Core Values

Personal and Social Transformation

Students look inwardly and outwardly, reflecting upon what their individual artistic practice illuminates about community and culture, and how their study and community work teaches them about their place in the world.

Transformation as an Individual and Communal Process

We encourage students to envison transformation as a process through which individuals envision transformation as a process through which individuals and communities can find the means to celebrate their truths, make positive changes in their lives, and honor their history and traditions.

Defining All the Defining Terms

At the core of the low residency MA in Transformative Language Arts is the premise that individuals engaged in Transformative Language Arts, whether participants or facilitator, name for themselves what they discover and cultivate through the language arts.

Honoring the Spoken, Sung, and Written Word

By valuing the spoken and sung word as much as the written word, students explore various ways to use the language arts for a wide range of populations.

Interdisciplinary Theory and Practice

Transformative Language Arts is inherently interdisciplinary, drawing from many fields, often including education and pedagogy, creative writing and literature, communications, psychology, and social action.

Progressive Education in Theory and Practice

Transformative Language Arts is based on progressive educational principles that support cooperation, collaboration, and experimentation, as well as transformative non-authoritarian and other community-centered models of facilitation and leadership.

Greater Perspective on One’s Place in the World

In order to work effectively with others, especially in a transformative context, low residency MA in Transformative Language Arts students examine how they see themselves and are seen in relation to family, community, culture, and ecosystem.