Dear Keith,

I now have an occasion to return to this topic. So, I was wondering whether you might be able to point me to some of your publicly available work on these issues, direct me to some references or otherwise share some information on your educational practices. Your work sounds fascinating but basic Googling does not yield much detail (or maybe I do not know how to look).

Thank you,

Stanislav

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Given this is an old thread, I am including the earlier messages (against the normal practices, so - sorry for that).

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Dear Stanislav

I think it is a most useful and productive area to explore.

I have used creative writing tasks for many years in Design teaching - also what I call aesthetic experiments - much of this falls into the general field of phenomenological accounts.

I take examples from the writings of Sottsass and John Cris Jones and John Cage and poets and philosophers - there is a vast amount of stuff on the edges.

cheers

keith russell

>>> Stanislav Roudavski <[log in to unmask]> 29/07/09 11:52 AM >>>
In a tangential relationship to the recent discussions and, perhaps in a
more direct one, to the new thread on " Literacy and Creativity", please
have a look at a paper idea (provisional abstract) below. I would be very
grateful for any opinions, suggestions, doubts and - especially - for the
relevant examples from existing practices or for the essential/suggestive
references.

Thank you very much for the interest,

Stanislav Roudavski


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Drama or Transparency? Extending the Range of Academic Writing

Should academic writing aspire to be transparent or evocative, clear or
rich, sure-footed or exploratory? Can techniques and attitudes of "creative
writing" that attempt to express or provoke thoughts, emotions or
experiences contribute to "academic writing" that strives to inform, explain
or argue? Is the very distinction between "academic" and "creative" writing
valid in the epistemological context that understands knowing as
distributed, polyphonic, negotiatory, dynamic, experiential and unstable?
Reflecting on these questions, this paper reviews several contrasting
examples of writing. The examples include minimalist and post-modernist
academic writing as well as architectural manifestos, advertising materials,
fiction and poems. The analysis of these texts questions criteria for rigor
and value in academic writing. Reevaluating existing expectations of
academic expression can be particularly productive in the fields of art,
design and architecture where epistemology and methods of research are under
active discussion. This paper speculates that existing rhetorical, narrative
and dramatic techniques of "non-academic" textual practice can usefully
extend academic reporting and proposes a tentative framework for innovative
sharing of research work. In addition, the paper suggests that art and
design education can benefit from an extra emphasis on writing taught and
learnt in an open-ended, exploratory and critical manner. For example an
existing device of a creative-writing workshop is compatible with design- or
art-studio teaching and can extend the pedagogical range of studio-based
education by helping to integrate textual rhetoric with other-media
expression.