Background
This project was initiated as a collaborative effort between the English Department and the Ursuline College Archives with support from the Women's Institute at Ursuline College. Directed by Sr. Mary Denis Maher, CSA, Ph.D., chair of the English department and professor of Creative Writing and Beth DiNatale Johnson, Ph.D., college archivist and Director of the Ursuline Studies Program, its goal was to enable UC students in a Creative Writing class to consider how the college writing experience influences later life and career through an examination of published creative writing by UC students over the last 50 years.

The specific goals of the project were to have students in the fall 2003 Creative Writing class :

	learn to use primary research materials from the UC archives;
	review student creative writing from the past 50 years to determine what kinds of creative writing were published in UC publications;
	analyze how the writing has changed or developed over time;
	discover how the writers of the past have used their writing experiences in their lives and careers;
	integrate the critique, interview with the writer, and the current experience into a creative writing project.

The sixteen students enrolled in the Creative Writing class (English 303) used student work published in the college newspaper, [The Quill, 1938-1976]; in the literary magazines [The Review, 1945-52]; and INSCAPE, [1965-present]. These peer-reviewed publications showcase the creative work of students and include, poetry, essays, short stories, and art.

Students had the option of working independently, in pairs, or in small groups. In preparation for the project, students learned evaluative skills for judging poetry, short stories, and essays. Utilizing the college archives to support teaching and enhance the curriculum resulted in an additional benefit: students learned about archival materials and the use of primary sources.

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