Creative Writing and English Literature

This module is designed as an introduction for students exploring their creativity through developing their own fictional writing and studying exemplary works in the short form. It will enable students to improve their own creative and critical skills, and to learn how to express observations, experiences and perceptions in the form of prose fiction, whilst at the same time developing evaluative skills. It will focus on key tents of fictional writing through analysis of texts and by associated practical exercises. We will discuss such key topics as point of view, characterisation, dialogue, plot, setting and other aspects of the fiction writer’s craft in relation to students’ own work and the work of published authors. The key skills of researching, drafting, revising and editing will be stressed throughout.

In this module students will be introduced to the conventions, forms and techniques of scriptwriting. Students will develop their narrative skills, with particular focus on how film stories are told through scenes and images and transitions suggested to the director by the writer, i.e. by indications of mise-en-scene and montage. Students will develop their skills in the communication of film script narrative though ‘pitch presentations,’ and will practise the writing of outlines and of film script on the page according to the film industry standard. The module will concentrate on fiction film (as opposed to documentary) and will utilise seminars, workshops, and screenings.

This module is designed to enable students to work with non-fictional writings, and to learn how to express experiences and perceptions within some of the key strands of this written form (e.g. the memoir, the themed personal essay, the interview-based portrait of a person or research-based portrait of a place etc.) The module is also intended to develop students’ creative and critical skills in tandem, understanding how to read and interpret writing as well as how to produce it. As such, students will be introduced to a varied range of approaches to non-fictional styles. Most work will be done in workshop groups, graduating to the production of independent pieces of non-fiction.

This module is designed to enable students to express their own creativity through various poetic strategies, introducing students to a varied range of poetry. Although historical forms and traditions will also be a source of reference there is to be a particular focus on twentieth- and twenty-first century developments, whilst engaging directly with some of the key issues in the production of poetry – including its oral, aural and visual performative aspects. Practical work will be done in workshop groups, graduating to the production of independent poems in different forms.

This double module provides the foundation for the degree by establishing key skills for English Literature students. It focuses on four key areas:

• Developing a critical faculty through the study of various methodologies, for example: reading for political or ideological context; examining the terms ‘reader’, ‘author’ and ‘text’; exploring genre and hermeneutics; the controversy of the English ‘canon’.
• Advanced reading and handling of primary texts through the development of close-reading skills (e.g. quotation, critical commentary, etc.) which inform weekly blogs, effective and persuasive writing, etc.
• Building and consolidating research and academic skills (e.g. using libraries and journal databases; handling scholarly materials and referencing accurately to develop and substantiate good academic practice).
• Reflection on the UN Sustainability Development Goals.

A literary text does not have meaning in and of itself, its meaning is always a product of its relation to other texts, both literary and non-literary. This module will examine a range of ways that texts have been analysed through their relationship with other texts. It will begin with the well-established concepts of source, genre, and allusion, examining specific texts and tracing these relationships. It will then look at theoretical expansions of the concept of intertextuality and consider these in relation to an extended study of a pair of related literary texts. Finally, it will consider adaptation of literary texts such as a fairy tale into other media such as film, television and the visual arts, considering how identification of a text as an adaptation of a preceding one impacts upon the interpretation of both.

While Goethe introduced the phrase Weltliteratur in 1827 and called on us to hasten its approach, ‘World Literature’ remains, in David Damrosch’s view, an ‘elusive’ thing (‘Which literature? Whose world?’) Drawing on critical methodologies established in Studying English Literature, and complementing Literature in Context, this module will focus on how the study of ‘English’ as a discipline is affected by globalization and so-called ‘identity politics’. It will explore a range of texts both modern and foundational to illustrate a variety of concepts and critical issues, including: diaspora and migration, nationalism and multiculturalism, non-British English and reading in translation, and the effect of globalization on contemporary politics. It also invites students to consider the heterogeneity of the term ‘World Literature’ as both a hindrance and a benefit when tackling concepts like, for example, gender as a social and, increasingly, international construct.

This module is an introduction to studies which will be advanced by Prose Fiction 2B, in which students develop their own short fictional writing while studying exemplary works in the short form, which will be examined across a number of interrelated axes:

• Time: fostering an awareness of accomplishment in the modern English short story, from the mid-19th century, through modernism, postmodernism and postcolonialism, up to the best writing today
• Place: the breadth of places globally where work in English has been produced, and the distinctiveness of voices represented therein; as well as the diverse range of life-experience to which a writer can bring their imagination
• Form: e.g. narrative conventions of beginning, middle and end, and how those elements might be presented (cf. Godard) ‘not necessarily in that order.’ Similarly, experiments in point of view: e.g. narrators who are reliably unreliable or purposely inarticulate, and prose style from the ‘high style’ to the fragmented and discordant.

Building on Creative Non-Fiction, this module will show students why creative non-fiction is a major growth area in contemporary publishing, one that provides writers with lots of potential opportunities to work professionally. A range of exemplary texts will be studied, in familiar forms such as memoir, and additionally in forms such as biography and travel writing. Unconventional and innovative styles of narration will be considered, alongside more standard linear narratives. Students will delve deeper into research methods, how to use sources both private and public, as well as into the challenges and problems of such excavations. Students will then develop their own writing skills in creating and shaping relatable narratives from real-life origins, appreciating also the occasionally blurred lines between fictional and factual modes. Through practical workshops they will develop and refine a piece of creative non-fiction prior to eventual submission.

Critical Theory has unarguably transformed the discipline of English Literature, but its significance in the 21^st century has been increasingly subject to debate.  This module responds to proclamations of the ‘Death of Theory’ and the rush to declare us ‘post-Theory’ (post-gender, post-race, post-truth, etc.)  It examines the development of Critical Theory through the 20^th century, as well as foundational texts from philosophy, to confront the historical and intellectual impact of ‘theory’ on the discipline. The module will explore works by difficult thinkers (from Barthes to Žižek), as well as the philosophers who influenced them (Plato, Heidegger, etc.) in order to experience theory first-hand, learning to tackle the more difficult critical material in the discipline in order to both assess its usefulness and application for different texts, contexts and periods. The focus on Critical Theory and philosophy will also enable students to engage with several of the UN sustainable development goals, including: 4 (Quality Education), 5 (Gender Equality), 10 (Reduced Inequalities) and those focused on ecological sustainability.

This is a preparatory module for two mandatory third year modules—the ‘Dissertation’ and the ‘Vocational Study’ module—and is taught in two parts.

(1) The ‘Preparation for Research’ part tackles various aspects of research, such as: discriminating between different methodologies to frame an individual project; making research creative and exciting; developing and planning an undergraduate dissertation; undertaking a preparatory literature review; writing research proposals.

(2) The ‘professional writing’ part of the module focuses on the transferable skills attained throughout the degree and prepares for life as an English Literature graduate. It looks at: project and time management; interviewing and presentation; and writing an effective C.V. The module will also give students a sense of academia as a profession and what it means to be a life-long learner (with reference to the UN Sustainability Goals).

• Prose Fiction 2B - 15 credits
• Middle Grade and YA Fiction - 15 credits
• Composing Song Lyrics - 15 credits
• Playwriting 1 - 15 credits
• Poetry: Making it New - 15 credits
• Writing & the Environment - 15 credits
• Fairy Tales, Folklore & Mythology - 15 credits
• Gothic, Horror and Ghost Stories - 15 credits
• Professional Placement Module - 15 credits
• Copywriting - 15 credits
• Scriptwriting for Mainstream Television - 15 credits
• Media Writing - 15 credits
• Interactive & Experimental Fictions - 15 credits
• Volunteering for Creative and Professional Writing - 15 credits
• Chaucer and His World - 15 credits
• Children’s Literature and Young Adult Fiction - 15 credits
• Eighteenth-Century Romanticism - 15 credits
• Gothic and Romantic Fiction - 15 credits
• Individual Project - 15 credits
• Modernism - 15 credits
• Nineteenth-Century Romanticism - 15 credits
• Postmodernism - 15 credits
• Revolution and Restoration: Literature 1625-1688 - 15 credits
• Shakespeare and Early Modern Comedy - 15 credits
• Shakespeare and Early Modern Tragedy - 15 credits
• Scholarly Editing in Theory and Practice - 15 credits
• The Rise of the Novel: 1660-1770 - 15 credits
• Victorian Literatures - 15 credits

It consists of a piece of creative writing between 4-5000 words (with exceptions such as poetry, to be agreed by supervising tutor) with a supporting rationale of 4-5000 words that demonstrates a substantial engagement with a particular critical issue relevant to the creative piece. A supporting bibliography is also required.  Study is primarily student-directed, with supervision supplied by tutors teaching/researching in the subject area. Students will draw on the Preparation for Research and Professional Writing module in addition to a small number of general lectures to further provide guidance through the process, but this is primarily a self-directed, independent study. A viva voce exam might be requested of students in order to clarify assessment decisions.

• Advanced Fictional Writing - 15 credits
• Playwriting 2 - 15 credits
• Creative Vigilance: Fictions & metafictions - 15 credits
• Script to Screen - 15 credits
• Creative Non-fiction for Children - 15 credits
• Writing Comics & Graphic Novels - 15 credits
• Poetry: Writing for Publication - 15 credits
• Creative Teaching for Creative Writing - 15 credits
• Creative Visions - 15 credits
• Adapting Crime Fictions - 15 credits
• Business Storytelling - 15 credits
• Writing Historical Fiction - 15 credits
• Science Fictions & Fantasies - 15 credits
• Writing for Games - 15 credits
• Writing for Radio - 15 credits
• Creativity for Wellbeing: learning to Lead Groups - 15 credits
• Teaching and Communicating English - 15 credits
• Publishing Practice - 15 credits
• The Critical Path to Print Publication - 15 credits
• Digital Authorship - 15 credits
• Write Yourself Well: Creative Writing as Therapy - 15 credits
• English, Etc. - 15 credits
• Consumer Culture - 15 credits
• Globalization and Contemporary Fiction - 15 credits
• Jewish Identities - 15 credits
• Keywords in Literary Studies - 15 credits
• Literary Adaptations - 15 credits
• Literature and Psychoanalysis - 15 credits
• Literature and Social Justice - 15 credits
• Other Worlds and Fantasy Fiction - 15 credits
• Romantic Celebrity Culture - 15 credits
• Sexuality and Morality - 15 credits
• The Shakespeare Phenomenon - 15 credits
• The City in American Literature 1868-1930 - 15 credits
• Tales from the Inside: Global Prison Literatures - 15 credits
• The Victorian Art of Murder - 15 credits
• Utopian and Dystopian Fiction - 15 credits
• Women’s Writing in the Long Eighteenth Century - 15 credits
• Value Studies - 15 credits