The Shifting Significance of Creative Writing in Composition Pedagogy

This chapter analyzes the reasons for the reevaluation of creative and literary writing in language learning and composition in the Global North. It first delineates the historical and intellectual conditions that led to the disregard of the creative in writing pedagogies since the rise of European modernity. It then identifies the emergence of movements such as post-structuralism, postmodernism, or postcolonialism, which demonstrate a shared resistance to the cognitivism, empiricism, and positivism valued by European modernity. These movements are leading to the literary being given a more significant place in writing pedagogy. These developments have emboldened the author to introduce creative writing into his own writing pedagogy. The chapter goes on to illustrate the ways in which the author incorporates creative writing into his teaching to facilitate the literacy development of multilingual students.