Creative Writing and Media BA (Hons)

On this module you will explore some of the theories and concepts relating to the analytical interpretation of the media. We will introduce you to major issues that relate media to social and cultural contexts. You will also have the opportunity to assess and evaluate approaches to critical and analytical investigation.

Good writers are good readers first and foremost. This module will introduce you to theories, debates and practices in narrative, enhancing your understanding of narrative as it functions both within literature and culture generally. You will examine some of the codes and conventions that govern the production, structure, reception and interpretation of narrative. To do this you will explore films, novels, poetry and plays, from Ovid’s Metamorphoses to Hitchcock’s Vertigo.  By engaging with these varied narrative forms you will consider the relationship between narrative and culture and think critically about the historical development of those forms.

This module will introduce you to the variety of professional contexts you could work in as a creative writer. You will start to develop the professional skills needed to work as a writer, working to deadlines and writing to briefs. You will engage with many different forms of writing, from memoirs to scripts and graphic novels to blogs. As part of this module you will have the chance to meet a variety of inspiring visiting writers, who can share their expertise with you. 

This module will help you to build the skills you need to succeed in higher education, and specifically for researching and analysing media. This includes skills in:

• Researching
• Referencing
• Critical thinking
• Academic writing
• Presenting
• Group work

We will make sure you are ready to take on the challenges of degree level study.

This module investigates the relationship between media and power. We will discuss the role of new media technologies in allowing self expression and agency, through creations like mash ups and fan fiction. You will also explore how these technologies impact the power and dominance of more traditional forms of media. This module also includes an exploration of the positive and negative aspects of social media, from its role as a platform for activism to concerns about surveillance and privacy.

This module introduces you to core skills in creative writing, including creating setting, poetic form, working with dialogue, and characterisation. You will also develop skills in workshopping and collaborating on creative work, familiarising yourself with the workshop environment which will be central to your learning on this course. You will have the opportunity to experiment with a range of forms and ideas in group writing activities, and through this module will become more confident in sharing your work with others.

This module emphasises the role of research in the production of creative work. We will introduce you to a range of research techniques to help stimulate creative projects and contextualise your writing. There will be opportunities to use different types of research materials to generate your own work, as well as studying texts that have been produced using different research methods. You will have the opportunity to take part in creative projects based on archival work. 

On this module you will explore the concept of ideology by analysing the viewing behaviour and beliefs of media audiences. You will study media communication models and their histories, engaging with research surrounding audiences. Through this you will explore the nature of contemporary mass communication and consider how ideology and meaning impact the communication process.

On this module we will introduce you to 2 key concepts that will recur throughout your academic study: the idea of literary value and the concept of the canon. This will provide a context for you to reflect on what you study at university and why. We will question how assumptions about what is and isn't great literature can influence our reading and writing choices, potentially restricting us from exploring beyond the classics.

On this module you will think critically about how media informs, intersects and engages with concepts of identity. You will engage with contemporary discussion and debate surrounding identity, which will include considerations of:

• Race
• Gender
• Nationality
• Age

You will use these varied perspectives to evaluate the theoretical, historical and socio-political influences and implications that contemporary mediated identities may communicate.

This module is your introduction to media ecology, an approach which understands media as anything through which meaning or communication takes place. Using this approach, you will explore the deep history of media and allied technologies (for example writing, printing and painting) to examine how media can determine the possibilities of communication, creative activity and understanding. You will examine how traditional, new and emergent technologies influence our relationship with information and culture, and consider how these factors can affect social organisation, aesthetic practice and political structures.

This module is an opportunity to read and produce a range of fictional forms, from flash fictions to novellas, and short stories to novels. You will develop an understanding of:

• Characterisation
• Voice
• Plot
• Narration
• Dialogue
• Point of view

This will help you to produce your own fiction portfolio.

This module will give you the opportunity to explore a range of non-fiction texts including:

• Journalism
• Creative non-fiction
• Fictocriticism
• Manifestos
• Blogs and online journals
• Documentary, travel and life writing

Through this you will develop your understanding of voice, structure and audience in relation to these forms, as well as considering the blurred lines between fact and fiction in non-fiction writing. By viewing, reading and watching a range of texts, we will ask you to make the links between creative and critical writing, and to produce your own nonfictional work.

This module is an introduction to the theory and practice of convergence technology, transmedia activity and network theory. Our discussion will focus on the continuing development and evolution of communication technologies, and how they shape our everyday lives. Throughout the module you will consider these developments in relation to social, political and cultural factors, and speculate on how these may affect the production and consumption of meaning and content through media.

On this module you will engage in debates about the production, reception and contexts of media and cultural products that have caused controversy. This includes debates about taste and the reception of text in different traditional, new and emergent media. We will introduce you to the terminology of aesthetic discussion and dispute, defining and discussing terms such as:

• Propaganda
• Artistic licence
• Canonical status
• Acceptability
• Pornography
• Censorship

This module considers the various forms and uses of music within the fields of cultural production, focusing on the evolutions of these processes and movements as indicators of cultural change. You will explore the possibilities for social, political and cultural exploration offered by the study of music, considering its use within the context of counter-cultural production, innovation, reception, distribution, protest and socio-cultural moments. We will also discuss concepts and theories surrounding authorship, activism, mode of production, meaning and representation.

On this module we will explore the different ways books and films tell stories, and what happens to literature and literary characters when they are translated onto the screen. We will introduce you to the theory, methods and conventions behind the process of adaptation. In addition to examining specific examples of film adaptation, you can choose to experiment creatively on an adaptation project of your own, using what you have learnt.

On this module you will develop your research skills in preparation for the more extensive independent research project you will complete in your final year. You will focus on selected science fiction primary texts as well as related theoretical, philosophical, inter-textual and historical secondary material. You will also develop important academic skills through research. Our focus on science fiction includes major discussions within the genre, including:

• Race
• The environment
• The relationship between human and machine
• What it is to be human.

Through this module you will become familiar with important critical debates surrounding visual culture. You will come to appreciate the vital relationship between word and image, from traditional illustration all the way through to contemporary internet culture. This will allow you to investigate how visual strategies can be used to communicate complex ideas.

This module is an opportunity to engage with the more vocational elements of working with media and explore your entrepreneurial potential. You will work in groups to produce a creative portfolio and will eventually pitch your idea to a panel. This could be, for example, a magazine, a film festival, or an exhibition. You must take into account:

• Marketing and advertising
• Business cases
• Product development
• Effective communication of ideas.

This work-related module will develop your understanding of the relationship between creative writing practices and employability in the creative industries. It is an opportunity for you to explore the methods and means of literary publishing, production and performance, developing transferable and employable skills through project work. The module combines a broad exploration of industry aims and ethics with first hand experience of specific editorial, commercial, and practical processes. 

From the sonnet to the prose poem, this module will broaden your understanding of the formal qualities of poetry, as you discover how to produce dazzling imagery and perfect rhythm, manipulating voice and pace. On this module you will study a range of contemporary poets, supplemented by visits and readings. You will produce your own portfolio of poetry by the end of the module.

This module addresses the essential elements of scriptwriting. This includes writing convincing dialogue, creating interesting characters, and constructing coherent stories. We will also introduce you to the cultural, theoretical and industrial contexts of scriptwriting. Through this module you will develop your expressive and technical skills in writing scripts for one or more of:

• Radio
• Television
• Stage and film

By the end of the module you will have produced your own original script.

An understanding of globalisation is essential for engaging with the processes of cultural, political and social change in the modern world. On this module we will introduce you to the major theoretical debates and ideas surrounding the contested idea of globalisation. You will also examine the role media plays in reflecting and reacting to the processes of change, and its influence on emergent, resistant and dominant cultures.

This module is an introduction to the theory and practice of convergence technology, transmedia activity and network theory. You will discuss the continuing development and evolution of communication technologies and how they shape our everyday lives. You will also consider these developments in relation to social, political and cultural factors, and speculate on how these may affect the production and consumption of meaning and content through media.

This is your opportunity to demonstrate your abilities as an independent learner through an extended piece of research. You will produce an extended critical and analytical examination of your chosen topic, engaging with the existing literature surrounding it and offering your own original take on the subject. You will apply many of the analytical and research skills you have developed over the course of your degree. If you choose a Creative Writing dissertation your creative work will be accompanied by a Contextual Reflection which will demonstrate your analytical and research skills. A dedicated academic tutor will support you through throughout the research process.

On this module you will consider the historical, theoretical, cultural and political dimensions of genre, as well as exploring the conventions which are attributed to specific genres. You will also be given the opportunity to critically explore differentiations between high and low culture, and investigate genres such as tragedy, satire and the Gothic, romance, horror, and noir. The module will help you to develop an awareness of literary and generic concepts between and across different forms. Through this you will develop skills in original composition, drafting and editing. 

This module is an opportunity to explore and participate in contemporary literature. Through this you will start to develop the relationship between your creative practice and the theory, philosophy, and politics that uniform and inspire contemporary work. This will involve engaging with writing that challenges the traditional boundaries of literature and is fresh, exciting and innovative. You will also consider a broad range of materials and techniques that will help you to develop your own innovative creative practices.

On this module we will introduce you to a range of very contemporary publishing and literary cultures, helping you to position your own work in the contemporary literary landscape. You will be encouraged to think critically about literary culture, and develop a sense of how your own work might contribute to or challenge contemporary modes of writing. The module also has a practical focus which will help you to develop a professional portfolio you can use as a springboard into your career.

On this module you will engage in debates concerning American mass culture and its relationship to social formation, cultural movements and modes of expression. We will examine contemporary popular culture as site of ideological, political and cultural discourse, considering how it uses and subverts America’s ideas and imagery. Through this we will assess how popular forms react to social and cultural changes. These forms include:

• Animation
• Comic books
• Movies
• Television
• Websites
• Music

On this module you will explore concepts and issues surrounding globalisation, localisation, regionalism and national identity, particularly in relation to city cultures. You will consider the representations, symbolic and social structures, development, uses and experiences of the modern city. This will involve the experiential exploration of contemporary cities, as well investigating technological advances and futuristic narratives of the city. You will also have the opportunity to take part in an international field trip as part of this module. previous locations have included Istanbul, Madrid and Amsterdam.

This module requires you to engage with a wide range of media representations of gender and sexualities. In doing so you will critically assess how certain forms, formats and practices of media transgress, reinforce or challenge assumptions and prejudices relating to gender and sexuality. This will build upon previous discussions about identity and representation from other modules, encouraging you to cultivate nuanced responses towards contemporary debates. We will also encourage you to reflect upon the evolution of critical perspectives on gender and sexualities.

20 credits

Optional modules

On this module you will explore how new and emergent media, communications and technologies shape our way of living, acting and understanding the world and our place in it. Building on previous modules, you will learn about the development of various technologies and consider our changing relationship with them,  evaluating how they contribute to and challenge philosophy, ethics, morals and meaning. We will also think about how these developments might influence aesthetic trends in production, consumption and cultural value.

20 credits

Optional modules

On this module you will explore how new and emergent media, communications and technologies shape our way of living, acting and understanding the world and our place in it. Building on previous modules, you will learn about the development of various technologies and consider our changing relationship with them. You will consider how they contribute to and challenge philosophy, ethics, morals and meaning. We will also think about how these developments might influence aesthetic trends in production, consumption and cultural value.