Writing Retreat

20-21st July 2018
Schloss Gollwitz, Brandenburg

The two-day retreat focused on writing in many of its direct and indirect manifestations. In this sense, it was not a classic writing retreat where all you do is write as much as possible. It did contain a total of 3.5 hours for actual writing practice, divided into two “sprints” and one longer session. Another major component concerned the moment when something has been put to paper, and is shared with others for maybe the first time – the practice of constructive and convivial feedbacking of (work-in-progress) texts. This happened in small groups to allow for in-depth discussion of each text. A seminar on “Ficto/critical Writing”, led by Dr Gerrit Haas, provided space for theoretical reflection of our academic writing practices. Experienced researchers granted a peek into how they write, enabling a reflection and discussion of writing modes and types. And since writing also means getting the message out, whether it be to a general public, or in the form of funding applications, there was a project fair in the evening where everyone was invited to present their current “side” project – meaning everything that is not strictly the individual PhD or postdoc project. With all this focus on writing, there was also time for talking and getting to know each other’s projects – both in the evening and in a slot designated as time for talking.