Creative Writing across the Curriculum

This chapter defines and unpacks creative writing across the curriculum (CWAC), an increasingly discussed topic in WAC scholarship, in order to argue that CWAC may guide a productive research agenda for STEM/humanities integration. This chapter attempts to bridge the divide theoretically by situating CWAC within WAC literature, in particular among foundational scholarship defining a WAC-approach continuum as comprising writing-to-learn (WTL) and writing-in-the-disciplines (WID) activities. Additionally, this chapter synthesizes existing scholarship on WTL and WID writing that already integrates creative writing and STEM, such as the WTL activity of imaginative dialogues and the WID activity of science fiction prototyping. The point of this synthesis is to argue that greater appreciation of humanities may result from clarifying and continuing STEM/humanities integration, in part through a CWAC research agenda. The chapter concludes by articulating research questions (quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods) suggested by gaps in existing scholarship—both to extend CWAC research and to guide CWAC pedagogy.