Course syllabus autumn 2021
Course syllabus autumn 2021
Title
Creative Writing Project
Swedish title
Creative Writing Project
Course code
EN231A
Credits
15 credits
Grading scale
UA / Excellent (A), Very Good (B), Good (C), Satisfactory (D), Pass (E) or Fail (U)
Language of instruction
English
Decision-making body
Faculty of Culture and Society
Syllabus approval date
2021-02-22
Syllabus valid from
2021-08-30
Entry requirements
Prerequisite courses for this course are: EN212E Creative Writing I (passed) and EN213E Creative Writing II (passed)
Level
Basic level
No main field.
Progression level
G1F
Progression level in relation to degree requirements
The course can normally be included as part of a general degree at undergraduate level.
Course objectives
The course focuses the student’s awareness of imaginative writing craft in a single genre: poetry, fiction, or literary non-fiction. It centers on the practice of intermediate to advanced technical and formal aspects of creative writing along with their theoretical and historical foundations, aiming to produce a writing student with an awareness of both craft and theory. This is on the understanding that the student has experimented and gained knowledge from the prerequisite courses and is now able to build on this wealth of experience. Furthermore, the course will, via reading and writing activities, increase the student’s sense of a wider literary/cultural context.
Course contents
Students select one genre (fiction, poetry, or literary non-fiction) as a primary focus and produce a substantial work in that genre. On editorial practice: The student will be required to keep a writing diary, contribute online reflections on the course material, as well as present their mid-term findings at a ‘Work in Progress’ seminar. Participation in a majority of class activities is a requirement for passing the course, and the basis for development of the student’s craft. See ‘Assessment 2’ below. The course also provides an introduction to the business of publishing. The course concludes with the submission of a portfolio containing the student’s work for the term.
Learning outcomes
On completion of the course the student:
- Is able to show intermediate-advanced craft skills in a chosen literary genre; and is conversant in the history and theories related to creative writing in the genre of choice; as well as showing an increased awareness of the place of their own work in the broader conversation of literature and culture.
- Is able to, via readings, discussions, peer review work and submitted course material, show increased confidence to further experiment in adjacent or hybrid forms of expression.
- Can exhibit further knowledge of the practices involved in getting literary work published; as a contributor as well as a part of an editorial team.
- Can revise and compile a professional portfolio of their own work and examine it self-critically. The progress of the student’s portfolio from draft/idea to complete submission over the course of the term forms an important part of the course.
Learning activities
This is a workshop-centered course in the ‘studio’ model. It features:
- Distance learning via an online learning platform
- Online writing workshops
- Formal, written and/or oral peer review before and during workshops
- The opportunity to practice publishing and editorial skills
- Extensive reading as well as set exercises
- Time provided to work on the student’s own material to set deadlines
Assessment
The student is assessed based on:
1. The submission of a project portfolio:
Portfolio: 5000 words of prose or literary non-fiction, or up to 200 lines of poetry. This assessment includes draft work and revisions as outlined in learning outcomes 1 and 4.
(12 HP)
2. Editorial practice:
In order to pass the second assessment ‘Editorial practice’ the student must participate in a majority of class and group activities, including the diary, reflections and Work in Progress seminar outlined in learning outcomes 2 and 3.
(3 HP)
The overall grade for the course is made up of the project portfolio grade:
12 HP (learning outcomes 1 and 4) and the Editorial practice grade: 3HP (learning outcomes 2 and 3).
Course literature and other study material
Required texts vary based on the student’s genre of focus.
Fiction
Anne Lamott
Bird by Bird
ISBN: 9780385480017
Poetry
Clanchy, Kate. How to Grow Your Own Poem
ISBN: 9781529024692
Creative Nonfiction
Gutkind, Lee, The Art of Creative Nonfiction
ISBN: 9780471113560
Reading material for all students
1. Granta Magazine 154
ISBN 1909889377
2. Shailja, Patel
Migritude
ISBN: 9781885030054
(Language: Eng)
3. Hall, Steven
Raw Shark Texts
ISBN 9781838851804
(Language: Eng)
4. Kaminsky, Ilya (Ed.)
In the Shape of a Human Body I Am Visiting the Earth
ISBN: 9781944211073
5. One self-selected to echo the own focus.
(Language: Eng)
Additional material may be introduced in the course, but no more than 100 pages.
Course evaluation
The University provides all students who are participating in, or have completed, a course to express their experiences and views on the course through a course evaluation which is organized at the end of the course. The university will collate the course evaluations and provide information about their results and any actions prompted by them. The results shall be made available to the students. (HF 1:14).
Interim rules
When a course is no longer given, or the contents have been radically changed, the student has the right to re-take the examination, which will be given twice during a one-year period, according to the syllabus which was valid at the time of registration.