Helen Benedict

Professor

Helen Benedict is a novelist and journalist specializing in social injustice, refugees, the effects of war on civilians and soldiers, and on violence against women. Her most recent writings, including the nonfiction book, "Map of Hope and Sorrow," have focused on Middle Eastern and African refugees trapped in camps in Greece, while her earlier work covered Iraqi refugees in the U.S., American women soldiers, and military sexual assault. In 2021, Benedict was awarded the 2021 PEN Jean Stein Grant for Literary Oral History (link is external) for her work on refugees, to be published in the novel, "The Good Deed," and published in the nonfiction book, "Map of Hope and Sorrow: Stories of Refugees Trapped in Greece." (Footnote Press, 2022).

Benedict is credited with breaking the story about the epidemic of sexual assault of military women serving in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Her work on refugees include articles published in 2019-2021 in The New York Times, The Nation, Slate, and Guernica; while her work on war is reflected in her novel, "Wolf Season," (2017, Bellevue), her previous novel “Sand Queen” (2011, Soho Press) and her non- fiction book, "The Lonely Soldier: The Private War of Women Serving in Iraq," (2009 and 2010, Beacon Press), which won her the Ida B. Wells Award for Bravery in Journalism in 2013. Benedict was also named one of the “21 Leaders for the 21st Century” by Women’s eNews. In 2015, she was a finalist for the U.K. Liberty Human Rights Arts Award for her play, “The Lonely Soldier Monologues.” Her work has also won the EMMA (Exceptional Merit in Media Award) from the National Women's Political Caucus, the Ken Book Award from the National Alliance on Mental Illness and the James Aronson Award for Social Justice Journalism.

Benedict's non-fiction book, “The Lonely Soldier,” led to a class-action suit against the Pentagon on behalf of women and men who were sexually assaulted in the military and also inspired the 2012 Oscar- nominated documentary about sexual assault in the military, “The Invisible War.” Her earlier book, “Virgin or Vamp: How the Press Covers Sex Crimes” is widely taught in journalism and law schools and has helped to change the way several newspapers cover sexual assault, while her book, “Recovery: How to Survive Sexual Assault” is used by rape crisis centers around the country. She has testified twice to Congress as an expert on sexual assault in the military.

Contact

Email:

[email protected]

Phone:

212-854-3622

Office:

Pulitzer Hall, Room 804

Twitter:

@helenbenedict

helenbenedict.com

Classes taught

Literary Journalism

This workshop combines writing and reporting with the study of excellent stylists, both nonfiction writers who have reached beyond conventional news style to render their writing as compelling and graceful as that of the best novelists (such as Katherine Boo, Ryszard Kapuscinski, John McPhee, James Baldwin, Joan Didion and George Orwell) and novelists whose style is inspiring (Leo Tolstoy, Virginia Woolf, Charles Dickens, among others). Students read and analyze these writers, then do a few short writing exercises and one long article attempting to emulate the best stylists in the field. The idea is to practice the longform style of journalism used in books and magazines such as Granta, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, The Atlantic Monthly, Harper's, The Believer and literary journals, online and off.

Reporting

In this core class, which begins in August and continues through the end of October, you'll explore the methods journalists use to gather and evaluate information. You'll learn how to think and behave as a journalist, how to conceive of journalistic story assignments, and how to report them quickly and accurately on deadline. You’ll learn how to gather original information first-hand and to combine it with contextual information that can be found online and elsewhere. You will be taught how to ensure that a story is true, both in the sense of getting the facts right and also by stating the implications fairly.

You’ll also get some basic training in digital technologies such as mobile photo, video and audio that are essential parts of a modern journalist’s toolkit, and you’ll begin using them in service of journalism, while thinking about ways to use social media to engage an audience for your work.

Multiple instructors teach sections of this class.

Writing Social Justice with Style

Writing with style means achieving a distinctive and elegant voice that makes one’s storytelling stand above the crowd. Style like this is made up of several elements: 1) A rich and surprising vocabulary. 2) A sense of rhythm and music in speech; i.e. knowing when to vary the length of sentences, when to open quotes and when to close them. Knowing how to begin, and just as important, when to end. 3) A sense of humor, and of drama. 4) A deep knowledge of your subject matter. 5) And last but not least, a sense of which stories to choose that suit your own style and interests. In this class, we will concentrate on each of these elements, both through assignments and reading. We will read and study in detail some of the best stylists in nonfiction. Student work will be critiqued in class.

Notable Work

"Map of Hope and Sorrow: Stories of Refugees Trapped in Greece," Benedict's new book co-authored with Eyad Awwadawnan

"Wolf Season," a novel

The Story of an Afghan Girl

The Hidden Struggle of LGBTQ Refugees

The Greek Island That Became an Open-Air Prison for Refugees

In Trouble, but Not Alone

On a Greek Island, Refugees’ Hopes Are Put on Hold

On Samos, Aesop’s Fabled Isle, a Mix of Greeks, Migrants and Tourists