Date of Award
Spring 5-19-2025
Document Type
Undergraduate Honors Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts in English
Department
English
Advisor
Sara Hasselbach
Advisor
Jonathan Bowman
Abstract
In this essay, I aim to analyze the changing nature of the Creative Writing MFA through the lens of the American culture that shaped it. In the 1930s, creative writing in American universities began to take shape, citing itself as a way to reform the philological study of literature into a more active field, a way for the common person to learn through creativity and self-expression. However, as the number of MFA programs in the nation continued to rise, admittance became increasingly selective, with many universities accepting only between 5 and 10% of their applicants. This increase in exclusivity, coupled with the shifting values of the program, have caused many to question whether the MFA remains valuable to writers or stifles creative freedom. This essay will analyze the validity of such arguments through common features of MFA culture including admissions, genre tracks, workshop culture, and the individual writer’s psyche. Ultimately, it is insufficient to simply categorize MFA programs as “useful” or “useless”. Instead, these programs must be critically analyzed in order to drive systemic changes that better support the academic and emotional needs of their students.
Digital USD Citation
Derbish, Brenna E., "A Crisis of Craft: Creative Writing in the American University" (2025). Undergraduate Honors Theses. 137.
https://digital.sandiego.edu/honors_theses/137
Copyright
Copyright held by the author
Included in
English Language and Literature Commons, Fiction Commons, Nonfiction Commons, Poetry Commons
