Looking In, Looking Out: Writing for the Public Eye

Service Learning for Endangered Species

This exhibit showcases the ways Duke's Thompson Writing Program faculty take student writing beyond the walls of their individual classrooms out into the public eye. Through exhibits of student work at the Nasher Museum and Perkins Library, public blogs, the Deliberations first year journal of writing, service learning projects in the Durham community, the annual "Critical Ink" research showcase, and the Reader Project, many first year Writing 20 students gain experience in how to write for a public audience.

For these student writers, the experience proves transformative. As they brainstorm, draft, revise, and polish their texts, they focus on a public audience, sometimes for the first time. The heightened awareness of audience also often dramatically increases the quality of the work these writers create. Making texts public proves intensely collaborative, as students work together to improve the quality of both their own work and that of their classmates.

In the short National Day on Writing exhibit video, members of the Duke community of writers - administrators, faculty, students, and staff - share why, what, how, and when they write. This exhibit also offers opportunities for viewers to participate in interactive writing activities and share their own writing in a public space.