Top reasons to choose this course
- Develop as a portfolio writer and creative practitioner, somebody who can apply good writing to real-world scenarios and work to specific briefs.
- A transformative experience that goes beyond looking to get your first novel published, so you can explore copywriting and publishing while nurturing your passion for storytelling.
- Be taught by published writers who bring real-world experience, industry insights and a passion for storytelling into the classroom.
- Guest lectures from publishers and professional writers – guest writers have included John Mccullough, Eleanor Knight, Errina Mettler, Emma Donoghue and Tanaka Mhishi.
- Tailor your studies to reflect an interest in writing practice, literary theory, community engagement or any combination of these.
- Strong local publishing connections – we organise a programme of visiting writers and publishing professionals. .
- Theatre visits, open mic nights and exciting events, including a short-story slam at 91快活林 festival.
- Online journal and in-house creative anthology for you to share your work with other students and the wider community.
- Become a writer in residence – specific modules are dedicated to engaging you with the 91快活林 community and local creative industries where you can link your individual creative practice with a professional scenario.
Hear from University of 91快活林 staff and students as they talk about why art and design are vital to them and society, and the skills you’ll get from choosing one of these subjects.
Syllabus
Modules
Core modules
- Visual Narratives
In this module you will combine creative practice and critical theory to produce original visual narratives in different styles and genres. You will study the requirements and development structures for visual narratives in various media platforms, including pitching your work, gain confidence in your ability to use a range of visual narrative techniques and develop your skills in drafting and redrafting in a workshop situation.
- Life Writing
In this module you will develop your skills and confidence in curating, producing and analysing life writing by undertaking a research project through collection and/or creation of (for example) short stories, poetry, performance, home movie materials, letters, diaries or photograph collections. It gives you the opportunity to explore the ethical and political implications of life writing and highlights the interplay between personal and cultural contexts.
- Practices of Storytelling
This module offers you a practical writing experience, guided by writer/research-active tutors. You will explore styles of storytelling and research-led practice to help you develop an original portfolio of work and reflect on the ideas and theories that have enriched your creative writing. You will be supported in building a unique creative practice and encouraged to critically reflect on your growth and identity as a writer.
- Communities of Practice
You will identify an artistic residency, subject-specific placement or research placement and undertake a specific work-based project to design and fulfil a professional working brief. You will then develop a research project/creative practice project inspired by your residency/subject specific placement. During the module, you will be taught by experts in a series of on and off-campus workshops that will explore site-specific work.
- Dissertation
Through a range of classes and tutorial supervision you will agree a dissertation topic, develop an original research project and detail how this has informed an extended writing project in a style or genre you are passionate about. Prose, poetry, life writing, script, graphic novel and other styles are all encouraged as you showcase the writer that you are and produce work that matters to you.
Options*
- Global Politics, Conflict and Human Rights
On this module you will explore the global politics of contemporary conflict and human rights. You will examine the key frameworks in world politics for addressing human rights violations and responding to conflict, alongside examining underlying conceptual and ethical debates concerning the universality of human rights, conflict resolution, and the changing nature of global politics.
- Mediating Objects
This module looks at how everyday objects and people influence each other’s identities and are connected in important ways. You will analyse how they are represented in various texts and contexts such as photographs, works of fiction, correspondence and blogs, film and advertising. You’ll also examine how things are transformed through everyday actions and traditions, like giving gifts or remembering personal and shared experiences.
- Poetry: Theory and Practice
This module explores the crafts of writing and performing poetry and looks at how contemporary poetry connects with and shapes a changing public readership. It will enable you to create poetry confidently and creatively in a variety of styles and genres as well as equipping you with a range of relevant critical lenses.
- The Process of Publishing
This module will develop your knowledge of publishing and equip you with practical skills that will support you to develop your own creative work for publication. You will gain an insight into aspects of professional publishing and apply your practical skills to your own practice as a member of the editorial team for the school’s anthology website, Pier Review.
- Queer and Now
Capitalising on 91快活林’s location as the UK’s unofficial LGBTQ+ capital, this interdisciplinary module will explore traditions of LGBTQ+ community spaces and local and global writing in the context of the histories and politics of sexuality and queer identities and their contemporary manifestations. Using a wide range of case studies, you will examine current and potential forms of community and radical kinship, informed by key critical debates in queer theory.
*Option modules are indicative and may change, depending on timetabling and staff availability.
Lab facilities
Mithras House has a series of lab rooms which can be used for teaching on your course or in your independent research work.
Life lab
A skills-based lab for practice-based teaching, social work, psychotherapy and counselling, and employability. The Life lab is fitted with lounge furniture to provide a comfortable space for conducting qualitative research with larger groups. The lab can be used to conduct research activities with children of all ages and can be used for meetings and events. The room also contains a dedicated space to conduct assessed role play or interviews with children.
City lab
This is a qualitative research methods and creative methods resource for all students, staff and researchers, as well as research participants, including children, community groups and the general public. It can also be used for meetings and events. The City lab contains a kitchen, a teaching/meeting room with enhanced acoustic isolation and two meeting spaces that can be separated with a screen or combined to accommodate larger groups.
Design lab
Housing our extensive collection of historic dress and textiles, which are used in some teaching on our History of Art and Design courses, this has the space and equipment for you to work on textile projects. Displays created by students on these programmes are on view in the social spaces of the building.
Community lab
The Community Lab is a flexible teaching space designed for collaborative student learning and for working on qualitative research projects with a range of participants.
Stats lab
The Stats Lab is a specialist workspace for carrying out statistical analysis, and video and audio editing projects. The Stats Lab is also used for workshops, demonstrations and seminars and can be used by students as a study space.
Applied cognition lab
A dedicated research space for psychological research involving measures such as electrodermal activity (EDA) and electroencephalography (EEG). The space is designed to allow the participant and researcher to sit at separate desks whilst psychophysiological data is being collected.
VR and eye tracking lab
The VR and Eye-Tracking Lab is used for psychological research using equipment, such as eye-trackers and virtual reality headsets. The space has adjustable lighting and a blackout blind for maintaining consistent lighting conditions during eye-tracking research, as well as sensors set up in the room to allow individuals to move freely around the room during virtual reality research.
Meet the team
Dr Jess Moriarty, course leader
Dr Jess Moriarty is principal lecturer in creative writing and course leader for the Creative Writing MA. She is an experienced researcher and editor for the book series Performance and Communities for Intellect Books. She has published extensively on creative writing pedagogy, autoethnography and community engagement. Her last book – Walking for Creative Recovery – adopts an autoethnographic approach and explores creative practice as a method for supporting wellbeing. Her pedagogic approach has a focus on diversity, personal story-telling and writing for change. Jess is mentor lead for the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, and in 2022 she became a senior fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Her latest book with Chris Reading (for Bloomsbury) looks at walking, creativity and activism.
“Creative writing needs supportive and dynamic spaces where students feel able to share their ideas and work and get feedback and ideas that inspires them to evolve as motivated, confident writers with a clear sense of their potential to uplift and move audiences and readers and also hold up a mirror to the world in order to raise awareness and promote meaningful change,” she explains.
“I have over 15 years experience of working with students at every level and achieved my PGCE in Higher Education in 2005. I am keen to engage students with my research and writing so that they feel we are part of an inclusive community of practice. We connect students with writing placements that help them to develop skills and enhance their sense of why writing matters, why their stories matter and how those stories can and will enrich the world.”
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Meet the rest of the course team
Listen to a where she discusses the role of fiction in self-expression and personal wellbeing, a previous Big Read book and sharing a moment with her former student and honorary graduate, Munroe Bergdorf.