ENG5742 - Childhood, Loss, Love and Myth: Creative Writing 2

Objectives:

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
Demonstrate an understanding of, and practical response to, a range of literature dealing with myth, childhood, love and loss.
Analyse and discuss the different ways in which writers have responded to these perennial themes and apply this to their own writing practice.
Use this understanding and analysis to explore the relationship between subject, form and genre in their own original writing.
Discuss and explore the writing process per se by drawing parallels between published work and their own creative practice.
Demonstrate self-reflective awareness in relation to their creative work.

Content:

The module builds on students' theoretical and creative work in Level 4 by introducing important recurring themes in literature through critical reading and imaginative writing. Students will study, discuss and respond creatively to a range of poetry and prose dealing with myth, childhood, love and loss. The myth element will draw on classical Greek and Roman mythology and that of other cultures. The childhood, love and loss elements will draw on contemporary and non-contemporary literature. The texts studied will form the basis of creative exercises, culminating in the production of a body of original writing at the end of each semester and a reflective commentary.

Learning and Teaching Information:

Learning and teaching methods will combine seminars, creative writing workshops and directed reading and writing, with a typical session divided between critical reading and discussion of selected texts and a related in-class writing exercise. Peer and tutor feedback on students' original writing will be given, with time set aside in each session for work to be read aloud and discussed.

Seminar/workshop
Contact hours: 32
Intended Group size: 20

Guided independent study
Hours: 168

Further details relating to assessment
At each session from the second teaching week onwards, in both semesters, students will take turns to read out their draft pieces of writing and receive verbal feedback in class from the tutor and fellow students. The work covered in the taught sessions provides students with a selection of drafts from which they can select one (or two) for development, revision and editing ahead of submission for summative assessment.

By discussion with the module tutor, students may submit a combination of prose and poetry for each of the assessments.

Weekly writing tasks receive formative assessment via tutor feedback, as described above.

Assessment:

001 Creative writing 1; 1,500 word equiv.; end of semester 1 40%
002 Creative writing 2; 1,500 word equiv.; end of semester 2 40%
003 Reflective commentary; 500 words; end of semester 2 20%
200 Creative writing 1; 1,500 word equiv.; end of semester 1 100%

Fact File

Module Coordinator - Martyn Bedford
Level - 5
Credit Value - 20
Pre-Requisites - NONE
Semester(s) Offered - 5YL

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