Course structure
Year 1 core modules
Concepts of Culture
What does it mean to say some kinds of culture are better than others? Why are some books discussed as if they are works of art while others are not? And how is it that the culture that surrounds us seems to offer us a place in the world? You are introduced to a range of writers, critics, and theorists who have explored these questions and who have arrived at some surprising conclusions. Some say that culture is used to control what we think and limit what we can do. Others suggest that culture can be the means to freedom and pleasure. You discuss the relation between knowledge and ethics – the idea that your place in the world affects how you experience it and how you respond to it – while at the same time developing confidence in your academic skills.
Creative Writing Lab: Writing and Audience
Why do you write? Who are your readers? What do you need to consider in terms of voice, register, form when writing to and for different audiences for different reasons? You look at a range of different professional writing including online articles, reviews, ‘how to’ guides, interpretative texts used in exhibitions and live text using AR technologies. You use the workshop space to experiment with different forms and approaches to professional writing, working towards developing and editing a final portfolio for submission.
Creative Writing Lab: Writing for Social Change
Contemporary writing is fraught with issues around power and voice. Who gets published or read? Whose voices are seldom heard? You investigate key writers, both historical and contemporary, who have played or continue to play a role in social change. You research the representation of writers and writing online and you write your own manifesto, together with an accompanying reflective piece.
Critical Practice
You are introduced to the practice of textual analysis. You learn the tools and strategies you need to explore the way that literary and visual texts establish meanings, and how they are structured to achieve particular effects. You develop your skills in reading as a writer and your creative-critical practice. You cover a variety of strategies for detailed analysis of the ways literary and visual texts establish meanings and how they are structured to achieve particular effects. You consider literary and symbolic form from its largest, generic components to its smallest, linguistic ones. You learn how to evaluate formal features of texts. You consider how critical judgements are made concerning specific texts – whether they are deemed to be good, bad, better or worse and on what grounds. You consider concepts such as beauty, unity, consistency, persuasiveness, coherence, engagement, ambiguity, complexity and emotive or affective impact. You also consider how textual forms interact with one another and how the appreciation of textual forms changes historically. Finally, you develop study skills in the practice of academic writing and research.
Practising Poetry
Key techniques of writing poetry, establishing and developing skills in writing, editing and providing feedback to peers are introduced in this module. You engaged in a workshop focused on your writing, providing feedback and editing; and a seminar to focus on an aspect of poetry writing which will include reading, analysis, and writing exercises. Themes and topics include emotional journeys and movement, rhythm, voice, creating character, the synthesis of observation, imagination, and memory, form, and creating a sense of place.
The poems brought to workshops are likely to form the basis of your assessment portfolios. You will be encouraged to write steadily throughout the semester, and will also be expected to complete some reading before the seminars; these will be poems related to the theme of the seminar, or additional critical reading to introduce or supplement the theme or topic.
Romantics to Realism
You are introduced to two major literary movements: romanticism and realism. You explore the dynamic relationship between texts and their historical and cultural contexts and important critical issues and terms. You explore key examples of romantic poetry and fiction, before moving on to consider the rise to prominence of realist fiction and autobiography as major literary genres of the Victorian period.
Year 2 core modules
Creative Writing Lab: Experimental Writing
What do we mean by experimental writing? Could it be argued that all writing is experimental? Is experimentation a key part of creativity? How can we make our writing more experimental? You read and discuss a range of different experimental writing. You explore and experiment in your own writing, in response to a series of prompts and exercises. You also discuss the theory of creativity.
Creative Writing Lab: Writing and Wellbeing
Writing and wellbeing is a new and exciting area of creative writing, but what does it mean? What is the relationship between writing and wellbeing? And how can writing be used to improve wellbeing? You discuss the theory behind writing and wellbeing, and consider both qualitative and quantitative research. You plan your own project in your chosen context. You also reflect on your own experience of writing for wellbeing, by following a sequence of writing prompts and exercises, and keeping a writing journal. This module is useful if you want to work in the area of writing and wellbeing, for example with community groups or within health and social care.
Focus on Fiction
You are introduced to the basics of writing fiction including point of view, characterisation, dialogue, voice, narrative choices and story structure. You will read and discuss some examples, explore the techniques employed, and experiment with a series of exercises designed to lead you through the stages of constructing a complete story or novel chapter.
Speculative Writing: Histories, Anxieties, and Fantasies
You examine examples of ‘speculative’ writing from the 17th century to the present day. You also consider how literature responded to (and sometimes anticipated) the possibilities brought about by new technologies and geographical discovery, articulated fears about such issues as revolution, capitalism or genetic ‘fitness’ and imagined visionary possibilities for the future of society. You will develop an understanding of the historical contexts which prompted such ‘speculative’ treatment in literature and creative writing and explore developments in style and genre.
and two optional modules
Employability and Work-Related Learning
You develop your graduate skills in preparation for employment in a professional context. You have the opportunity to gain academic credit based on your participation in work experience, a short period of professional activity or work-related learning relevant to the discipline or area of professional interest. You develop an understanding of graduate employment pathways, opportunities, reflective practice and experiential learning. The core focus of the module will be helping you prepare for a graduate career, developing an understanding of professional working contexts and enabling you to identify and evidence your own graduate skills.
.Make it New: The Age of Modernism
You explore one of the most innovative artistic movements of the twentieth century – modernism. You examine the diverse ways in which writers of the early 20th century sought to ‘make it new’ (Ezra Pound, 1934) by experimenting with new modes of literary expression. You explore the relationship between literature and other forms of cultural expression (such as visual art, music, and film) and examine the dynamic relationship between modernism and modernity. You explore the ways artists and writers responded to historical and cultural change.
Representation and Cultural Identity: Student Conference
This module explores the proposition that our sense of who we are and how we perceive others is tied to the way identities are constructed through forms of cultural representation. And many people have argued that the way our perception is constructed tends to privilege some groups over others. You investigate these ideas in relation to a contemporary text of your choosing and present your research as a paper delivered at a student conference.
Words Matter: A Celebration of English and Creative Writing
Why does studying literature and creative writing matter? How does English studies serve the wider public good and how might English and/or creative writing graduates contribute to society? Why has poetry, for centuries so often seemed in need of defence? Is literature useless? How do we measure the value of the humanities? You examine key arguments in favour of English studies and creative writing as humanities disciplines and reflect on your career aims and aspirations. You consider the many career opportunities available to English and creative writing graduates – as educators, publishers, facilitators, communicators, and creatives – and work on a group project designed to promote books and/or reading and/or creative writing. You write an essay in defence/celebration of (or a manifesto for) English/creative writing/the humanities and produce an individual reflective report on the group project, linking the project to your personal development planning.
Final-year core modules
Creative Writing Lab: Group Facilitation
What happens in a writing group? What does it mean to facilitate a writing group? What are the skills needed by the leader of a group? What happens in a group? What is group theory? You analyse what happens in a writing group from the point of view of a group member. You also have the chance to lead a group session of your own, and reflect on your experience. You explore different kinds of groups. You develop your confidence and skills to plan and deliver effective writing workshops and courses in a range of settings including schools, community groups, health and social care.
Creative Writing Project
You undertake a major piece of creative writing of up to 10,000 words. It represents the culmination of your creative writing studies as an undergraduate, and is based around a ‘statement of intent’ as part of a negotiated learning contract with your supervisor. You explore a specific type of writing in depth, and reflect on the process involved in its production. You address topics and issues faced by independent writers in order to develop your own transferable skills in this area. You are supported by an appropriate supervisor, with access to relevant materials and a VLE discussion board with peer writers.
Doing Research
You gain the skills and knowledge required to successfully devise, develop and execute an extended independent research project in an area of critical and/or creative practice. You develop advanced research skills in an area of English studies and creative writing which will include reflective practice, critical research, creative practice-based research, self-management and research project management. The skills gained in this module will serve as a foundation for your English studies dissertation or creative writing project.
and two optional modules
Deception and Detection from the 19th Century to the Present
While tales of crime and its concealment, exposure and punishment can be traced back to the ancient world, the peculiarly modern genre of the detective story is a widely acknowledged product of the nineteenth century. You examine stories of deception and detection from the Victorian age until the present day and consider the legacy and influence of classic detective fiction (and related genres such as the thriller) as manifested in film and television crime drama. You also explore the issues of trust and distrust in the context of modernity and highlight the ways in which tales of wrongdoing, transgression, discovery and judgement foreground questions of gender, class, and race, alongside other significant political and socio-economic concerns.
Ethnicity, Race, and Religion in Literature and Culture
You consolidate and extend your knowledge and understanding of issues of representation and cultural identity in relation to questions of ethnicity, race and religion. You also examine the ways in which literary and cultural texts have been shaped by the experiences of – and have in turn shaped perceptions and challenged stereotypes surrounding – specific groups.
For example, from the 19th century to the present, African American authors have responded to the experience of slavery, segregation and racism and their writing has played a key role in movements for radical social change. Meanwhile, in the wake of the controversy surrounding Salman Rushdie’s 1988 novel The Satanic Verses, and especially following the terror attacks of 9/11 and 7/7, Britain’s Muslim minority has been increasingly at the centre of tensions, controversies and urgent debate concerning multiculturalism.
Genres, Movements, Histories
You examine literary genres and movements and their historical, social and political contexts. You focus on a specific genre or movement from the 19th century to the present (for example, aestheticism and decadence, the feminist movement, contemporary historical fiction) and consider the circumstances within which the texts under discussion were produced and received. You will be equipped to discuss the diverse formal, technical and stylistic properties of the texts whilst also exploring a range of critical and theoretical perspectives and using a sophisticated critical vocabulary.
Writing Popular Culture
Should all writing be timeless? Does popular culture have a place in writing? What kind of cultural references should we be using in our writing? Is writing meant to last? You consider writers’ approaches to popular culture. You explore ideas of class, ‘high’ and ‘low’ culture, popularity, elitism, and representation in poetry, essays, and fiction, and consider historical and modern debates on the place of popular culture in literature. You produce a portfolio of creative work which responds to topics and concerns raised during the module, and a critical commentary analysing your creative choices.
