Do you have a writing project and were hoping to find motivation and an accountability structure to complete it?
The UBC Department of Central, Eastern, and Northern European Studies is hosting an in-person writing retreat August 14-18 (9th floor of Buchanan Tower). Join us in our departmental writing community where we hope to support one another during communal writing sessions. All writing projects are welcome, no matter how small or large or what genre they take (including academic writing, lesson planning, shopping list writing, etc.).
In a recap of what May’s writing retreat looked like, PhD student John O’Hara said, “We had about 15 attendees, which included grad students and faculty from departments like CENES, Asian Studies, and AMNE. For five days, we worked together in solo and group settings. We had a variety of work spaces like the library in 999a, the grad office in 999b, and the larger classroom in 997, which meant that people could work quietly, brainstorm as a group, or take breaks as they needed.”
Based on O’Hara’s recap, the CENES writing retreat is not only a designated place to work on goals, but is also a great social opportunity. “The group fostered a sense of community with potluck style communal lunches, and we supported accountability through morning goal-setting and evening check-ins each day. At the end of the week, we celebrated everyone’s hard work by meeting for a social outing. Overall, everyone was very glad for the opportunity to meet others outside their home department, focus on their writing, and experiment with group accountability. There have been requests for continued accountability groups and further retreats, and so we’ll be working this summer to plan another retreat for August.”
Join the CENES Writing Retreat:
August 14-18, 2023, 9am-5pm
Buchanan Tower 997/999
Conveners: Susanna Cassisa, Steve Commichau, Tim Frandy, Ervin Malakaj, and John O’Hara
Format & Resources:
Participants will commit to the entire program, which begins Monday, August 14 and ends Friday, August 18.
Each day will roughly be structured as follows:
- 9-9:30 arrival and group check in about writing goals for the day;
- 12-1 communal lunch (potluck style!)
- 4:30 group check in about writing goals/how things went
- 5pm end of day & maybe happy hour.
We cannot provide individual office space. But we will reserve both the classroom space as well as the small library on the 9th floor of Buchanan Tower. Each of those rooms feature writing spaces, outlets to charge your laptop, as well as storage space for some of the items you may require.
Target Audience & Sign Up:
We welcome any UBC community members who are connected to CENES, including faculty, staff, and students. If you are curious and not sure, reach out and we’ll be glad to chat.
If you would like to sign up for this program, email Ervin Malakaj (ervin.malakaj@ubc.ca). All we need is your name and email address!
