Designed for those eager to enrich their craft and embark on the journey of writing a book or long form work, this course is for prospective authors who are keen on writing non-fiction narrative on a variety of human rights topics: from climate justice to gender equality; from racial justice to social justice at large.
Under the guidance of Professor Andrew Leon Hanna, author of "25 Million Sparks: The Untold Story of Refugee Entrepreneurs" (Cambridge University Press), a Financial Times Best Book of the Year, participants will embark on a transformative journey – learning about the principles of narrative non-fiction writing, developing their own Capstone Project (~2,000-word piece) and receiving tailored personal feedback to nurture their ideas.
Drawing inspiration from live webinars with renowned authors and publishers - who will share their tactical wisdom, firsthand experiences and writing tips - participants will reinforce their writing skills and methods while also getting practical advice on navigating the whole path from the first spark to publication.
Over the span of five modules, our online programme will provide a collaborative environment that celebrates community, diversity and inclusivity. The course, open to participants from diverse backgrounds, nationalities and experiences, is tailored to resonate with all those who seek to harness the power of the written word for profound social change. We will actively encourage creative brainstorming and support sharing feedback among participants.
Course Outline
The course is organised in 5 modules:
Module 1 - Selecting a writing topic that makes you "come alive"
To kick off our time together, this session will be primarily focused on introspection. To write something powerful that can create change, it’s important for the author to first consider what sparks their deepest passions. In this session, we will help you consider what issues, concepts, communities, etc. most make you “come alive,” so that you can select a writing topic that will allow your voice to be heard clearly.
Module 2 - An Intro to Narrative Non-Fiction and Human-Centred Storytelling
With your potential writing topics in mind after the first session, this one will focus on better understanding narrative nonfiction and human-centred storytelling. We will discuss the basic tenets of narrative nonfiction, also called creative nonfiction, and read excerpts from some impactful works within the genre – including both traditional nonfiction books and memoirs. We will discuss what it looks like to be “human-centred” in the writing approach, honouring the voices of the people featured.
Module 3 - Navigating the Writing Process and Ethical Considerations - Part I
At this stage, with topics selected, we will focus on how to conduct the writing process. This part includes structuring the final work and planning and executing research/interviews as needed.
Module 4 - Navigating the Writing Process and Ethical Considerations - Part II
In this session, we will continue our discussion about navigating the writing process, getting a level deeper on particular tactics you can use as you write, and exploring key ethical issues to consider.
Module 5 - Getting Published
This session will cover the common paths to getting your work published. We will discuss possible avenues to getting books published, including the academic and “trade” paths, and ways to get other shorter pieces of nonfiction published as well.
Main Lecturer
The course is taught and coordinated by Prof. Andrew Leon Hanna, award-winning author, entrepreneur and lawyer.
Guided by Professor Andrew Leon Hanna and connected through live webinars with eminent writers and publishers, participants will reinforce their writing skills and methods while also getting practical advice on navigating the whole path from the first spark to publication.
Is there a selection procedure to participate in the course?
Participants are selected on the basis of their application. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
Accessibility
Is the course accessible to persons with disabilities?
We want all participants in our courses to enjoy a great learning experience and we strive to always improve accessibility. Each week of the course includes one or two video lectures with accompanying transcripts and reading materials. The texts are in PDF format, work at low bandwidths, are printable and can be zoomed to the desired size. Some readings may include pages from accessible websites. This makes all of them accessible to those who use assistive technology software such as screen readers. Likewise, weekly discussions and module quizzes can be completed through our platform which is accessible, for example, to people who use speech input, keyboard accessible controls or text to speech tools. For more details please visit EdX Website Accessibility Policy.
Structure and content
Is there a schedule for the course or is it self-directed?
The course is mostly asynchronous so you can study in your own time. However, to enhance peer learning and interactive participation, weekly sessions and webinars are proposed at set dates. Participants are required to attend at least 4 out of 5 webinars. For a more detailed course outline, check the tab at the top of the course page.
Certificate of participation
What do I need to do to get the certificate of participation?
At the end of the course, if you have actively participated in all required webinars and submitted your assignments and final Capstone Project, you will receive a certificate of participation.
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Kao Kalia Yang
Kao Kalia Yang is a Hmong American teacher, speaker, and writer. Her work crosses audiences and genres. She is the award-winning author of the memoirs The Latehomecomer, The Song Poet, Somewhere in the Unknown World, and Where Rivers Part.
Yang co-edited the groundbreaking book, What God is Honored Here?: Writings on Miscarriage and Infant Loss By and For Native Women and Women of Color. Yang is a librettist for the The Song Poet Opera (commissioned by the MN Opera). Her children’s books, A Map Into the World, The Most Beautiful Thing, The Shared Room, Yang Warriors, From the Tops of the Trees, and The Rock in My Throat center around Hmong children who live in our world, who dream and hurt and hope in it.
Yang’s work has been recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Chautauqua Prize, the PEN USA literary awards, the Dayton’s Literary Peace Prize, as Notable Books by the American Library Association, Kirkus Best Books of the Year, the Heartland Bookseller’s Award, and garnered four Minnesota Book Awards. Yang is McKnight, Soros, and Guggenheim fellow.
Albie Sachs
Albie Sachs is an activist, writer and former judge on the Constitutional Court of South Africa (1994 – 2009). He began practising as an advocate at the Cape Bar at the age of 21, defending people charged under the racial statutes and security laws of apartheid.
After two spells of being detained in solitary confinement without trial, first for five months, then for three months, he went into exile in England, where he completed a PhD at Sussex University. In 1988, he lost his right arm and his sight in one eye when a bomb was placed in his car by South African security agents in Maputo, Mozambique. After the bombing, he devoted himself to the preparations for a new democratic constitution for South Africa. When he returned home from exile, he served as a member of the Constitutional Committee and the National Executive of the African National Congress until the first democratic elections in 1994.
Sachs is a Board member of the Constitution Hill Trust, which promotes constitutionalism and the rule of law. He has travelled to many countries sharing South African experiences that might help heal divided societies. He is the author of several books, including The Jail Diary of Albie Sachs, Justice in South Africa, Sexism and the Law, Soft Vengeance of a Freedom Fighter and The Strange Alchemy of Life and Law. His latest books are We, the People: Insights of an activist judge (2016) and Oliver Tambo’s Dream (2017).
Jemma Neville
Jemma Neville is an award-winning writer and journalist. Her debut book, Constitution Street, finding hope in an age of anxiety (published by 404 Ink), told the interconnecting stories of neighbours on one street within the narrative structure of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
She has worked in a range of roles connecting the global and the local, including at arts charity Creative Lives and The Scottish Human Rights Commission. Her research was shortlisted for The Guardian International Development Journalism Award and she was the inaugural Community Fellow at The University of Edinburgh Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities.
Jemma is a Global Campus Alumna (EMA 2006). She lives in rural Scotland with her young family.
Casey Gerald
Casey Gerald is the author of There Will Be No Miracles Here, a memoir that stands the American Dream narrative on its head, while straddling the complex intersection of race, class, religion, and sexuality.
There Will Be No Miracles Here was named a Best Book of 2018 by NPR and the New York Times, among others. The book was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award, a longlist selection for the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction, and was described by novelist Marlon James as “the most urgently political, most deeply personal, and most engagingly spiritual statement of our time.”
Gerald’s essays include “The Black Art of Escape,” published in New York Magazine and selected by Longform as one of the best essays of 2019; and “Leon Bridges After Dark,” a Texas Monthly cover profile that won the 2022 National City and Regional Magazine Award. Gerald is currently writing a new book, The Great Refusal, which explores the power of individual and collective refusal to help us find our way to better lives and a better world.
Gerald’s work has been supported by the Marguerite Casey Foundation. He currently serves as chairman of Kickstarter, PBC; a Senior Fellow of Humanity in Action; a New America Foundation & Presidential Leadership Scholars Fellow; and a former Aspen Words Writer-in-Residence. He lives in Texas.
Joel Rickett
Joel Rickett is a publisher at Penguin Random House. His current role is Managing Director of Ebury, the PRH division which is the largest non-fiction publisher in the UK.
Ebury authors include Sir David Attenborough, Joshua Wong, Maria Ressa, Adam Grant, Brené Brown, Gabor Maté, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Edith Eger and Steven Bartlett. Prior to becoming a publisher, Joel was a journalist and editor, writing on books, arts and media for outlets including the Guardian and The Bookseller.
Professor Andrew Leon Hanna is an award-winning entrepreneur, lawyer, and author. His debut book, 25 Million Sparks: The Untold Story of Refugee Entrepreneurs (Cambridge University Press), was named a Financial Times Best Book of the Year and won the prestigious Bracken Bower Prize in London.
He is an adjunct professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where he teaches "Global Social Entrepreneurship." Professor Hanna is the founder of Mona and DreamxAmerica, social ventures that highlight and invest in refugee, immigrant, and women entrepreneurs around the world.
Professor Hanna graduated with honors from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Harvard Law School, and Duke University. He has been named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 List and his work has been featured in the BBC, PBS, Fast Company, Forbes, Financial Times, and more.
Jacqueline Moudeina
Right Livelihood laureate 2011
Jacqueline Moudeina is a lawyer who brought former Chadian dictator Hissène Habré to justice and ensured accountability for the crimes committed. She has also been engaged on a wide range of human rights issues concerning Chad today.
In 2011 she received the Right Livelihood Award “for her tireless efforts at great personal risk to win justice for the victims of the former dictatorship in Chad and to increase awareness and observance of human rights in Africa.”
With her commitment to justice as a prerequisite for reconciliation and her dedication to intervene from the grassroots level up to international jurisdiction, she has made a crucial contribution to promoting respect for human rights in Africa. Moudeina turned to the innovative use of international criminal law, eventually leading to Habré being convicted of crimes against humanity, war crimes and torture in 2016. Thus, she has proved to be a pioneer on the ground, never tiring of seeking new paths, and stands today as a role model for developing international legal practice from inside a country affected by grave violations of human rights.
In 2002, Moudeina received the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, followed, in 2013, by the Alison Des Forges Award for Extraordinary Activism, given by Human Rights Watch. She was also appointed Knight of the French Legion of Honor in 2011 and awarded the Franco-German Human Rights Prize in 2016. In 2021 she was named as one of the 100 most influential African women by Avance Media.
Her research compares public opinion and elections, political institutions and cultures, gender politics, and political communications in many countries worldwide. She is ranked the 2nd most cited political scientist worldwide, according to Google scholar. Major career honors include, amongst others, the Skytte prize, IPSA’s Karl Deutsch award, fellowship of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, APSA’s Charles Merriam award, APSA’s Warren E. Miller award, and APSA’s Samuel Eldervfeld lifetime achievement award, and the PSA’s Sir Isaiah Berlin award, as well as several book awards and honorary doctorates.
She has published around fifty books (many subsequently translated into dozens of languages). Her most recent publications include In Praise of Skepticism (2022), Cultural Backlash (2019, with Inglehart), Strengthening Electoral Integrity (2017), Why Elections Fail (2015), Why Electoral Integrity Matters (2014), Making Democratic Governance Work: The Impact of Regimes on Prosperity, Welfare and Peace (2012), Democratic Deficits: Critical Citizens Revisited (2011). For full details, see her biography.
Anja Mihr
MOOC Scientific Coordinator OSCE Academy in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
Anja Mihr (Ph.D.) is DAAD Associate Professor at the OSCE Academy in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. She is a professor of Human Rights, Governance, Public Policy and Transitional Justice.
She founded the Center on Governance through Human Rights at the Berlin Governance Platform in Berlin, Germany, and held professorships at the Willy-Brandt School of Public Policy, Erfurt University, Germany, and at the Netherlands Institute of Human Rights (SIM), University of Utrecht, Netherlands.
Anja has been Head of the Rule of Law department at The Hague Institute for Global Justice and carried out several Visiting Professorships for Human Rights at Peking University Law School in China and Columbia University in New York. Until 2008 she was the Program Director for EMA at EIUC, today Global Campus, and in 2001 received her Ph.D. in Political Sciences from the Free University in Berlin.
She has also been the principal investigator and research director of various research projects, such as the EU FP7 Human Rights project and the ORA project on the Impact of Transitional Justice on democratic institution-building. Contact: www.anjamihr.com
