Let's CHAT: Cultural Historical Activity Theory in the Creative Writing Classroom

摘要

Though significant in-roads have been made in terms of establishing what has become known as 'creative writing studies', there are still many areas left unexplored. One particular area that yields some interesting possibilities is Cultural Historical Activity Theory or CHAT. Often associated with and applied to human-computer interaction, CHAT has been described as a multifaceted clarifying tool, capable of being utilized in a variety of disciplines in order to understand and analyze human behavior. More specifically, CHAT allows researchers to gain insight into the nature of specific human activities, to better understand the behaviors, motivations, and processes that occur when individuals work to achieve a certain goal in various culturally or historically conditioned contexts. While scholars such as David Russell, Elizabeth Wardle, and Donna Kain have recognized the value of CHAT in specific areas of writing studies and curriculum development, their explorations have been limited, focusing almost exclusively on composition classrooms and writing programs, not creative writing environments. Therefore, this article demonstrates how CHAT can provide creative writing instructors, as well as students, with a reflective tool to examine, evaluate, and possibly re-envision their current teaching and writing practices.