Performing and Literary Arts

2014 Performing and Literary Arts Students

The performing and Literary Arts Track is a cross-disciplinary program for students interested in one or more aspects of creative accomplishment.

About the Track 

Students may focus on any of the creative arts, such as creative writing (fiction, poetry, playwriting), film-making, music composition/performance, visual art, photography, acting - or any combination thereof such as visual art and writing, musical composition and writing, photography and poetry, etc. The outcome will be a completed artifact and a public performance, held on campus and open to the college community and the community-at-large.

As is true for the other tracks in the University Honors College, Performing and Literary Arts is not a major, but a distinctive set of courses that adds breadth to, and reinforces, a student's chosen major. With the approval of the Track Director, each student selects five courses to assist him/her in both the preparation of the creative project and the formal presentation thereof. Two of the five courses will be the PLA Thesis courses in the student's final year. During these two courses, the student will develop and complete his/her project.

Course sequence for Performing and Literary Arts Track

Fall Semester Spring Semester
1st year ENG 1100 (with Dr. Witt; recommended) ENG 1500 (with Dr. Witt; recommended if you had a different instructor for ENG 1100)
2nd year (Sophomore) None Complete Track Application
3rd year (Junior) One or two directed elective track courses One or two directed elective track courses
4th year (Senior) PLA 4010 (Thesis I) PLA 4020 (Thesis II)

PLA 4010: Performing and Literary Arts Thesis I

This course wil support and monitor students' efforts to complete their Honors projects, which must be artistic works of substance. The projects vary in nature and involve original thought and creative composition in one or more of the following areas: writing, film, art, theater, and/or photography. The course will cover such topics as defining and outlining projects, determning research methods, addressing potential obstacles, completing first drafts of the written portion of the thesis, revising, and successfully bringing the project to a finished state. Students will meet weekly with the track director.

PLA 4020: Performing and Literary Arts Thesis II

The primary goal of this course is to enable students to complete and successfully present a significant creative honors project (begun in PLA 4010). Students are required to produce and submit chapters or thesis segments on schedule (typically once a week), and to submit a final honors project that should be suitable for publication or other public performance or display. Students will meet weekly with the track director. Students are required to present their work during Honors Research Week.

What projects have students completed in the past?

Students in the Performing and Literary Arts Track have produced theses with the following titles:

    • Jonah Arnault, Catching the Casting Bug: A Documentary on the Rise of Casual Broadcasting, 2021
    • Ruby Constantino, The Witching Hour: A Collection of Gothic Horror Stories, 2021
    • Paul Cuffari, An Introduction to Modern Music Production, 2021
    • Matthew De Martini, Everyone But You, 2021
    • Timothy Derkas, The Search (a Short Film), 2021
    • Tiernan Doyle, Viequense: A Firsthand Account of Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria, 2021
    • Lauryn Lupino, Grief, Grace, and Chocolate Cake; A One-Year Memoir, 2021
    • Anthony Salimbene, Images of New Jersey, 2021
    • Christian Sasso, 9, 2021
    • Kathleen Sillen, A Collection of Moments, 2021 (co-authored)
    • Cassandra Soto, A Collection of Moments, 2021 (co-authored)
    • Kyle Villareal, Limitations in Music: Creating with the Bare Essentials, 2021
    • Julian Worden, Poems of Sorts, 2021
    • Heidi Ahmed, Framework, A Collection of Poems, 2020
    • Joela Diaz, Without Hope, What is Left?: A Discussion About Suicide, 2020
    • Kristen Ditucci, A Collection of Poems, 2020
    • Taylor Douglas, Silent Spring, 2020
    • Tyler Greengard, "Quartet," 2020
    • Zachary Guida, The Two Sides of Theater: Comedy and Tragedy, 2020
    • Katherine Martinez, Life Lessons from Around the World, 2020
    • Joseph McCaffrey, Conversations in Jazz, 2020
    • Jesse Norman, Could the Brooklyn Nets Rebuild Change the NBA?, 2020
    • James Sharkey, Collection of Short Stories, 2020
    • Joseph Zazzara, Walk Among Us, 2020
    • Abbey Zollo, All the Lonely People, 2020
    • Faith Boonstra, The Blue Side of the Pink Ribbon, 2019
    • Briseyda Bravo, You do not Choose Family, but you Choose your Path: A Fiction Novel Based on a Real-Life Story, 2019
    • Sophia Candrilli, Into Ruin, 2019
    • Mackenzie Donnelly, That Which Blooms Amidst the Caldera: A Collection of Poetry and Prose, 2019
    • Jonathan Pinon, Desiderata, 2019
    • Richard Potenza, Bag Head, 2019
    • Christina Sakelakos, Self-Reflection, 2019
    • Erika Schiller, City of Burlington Documentary, 2019
    • Michael Topping, Four Pieces of Music for Four Poems, 2019
    • Christopher Von Essen, A Collection of Comedic Sketches, 2019

How do I enroll? 

To enroll in the Performing and Literary Arts Track, contact the Director, Dr. Martha Witt, at (973) 720-3052 or at wittm@wpunj.edu. A completed track application must also be submitted to the Honors College.

About the Track Director:

Dr. Martha Witt, Professor of Creative Writing and English, is a novelist, essayist, translator, and short story writer. Her work has appeared in numerous national and international journals. Her novel, Broken as Things Are (Holt, 2004; Picador, 2005), and her several book translations from Italian have met with critical praise. With an MA from Johns Hopkins University’s Writing Seminars, an MFA from New York University, and an EdD from Teacher’s College, Columbia University, Professor Witt is interested in helping students discover and pursue their creative interests.