Who gets to tell which stories, and at what cost? This seminar engages the communication across difference curriculum through the art of storytelling within the field of creative writing. We will study writing as a relational act shaped by power, culture, and audience. Students will examine how narrative, in both fiction and nonfiction, can foster or shut down understanding across difference. We will explore questions of appropriation, authenticity, and representation. 

Through workshops and guided exercises, we will practice craft techniques such as imagery, dialogue, characterization, and plot while learning to tell stories from our own personal code of ethics. The course culminates in a completed personal essay or short story accompanied by a reflective statement of ethics that situates the work within the dialogue across difference framework. No prior creative writing experience required—only a willingness to write, play, and tell stories.