INFORMATION FOR
The performing and Literary Arts Track is a cross-disciplinary program for students interested in one or more aspects of creative accomplishment.
About the Track
Students may focus on any of the creative arts, such as creative writing (fiction, poetry, playwriting), film-making, music composition/performance, visual art, photography, acting - or any combination thereof such as visual art and writing, musical composition and writing, photography and poetry, etc. The outcome will be a completed artifact and a public performance, held on campus and open to the college community and the community-at-large.
As is true for the other tracks in the University Honors College, Performing and Literary Arts is not a major, but a distinctive set of courses that adds breadth to, and reinforces, a student's chosen major. With the approval of the Track Director, each student selects five courses to assist him/her in both the preparation of the creative project and the formal presentation thereof. Two of the five courses will be the PLA Thesis courses in the student's final year. During these two courses, the student will develop and complete his/her project.
Course sequence for Performing and Literary Arts Track
PLA 4010: Performing and Literary Arts Thesis I
This course wil support and monitor students' efforts to complete their Honors projects, which must be artistic works of substance. The projects vary in nature and involve original thought and creative composition in one or more of the following areas: writing, film, art, theater, and/or photography. The course will cover such topics as defining and outlining projects, determning research methods, addressing potential obstacles, completing first drafts of the written portion of the thesis, revising, and successfully bringing the project to a finished state. Students will meet weekly with the track director.
PLA 4020: Performing and Literary Arts Thesis II
The primary goal of this course is to enable students to complete and successfully present a significant creative honors project (begun in PLA 4010). Students are required to produce and submit chapters or thesis segments on schedule (typically once a week), and to submit a final honors project that should be suitable for publication or other public performance or display. Students will meet weekly with the track director. Students are required to present their work during Honors Research Week.
What projects have students completed in the past?
Students in the Performing and Literary Arts Track have produced theses with the following titles:
How do I enroll?
To enroll in the Performing and Literary Arts Track, contact the Director, Dr. Martha Witt, at (973) 720-3052 or at wittm@wpunj.edu. A completed track application must also be submitted to the Honors College.
About the Track Director:
Dr. Martha Witt, Professor of Creative Writing and English, is a novelist, essayist, translator, and short story writer. Her work has appeared in numerous national and international journals. Her novel, Broken as Things Are (Holt, 2004; Picador, 2005), and her several book translations from Italian have met with critical praise. With an MA from Johns Hopkins University’s Writing Seminars, an MFA from New York University, and an EdD from Teacher’s College, Columbia University, Professor Witt is interested in helping students discover and pursue their creative interests.
