English and drama

Special Topic (Writing Workshop Autumn)

Module code: Q1233
Level 4
15 credits in autumn semester
Teaching method: Workshop
Assessment modes: Portfolio

Love. Death. Bodies. Blue. Phantasy. Pain. Hope.

We dedicate our Special Topic module to one concept or condition, chosen by our creative writing team. It will link to a lively area of research – and all will be illuminating.

You’ll read a series of creative and critical texts around this concept. Writing exercises based on these readings build up over the module – until you have a portfolio of your own writing exploring the topic.

This might include short stories, poems, scenes from films or video games and essay prose. Wide and engaged reading across genres will help you develop your own creative and critical writing.

Example Special Topics:

What is love? A feeling? A condition? It’s all around and yet no one can get enough. Reading may include Laura Kipnis, Elizabeth Povinelli, Gillian Rose, Jacques Derrida, Banana Yoshimoto, Frank O’Hara and Nisha Ramayya.

Bodies are often lumped together. But are our experiences of embodiment radically different? Will we always need our bodies? We’ll study a range of bodily themes, for example: the racialised body, the maternal body, the ageing body, the consuming body and the body in pain. Reading may include Elizabeth Wilson, Eli Clare, Snorton, C. Riley, William Gibson and Susan Bordo.

Module learning outcomes

• Experiment with writing creatively and imaginatively supported by helpful practices, including the inspiration of reading and listening to exemplary work
• Practice close reading and analysis of texts, including one’s own, and from both creative and essayistic traditions.
• Practice writing in a range of forms, genres, or styles.
• Investigate factors that may inform the choice of writing style and its techniques.