Past Courses

Crime Fiction in the Classroom with L. Anderson

Wislikofen, 10 to 13 November 2009

Lin Anderson, a Scottish crime-fiction writer, led a lively seminar from 11 to 13 November at Propstei in Wislikofen for a group of twenty-three Swiss high school teachers of English. The large attendance was in itself indicative of teachers’ interest in this form of writing, which seems to be growing in popularity.

Many of the sessions were plenary lectures about the craft of writing such fiction. Lin clearly set out the style of writing that distinguishes Scottish authors of this genre from others. Their works tend to be gritty, full of the facts of crime and not the charm of guests gathering at country estates and knocking off one of the company. This approach towards crime writing has become known as “Tartan Wars” for it draws out the Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde qualities latent in human nature. According to Lin, readers are attracted to crime series because of their interest in the development of the character of the primary protagonist—the detective or the character who does the work of solving the crime, as in her case a forensic scientist.

A few sessions were “hands on” work with the participants pairing off to construct characters and situations, outlines for eventual crime stories. The task was to set up contrasting figures and then to put them in action where their differences became a focus for the story. These drafts were then read out and some showed real potential. The workshop had become an occasion for creative writing.

Film from fiction was the third component of the seminar and we watched films that Lin had participated in making. Her crime series featuring Rhona MacLeod is to be filmed for TV so Lin read to us a“treatment” that is done of a story in preparation for casting it. She has also won awards for short films that have been aired on British TV.

The days and evenings were full and convivial, yet many felt that this kind of workshop does not really have a connection with classroom teaching. True, lessons were not analyzed or even planned, but some of the points could certainly be carried over: making students aware of the contrast in characters and how that feeds the plot, which is certainly not limited to crime writing. However, the criticism stands and was discussed. In the end the general feeling was that these SATE courses do not need to be only for classroom use, but can, and perhaps should primarily, be self-enriching, the advantages of which do not need to be spelled out. In the future course descriptions should not put an emphasis on the classroom if it is not absolutely applicable, and let it stand that the course is relevant to teachers who are literary enthusiasts.

Martha Ritchie
Course organizer

Pictures from this course

to top


Literary Research Today

Central Library, Zurich (26 August 2009)

This course was held at the Central Library in Zurich on 26 August 2009. Prof. Dr. Martin Heusser (University of Zurich) and Mr Haslinger (Zentralbibliothek Zürich) gave the attendants an interesting and worthwhile overview – with some hands-on practice – of what is possible in terms of research online.

Roland Lüthi

to top


Student-centred work on literary texts

27 March 2009/ 6 May 2009 (repetition)

Mario Rinvolucri is well-known for his humanising approach to teaching. 50 participants applied for his workshop, which shows that there is a strong need for new and challenging ways of addressing our students. We did exercises that opened our eyes for the importance that students learn to reach out, listen to each other, discover the positive aspects of a classmate’s statements and possibly even manage to link one argument with another, etc. Mario’s pedagogical concerns are obvious and to be considered more strongly when teaching literature. He wants the students to experience that literary works can have an educational effect on them.

to top


Teaching Language and Literature Through Drama

27/28 October 2008

Jonathan Neelands from Warwick University showed us the drama approach to teaching English literature. Learning by doing, which means identifying with characters, situations, issues, etc. by creating understanding for them. There are resources in us to be tapped in order to turn a topical issue, a narrative, etc. into a very living and personal experience. Emotional involvement and immersion will be the inspiring result. Jonathan proves to be an example of an empowering teacher who can make a disinterested student come to life by pushing him/her into activities that they are carried away with.

to top


Course in Advanced Language Practice

Berne (14–16 November 2007)

This course (organised by Dewi Williams and Richard Begbie) was attended by 35 teachers. Work included: an analysis of three short stories; lectures; a translation; group discussions; work on advanced grammar, collocation and vocabulary; various cultural activities. More than 80% of the participants were returning for the second or third time. The course will be held again in 2008.

Dewi Williams

to top


Fiction in the Classroom

Boswil, Switzerland (14–16 November 2007)
with Prof. Stevie Davies, FRSL, University of Wales (Swansea)

Stevie Davies, author of both fiction and non-fiction and Professor of Creative Writing at Swansea, started by showing how a novel is "mercurial": something which is never finished or definite. Various drafts by the author, adaptations for film, theatre or radio, the readers' response all add to the many lives of a novel.
We considered the process of composition, trying our hand at creative writing. (e.g. How does narrative advance in dialogue?)
We studied excerpts from several works closely, always with the author's (various) intentions in mind. (e.g. How does an author get agents and publishers to read on past the first page?)
In our evening sessions we dealt with adaptations (an ITV production and a radio-play) of Stevie Davies's novel Web of Belonging. (What happens to a novel when it is reduced to a 45-minute radio play?)
Prior to the course participants had been asked to read Stevie Davies's novel The Eyrie. This was constantly referred to in discussions as it gave everybody common ground to stand on. Of course it was most interesting and enlightening to have the author at hand. The course was attended by 14 people who enjoyed both the atmosphere set by the tutor and by course organizer Hans-Jürg Suter, as well as the fact that the topic was approached from such a variety of angles.

Roland Lüthi

Pictures from this course

to top


Unfamiliar Landscapes

Berne (24–26 September 2007)

This seminar was organised by Richard Begbie, and the guest tutor was Sinéad Morrissey, a young Irish poet who is currently Writer-in-Residence at Queen's University, Belfast. A dozen people attended the seminar which consisted of discussions about the role of metaphor and metonymy in poetry and an analysis of how certain poets deal with the aspect of landscape in their work. Participants analysed poems by Les Murray, Elizabeth Bishop and Sinéad Morrissey herself. The reaction to the seminar was very positive, and many people said how enlightening it was to spend some time on the close analysis of a poem.

Dewi Williams

to top


Stanza Poetry Festival

St Andrews, Scotland (14–18 March 2007)

This trip was organised by Richard Begbie, Simon Hicks and Dewi Williams and was attended by sixteen teachers. It was the 10th Stanza Poetry Festival and included:

  • readings by established and lesser known poets
  • workshops run by well-known figures, e.g. Padel. Khalvati, et al.
  • master-classes where young poets submit their poems for analysis
  • lectures on 'dead poets'
  • panel discussions
  • readings by foreign poets followed by English translations
  • a 100 Poets Gathering, where 100 poets read their poems throughout the day

The course was intensive but also stimulating and enjoyable.

Dewi Williams

to top


© sate, 2010 / last update: May 2nd, 2010

Optimized for Firefox, Safari and IE7