Write a Rite!
Aaron Michael Ullrey
April 22, 2025 DOI: 10.4324/9781032685304-8 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Rite Theology |
| Key points | Argues that constructive imagination, practiced through creating magic rituals, improves with practice and fosters greater understanding of course content and more fluid writing engagement. |
Abstract
Constructive imagination is a pedagogical method where students, in a structured manner, generate mental experiences by imagining course contents—magic rituals in the course I describe here—and these mental experiences are then used in creative non-fiction writing. Treated in this chapter are two writing prompts accompanied by summaries of and quotes from student writing and feedback: “Write a Rite!,” where students create a magic ritual based on South Asian sources, and “Chaos Magick,” where students create a novel magic ritual invoking personally relevant or pop figures. Constructive imagination improves with practice, and a spirit of playful creativity fosters greater understanding of course contents and more fluid engagement in writing practices.