions.
3) While completing the “Required Information” section, ensure you fill in the “Province” field for your address.
4) Provide an address outside Russia or Belarus in both the “Required Information” and “Geographic Location Confirmation” sections of the “Online Course Application”. This ensures we can send your transcript.
5) You must press the “Sign” button twice during the application.
6) If you hold a bachelor’s degree, select “4th+” in the “Academic Year (online)” section.
7) Applicants either unaffiliated or affiliated with educational institutions in Russia and Belarus should list ‘Smolny Beyond Borders’ as their educational institution.
8) In the student ID section, enter ‘SBB’.
9) Consider drafting your motivation letter ahead of time. Save it as a separate file with this format: LastName_FirstName_CourseTitle for a smoother application process.