Pedagogy

All of the courses Faulkner Fox teaches at Duke combine the traditional workshop format (class discussion and critique of student work) with rigorous critical thinking and writing about published work by expert writers. Her philosophy for teaching creative writing is two-fold: students must write a lot and often, and at the same time, they must keenly sharpen their skills as close readers of quality literature.

Faulkner's students in 100-level classes produce more than 90 pages of creative and critical writing during the semester, and her 200/300-level students in “Plays That Change the World,” “Writing Across Borders," "Spiritual Autobiography,” and “Art of the Personal Essay" hand in 120-150+ pages of writing. Sometimes the creative writing assignment is an exercise on a particular craft issue (e.g. dialogue, point of view, imagery), and sometimes it is a rough or revised draft of an actual poem, short story, dramatic scene or essay. Revision is a key component in all of Faulkner's courses, and her students receive feedback from a number of sources: class workshop discussions, written critiques from peers, one-on-one conferences with peers outside of class, and visits to the Writer’s Studio. Additionally, they discuss every creative piece in individual conferences with Faulkner.  Multiple revisions of each piece are handed in, discussed, and reworked.

Faulkner has found that many Duke undergraduates have not read enough quality fiction, poetry, drama, or creative nonfiction to even know what they should be aiming toward in their own work. To that goal, her students read excellent published work, and Faulkner requires them to write short responses each week to what they have read. These responses are not traditional English papers. Rather, they are examples of what Faulkner calls “reading like writers.” She teaches her students to read aggressively and meticulously, looking for how a story, poem, play, or essay works. What specific techniques does the author use to provoke particular responses in his or her reader? Which ones are especially moving or powerful, and how can students learn to do the same thing in their own work?

All of Faulkner's students also attend outside readings by visiting authors either at Duke or in the Durham community--or online during the pandemic. In addition, students often do fieldwork and/or interviews in Durham (or online) to enrich their writing.  The goal of these assignments is to get students to think beyond their own personal experience and deepen their powers of observation.