Course Level

beginner - advanced / 1st - 4th year

Course Languages

German and English
German language skills are an asset, but not necessary

Course Type

Soft skills course

Course Classification

This is not a Themis course. However, it can still be taken by Themis students under the general course-selection rule that one of the courses can be chosen from the general course offer outside the Themis course program.

Contact Hours

approximately 2 hours per week

Teaching Mode

online with asynchronous instruction via Blackboard
That means that class hours are not fixed. You will be asked to meet whenever you want with three or four other students from your writing group.

ECTS-credits

5 (if course has been attended regularly and assignments have been submitted on time)

Frequency

This course will be taught in irregular intervals. It will be available in the summer term 2024.

Time Schedule and Course Venue

Please see our electronic course catalogue

Course Content and Learning Objectives

The central principal of this course is that by studying the techniques of creative writing, we can vastly improve our legal writing. To that end, we’ll explore a variety of literary forms – from short story to poem, TV script to graphic novel. By learning to pay closer attention to words, sentences, and paragraphs, we will cultivate both greater facility and greater confidence with language.

To become better writers, we must also become better readers, which is why we’ll divide our time between reading and writing. Course sessions will consist of readings, short craft lectures, small group discussions, writing exercises and prompts, workshops, and revisions. You should expect to read, write, and share work – and to constructively give and receive feedback. By the end of the course, you will have developed a basic understanding of narrative craft and hopefully had some fun along the way. Our primary goal will be to make your writing more precise, legible, and engaging. We’ll also develop practices for accessing and unleashing creativity and using language to think outside the box.

The course will be taught mostly in English, but students may write in German or English. No previous creative writing experience is required. After a MANDATORY INTRODUCTORY WEBEX SESSION AT 4:00PM ON APRIL 19th (link will be sent beforehand), this course will be offered asynchronously. Note that you will be asked to coordinate with other students to complete the assigned tasks – in other words, you will not be able to perform all the assignments on your own. At the beginning of the semester, you will divide into Writing Groups of 3-5 people; you will meet on your own time to complete the group exercises (about 50% of coursework); the other 50% of coursework you can do on your own.

Please enroll in the course on Blackboard as soon as it opens up, usually a few days before the course begins.

Note: those who do not show up to the MANDATORY FIRST SESSION ON WEBEX will be deregistered from the course unless they write me at j.krumminga@fu-berlin.de by APRIL 17th with a valid reason for not appearing.

Restricted Enrollment

yes (that means that the number of participants is limited and that you might not get a place in this course)

Course Registration

via Campus Management

Please sign up for this course under the module "Schlüsselqualifikation A" or "Schlüsselqualifikation B".

You will find this course on Campus Management under its German name "Kreatives Schreiben".

If you want to take only one soft skills course, it makes no difference whether you book it under the module  "Schlüsselqualifikation A" or "Schlüsselqualifikation B". However, if you would like to take two soft skills courses in the same semester, please book one course under "Schlüsselqualifikation A" and the other under "Schlüsselqualifikation B".

registration period: 2 April 2024, 9 a.m. - 12 April 2024, 12.p.m. (noon)

In order to know if you have obtained a place in this course, please check out your course plan on Campus Management (tab "Stundenplan") from 13 April 2024.

As long as there are still seats available after the registration period has expired, they will be allocated according to the principle "first come, first served" if you sign up by 3 May 2024.

Please be aware that law students cannot take more than two soft skills courses (module "Schlüsselqualifikation") in the course of their entire study program.

De-Registration from this Course

via Campus Management

regular drop period: 2 April 2024, 9 a.m. - 3 May 2024, 12 p.m. (midnight) 

After the regular drop period you can only drop this course with a valid cause until 14 days before it ends. Please contact the International Office at the Law Department if you have to use this option.

Type of Exam

This is a pass / non-pass course. There will be no exam. This is not subject to negotiation - there are no exceptions possible!

For a passing grade (P for "pass" instead of 0 - 18 points), you will be required to attend the course regularly and to take part in the exercises.

Before you take this course, please ask your home university whether you will be allowed to take a pass / non-pass course where no specific grade will be given.