Lisa Winters, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Sociology at Coastal Carolina University, has been awarded a grant from South Carolina Humanities to support her research project, titled “South Carolina Creative Sociology Writing Competition.” CCU’s Spadoni College of Education and Social Sciences and Social Justice Research Initiative also provided support for the new literary project, which will be created and hosted by CCU faculty members and open to all students enrolled in a South Carolina college or university during the Fall 2023 semester.

“Creative works have the potential to bring public attention to pressing issues in ways that traditional research does not,” said Winters. “Our hope is that this contest will increase awareness of important social, political, and economic issues – and ultimately inspire conversations about potential solutions – by framing creative narratives with sociological literature. We are excited to see what pressing issues students in our state choose to address through their creative works, and we are thankful that South Carolina Humanities, the Spadoni College of Education and Social Sciences, and the Social Justice Research Initiative have been so supportive of this project.”

Winters is collaborating on the project with Joshua Cross, Ph.D., a senior lecturer in CCU’s Department of English in the Thomas W. and Robin W. Edwards College of Humanities and Fine Arts.

Cross said he is also looking forward to the collaboration between departments: “This contest will provide an exciting opportunity for faculty from two colleges, the Spadoni and Edwards colleges, to collaborate in innovative ways that will synthesize our fields of expertise. It’s also a great opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students across South Carolina to showcase their complex understandings of social issues and skills as creative writers. I can’t wait to see what they generate and submit.”

The deadline for all creative writing entries is Sept. 25, 2023. The planning committee will confirm winners’ participation in the virtual reading event in late October. More information on the contest can be found here.