Writing and Rhetoric Centre

Knowing how to compose a clear message, write a well-argued speech, and speak convincingly in public, as well as being able to imagine, listen and read with discernment, are essential skills that students will need outside the boundaries of Sciences Po.

That is why Sciences Po created the Writing and Rhetoric Centre, open to all its students. The centre is founded on two key cornerstones: a writer in residence chair and a workshop programme.

Writer in residence chair

Each semester, the Writing and Rhetoric Centre invites a writer in residence to give two creative writing courses, run master classes, participate in events organised by the centre and promote it outside Sciences Po.

• Autumn 2024-2025: Jakuta Alikavazovic (FR)
• Spring 2023-2024: Yannick Haenel (FR)
• Autumn 2023-2024: Karine Tuil (FR)
• Spring 2022-2023: Mohamed Mbougar Sarr (FR)
• Autumn 2022-2023: Nathacha Appanah (FR)
• Spring 2021-2022: Mathias Énard
• Autumn 2021-2022: Alice Zeniter (FR)
• Spring 2020-2021: Louis-Philippe Dalembert (FR)
• Autumn 2020-2021: Maylis de Kerangal
• Spring 2019-2020: Patrick Chamoiseau
• Autumn 2019-2020: Marie Darrieussecq
• Spring 2018-2019: Kamel Daoud

Objectives

The workshops offered by Sciences Po’s Writing and Rhetoric Centre help students develop and enrich their written and oral expression in order to improve their skills in public speaking.

With the aim of offering students better support in Sciences Po’s academic exercises – such as the Grand Oral -, preparing them for the workplace and introducing them to freestyle and creative writing, Sciences Po’s Writing and Rhetoric Centre focuses on three key areas:

• Argumentation, with the aim of providing students with the methodological tools they need to master speech-making in an academic and professional context.
• Public speaking, with the aim of teaching students to develop the quality of their relationship with their audience, to listen and convince, to master basic tools to manage their stress when speaking in public, to develop their vocal charisma and body language, and to improve their oral style.
• Creative writing, with the aim of creating a space for freedom and imagination in which students can play with language and share, if they so wish, their creations with their peers and with well-known writers and publishers.

The workshops employ active teaching methods to put students at the heart of Sciences Po’s learning approach and ensure they play an instrumental role, both in their own public speaking and in their studies at Sciences Po.

Programme

• Autumn semester (fr.)
• Spring semester (fr.)

Academic Requirements

These cross-disciplinary, optional workshops are open to students who wish to progress in a specific area of expression – written and/or oral.

A workshop of 12 hrs to 24 hrs is worth 2 optional ECTS credits.

Partnerships

The Writing and Rhetoric Centre and the Writer-in-Residence Chair are supported by the  Fondation Simone et Cino Del Duca (fr.) and by Céline Fribourg, Sophie Midy, Karen and Michel Reybier.