2026 Undergraduate Research Showcase

Workshop as Style: Building Space for Healthy Expressions of Criticism in a Creative Writing Classroom

Document Type

Student Presentation

Presentation Date

4-24-2026

Faculty Sponsor

Dr. Aiden VanderStouwe

Abstract

The linguistic and metalinguistic resources that individuals use to navigate conflict have long been a point of intense study for researchers within the social sciences, especially in sociology (Goffman, 1967), and linguistics (Brown and Levinson, 1987). However, while much research has focused on naturally occurring conflict, less research has explored spaces where conflict is structured and encouraged, and how the linguistic strategies individuals use to navigate conflict differ within those spaces. This linguistic ethnography examines a university-level creative writing class, where most class time is dedicated to student-led discussions providing feedback, including praise and critique, on student-produced work. This project then elucidates the unique aspects of the creative writing workshop as a 'style', using Dell Hymes' SPEAKING model (Hymes, 1974) to define the norms and characteristics of this style, while also applying participant interviews to identify areas of disagreement about the goals of workshop. These conflicting ideologies are mapped onto moments where the workshop style is challenged or disrupted during class. The results provide insight into how structured styles of critique mitigate the face-threatening aspects of criticism. However, these results also demonstrate that more serious conflict can arise when participants develop different understandings of the goals of a particular style.

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