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AM-113
Introduction to American Literature and Culture
This module offers an interdisciplinary survey of the literature and culture of the United States from the nineteenth century to the present day, examining the construction of US cultural identity in relation to sweeping social, technological and economic changes. It begins by exploring the ¿ often contested ¿ historical development of an ¿American¿ literary tradition; writers such as Emily Dickinson, Frederick Douglass and Edgar Allan Poe are studied in the context of America¿s desire to break from Europe, the motif of the wilderness, enslavement and freedom, and issues of race, gender, and politics. The module then examines the fate of the American self in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, a self confronted by the anonymity of the city, the fraught history of race relations, and the promises (and perils) of consumerism, mass culture and digital culture. Using examples drawn from fiction, poetry, music, film, and visual culture, the module investigates US cultural expression in a lively and interdisciplinary manner. It pays close attention to the connections between various art forms (such as music and poetry), and the complex relationship between culture and politics during a period when the United States became a world power.
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AM-117
Introduction to American Studies
This module provides an introduction to the discipline of American Studies, with a particular focus on the interdisciplinary scope of the subject. In addition to encouraging students¿ critical engagement with music, film, literature, visual culture, and history, it establishes a theoretical framework that will form the basis for more specialised study of the United States at levels 5 and 6. The module focuses on significant spaces in U.S. culture and history, from the ship and the plantation to the suburbs and the shopping mall, which are explored using various disciplinary lens and theoretical approaches.
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AM-336
American Studies Dissertation
The American Studies dissertation is a free-standing, 40-credit module for American Studies students only, which runs across both semesters of Level Three. Candidates conduct research upon a subject of their choice, devised in consultation with a member of staff teaching on the American Studies degree. The topic must fall within staff research and teaching interests.
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EN-117
Creative Writing: Fiction Genres
An innovative module that will introduce the student to the art of writing within a broad range of genres.
Weekly lectures will introduce each student to authors of specific genres, such as crime writing, historical fiction, fairytale, horror, fantasy, science fiction, romance and writing desire. Each lecture will be followed by a seminar that will focus on a variety of methods used to write in that specific genre.
Regular assignments will offer the student a opportunity to write creatively - a unique opportunity to expand, discover, and explore their emerging writerly voice.
Built into the module is a wide reaching reading programme that will assist each student to be conversant with the traditions of writing in a specific genre, whilst encouraging close reading and editing skills.
Students will be taught by published authors who work within these particular genres, and will also have the opportunity to hear these authors read & discuss their own new work and works-in-progress.
The module aims to examine the structure, voice, setting and genre, of specific written material so as to initiate curiosity, create empathy, and focus on increasing an understanding of the structures used within writing character, setting and historical context in a specific genre. Emphasis will be placed on the theory and practice of reading, comprehension and writing.
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EN-118
Creative Writing: Styles of Fiction
An innovative module that will introduce the student to the art of writing within a broad range of styles.
Weekly lectures will introduce each student to authors of specific styles, such as poetry, writing for theatre, song writing and professional writing. Each lecture will be followed by a seminar that will focus on a variety of methods used to write in that specific style.
Regular assignments will offer the student an opportunity to write creatively - a unique opportunity to expand, discover, and explore their emerging writerly voice.
Built into the module is a wide reaching reading programme that will assist each student to be conversant with the traditions of writing in a specific genre, whilst encouraging close reading and editing skills.
Students will be taught by published authors who work within these particular genres, and will also have the opportunity to hear these authors read & discuss their own new work and works-in-progress.
The module aims to examine the structure, voice, setting and style, of specific written material so as to initiate curiosity, create empathy, and focus on increasing an understanding of the structures used within research, writing character, setting and historical context in a specific style. Emphasis will be placed on the theory and practice of reading, comprehension and writing.
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EN-234
Introduction to Writing Fiction
Building on the overview of fiction genres in EN-117 and EN-118, this course, takes a practical approach to getting started as a writer of fiction. Through a combination of expert instruction and practical exercises, together with a thorough reading programme, EN-234 guides students on the path towards writing and improving their own fictional prose. The emphasis will be on the short-story form. Students will create a portfolio of fiction work, on which they will be assessed.
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EN-244
American Word / American Image
This module explores the central work of twentieth-century American literature in relation to American visual culture, including film, art, photography and pop culture.
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EN-3014
Further Fiction Writing
This module consists of a series of weekly one-hour lectures, each followed by a one-hour workshop, leading the student through the theory and practice of writing fiction:regular assignments will be brought to the workshop to be considered communally. Technical exercises will also be undertaken during each class, leading to discussion and building the practical comprehension of the techniques of fiction writing. Built into the module is a systematic programme of reading, both of modern and earlier works of fiction, to render students conversant with the traditions in which they are participating, and to encourage close reading skills. Concentrating on short prose, the course will teach the fundamentals of narrative and plotting; the use of imagery and setting in fiction; the art of the character-sketch and the elaboration of character through setting, dialogue and narrative. The course will be taught by a fluid mingling of tutor-led discussion and workshop-based exercises; writing techniques will be clarified by the reading and discussion of named works, shedding light on creative practice by exercises in mimesis and parody. The module will be evaluated by a 7,000-word portfolio to be submitted at the end of the semester, comprising either one long story or several shorter pieces, together with a 500-word reflective essay.
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EN-3026
Creative Writing Personal Project
Students taking this module must submit a portfolio of creative writing of between 7-8,000 words in any genre, subject to Departmental approval. The Personal Project is an independent study module for which each student will receive 5 hours of individual or group supervision. Supervisions will take place at regular intervals with set targets, and will primarily involve feedback on the style and structure of the submission.
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EN-M89
Publishing: Cultures and Contexts
This team-taught module introduces students to different cultures and contexts of the publishing industry and its history. Students will gain both practical and intellectual skills across a range of topics taught by staff from English Literature and Creative Writing. The module begins with focused seminars on book history and print culture, and then moves on to workshops in which students will gain a familiarity with industry terminology and the mechanisms of the book trade. Students will be able to choose from different methods of assessment that develop academic or industry-focused skills.
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ENMD00
Creative Writing Dissertation
The Creative Writing dissertation requires the creation of an extended, original piece of creative writing, defined and devised in discussion between supervisor and student. This can be fiction, poetry, stage play, screenplay, creative non-fiction, or other appropriate form of writing. The creative work must be accompanied by a critical reflection upon the student¿s own practice. The creative work can be a continuation of the student¿s work on the MA program or can represent a wholly new piece of work.
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