Writing Workshops

Writing Fiction for Social Justice with Ruth Mukwana (January 2024)

$495

8 Sessions

Out of stock

Once a week Tuesdays, 6:00 pm EDT - 8:00 pm EDT January 16 to March 5, 2024

Online via Zoom

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Registration for this workshop is closed.

Can fiction change the world? Can fiction teach and raise awareness? Is it the role of fiction to change the world? On my podcast, SAHA (Stories and Humanitarian Action) I ask writers and humanitarian practitioners whether fiction can raise awareness on the causes and consequences of humanitarian crises and motivate prosocial action. My guests have told me that fiction creates empathy and compassion, connection, dismantles prejudice and stereotypes, gives us pleasure, has healing power, raises our consciousness as a society, makes us better people, tells us the truth, enables us to change perspectives, has the power to create transformation, and above all, fiction makes us curious, question, gives us the imaginative power that is needed to understand our opponents and engage with them. Research on the uses of fiction has come up with similar findings. Chinua Achebe once said: “Art is, and always was, at the service of man. Our ancestors created their myths and told their stories for a human purpose. Any good story, any good novel, should have a message, should have a purpose. I am among those writers who believe that our stories should serve a purpose.

As a fiction writer with an MFA from Bennington College and a humanitarian worker whose work and writing deals with social justice issues, I am passionate about writing for social justice and have a deep familiarity with both the research and questions of craft. I can therefore offer a wide perspective and comparative approach.

Course Outline

In this eight-week workshop, we’ll explore how to write fiction for social justice. The workshop is appropriate for all levels of writers and will follow the MFA/MA in Creative Writing Model. During the first four classes, we’ll review fiction stories and excerpts from novels that deal with social justice issues, discuss questions of craft and have dedicated time for writing with writing prompts. In the last four classes, we will have workshops to discuss your work shared advanced of class.

Led by

Ruth Mukwana

Ruth Mukwana

Ruth Mukwana is a fiction writer from Uganda. She is also a former senior United Nations official, a graduate of the Bennington Writing Seminars (MFA), a 2022 Bennington Alumni Fellow, and a 2020 The Center for Fiction/Susan Kamil Emerging Writer Fellow. Her short stories have appeared in several magazines including the Black Warriors Review (BWR) where her story, “Taboo,” was a runner-up in the BWR 2017 fiction contest. She lives with her daughter in New York and is the creator and host of Stories and Humanitarian Action (SAHA) podcast that investigates how storytelling can raise awareness and galvanize action to address the causes and consequences of humanitarian crises. Her works in progress are a collection of short stories and a novel that follows a middle-aged UN official as she confronts a past she wants to forget, and her quest for justice. The novel interrogates trauma, memory, resilience and forgiveness.

About this series

Writing Workshops

We strive to make our classes the most inviting and rewarding available, offering an intimate environment to study with award-winning, world-class writers. Each class is specially designed by the instructor, so whether you’re a fledgling writer or an MFA graduate polishing your novel, you’ll find a perfect fit here.

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