Building the World introduces you to the phenomenon of worldbuilding, i.e. the techniques and practices of constructing imaginative environments. Drawing on examples from script, fiction, film and narrative games, the module will develop your awareness of the importance of credible, well-realised storyworlds within creative practice. The importance of research, imaginative reflection and productive speculation in the development of fictional environments will be emphasised. The aim is to enable you to explore worldbuilding from a critically-informed perspective while allowing you to practice world-creation in a context of your choice.

Introduction to Poetry guides you in the art of non-metrical poetry by concentrating upon shorter poems and upon building up techniques of perception, language and effect. This will be done in combination with the reading of poetry with the aim of integrating reading as a poet into an on-going practice of reflection. Emphasis will be placed upon journal writing and workshop practice.

Introduction to Fiction outlines the art of fiction by concentrating on shorter pieces, often referred to as ‘microfiction’. The module also builds up techniques of perception, language and effect, in combination with the reading of fiction, with the aim of integrating reading as a fiction writer into an on-going practice of reflection. Emphasis will be placed upon journal writing and workshop practice.

Introduction to Scriptwriting covers some of the essential elements of dramatic scriptwriting. These include characterisation, writing dialogue, scenes and beats, monologues, conflict and structure. The module will explore the concept of story in different mediums (theatre/film/television/radio) but will focus in particular on radio drama. You will gain an understanding of the specific demands of learning how to write effectively for radio.

Reading the World and the Business of Writing introduces you to a range of contemporary writing, in all its formats, both in English and English translation. The module will help you to develop the art of reading as a writer, enhance your understanding of poetics, and encourage you to contribute to the cultural landscape by producing and maintaining a writer’s blog. All activities will be developed and encouraged via tutorials, lectures, seminars and workshops.

Introduction to Writing for Narrative Games presents you with a selection of the forms of interactive narrative games that have emerged since the mid-1970s. The module focuses on print narratives since the principles of their authoring and design underpin, and provide useful grounding for, the consideration and creation of digital narratives at higher levels. You will address four specific forms: the interactive ‘gamebook’, the narrative boardgame, the story-creation card game, and the tabletop role-playing game. The aim is to explore key aesthetic concepts such as forking path narrative structures, narrative play and ludic narratives, immersion, simulation, improvisation, game-story design, and interactive storytelling.

Introduction to Non-Fiction presents you with a variety of contemporary forms which fall under the broad title of ‘creative non-fiction’. This includes travel writing, documentary poetry, documentary theatre, life writing, and the contemporary creative essay – disciplines the modern working writer may find themselves exploring in the course of their writing life. These might arise when working for newspapers, journals or magazines, on individual projects or publishing works of book-length. This module includes study at an introductory level of examples of each of these non-fictional forms. It also provides practical advice on making submissions to publications, agents and publishers in these fields.

The Writer’s Life introduces you to various creative industries (commercial, trade and independent publishing), fields of contemporary literary production and the role(s) of the creative writer within the publishing world and other creative and cultural environments. The module also provides you with the opportunity to engage in professional practice via an independent project where you will negotiate the creation of a cultural artefact and/or cultural service or take an unpaid placement (organised by yourself) in a professional environment. All activities will be developed and encouraged via tutorials, lectures, seminars and workshops.

Inside the Publishing Industry develops your awareness of publishing across literary genres with a focus on poetry, fiction, script and digital publishing. You will explore what writers and publishers are looking for in the 21st century and receive talks by guest speakers from leading publishing presses as well as industry professionals. A study of all genres is designed to explore the differences between writing and production via print, digital media and performance. Self-directed placements in publishing and/or group projects will help develop new skills and experience in the cultural industries. Additionally, this module will involve a visit to a major literary event (such as a festival or book fair) where you can learn more about current trends and predicted futures in a fast-moving publishing climate.

The Art of Poetry enables you to write in, and experiment with, a variety of styles, to read a range of contemporary and recent poetry, and to relate that reading to an on-going process of reflection that will feedback into a robust and inventive writing practice. Emphasis will be placed upon continuous journaling, intensive reading and workshop participation.

Writing Short Stories explores the nature of the short story form and its specific demands on the writer. You will produce your own short fiction, responding to the diversity of styles and genres adopted by short story authors. You will also be given guidance on potential outlets for your work.

The Art of Scriptwriting explores various strategies towards scriptwriting with a particular emphasis on writing imaginatively for the stage. You will gain an understanding of the central role of the playwright in the theatre making process, be involved in a dramaturgical analysis of a range of scripts, and gain an understanding of how plays are constructed. The module enables you to experience writing collaboratively as well as developing your own personal practice and playwright’s aesthetic. Additionally, you will prepare, pitch, develop and write to format your own original one act play.

Renaissance Drama explores the drama of the English Renaissance from 1450 to 1660, a period of extraordinary civil tumult and cultural change. You will evaluate the remarkable dramatic literary output of the reigns of up to ten different monarchs beginning with the Tudors. The complexity and diversity of the literature categorised under the broad term ‘Renaissance’ will be acknowledged and the term will be problematised as much as it is defined.

Renaissance Prose and Poetry traces the development of the two key literary genres, poetry and prose narrative (including autobiography) from the English Renaissance (1450 to 1660), a period of extraordinary civil tumult and cultural change. You will evaluate the remarkable literary output of the reigns of up to ten different monarchs beginning with the Tudors.

Literature 1660-1760 provides an introduction to texts, authors, genres and central themes from the Restoration in 1660 until the dawn of the Romantic period one hundred years later. A typical syllabus may include an introduction to the Restoration drama of Wycherley, Etherege and Congreve and an examination of the poetry of Rochester, Dryden, Aphra Behn, Pope, Swift and Mary Leapor. You will also consider the emerging English prose novel as seen in the amatory fiction of Behn, Delariviere Manley and Eliza Haywood, and the works of Daniel Defoe, Samuel Richardson and Henry Fielding.

Romanticism is a period-survey module that provides an introduction to texts, authors, genres and central themes from the first stirrings of what has been traditionally conceived of as the Romantic age in the 1760s, until the dawn of the Victorian age seventy years later. Poetry, the prose essay and the novel will all be studied.

Satire in the Long Eighteenth Century affords an opportunity to study the works of what has traditionally been characterised as the ‘Great Age of Satire’, incorporating the study of prose, poetry and drama between the Restoration and the end of the Romantic period. The module will begin by situating eighteenth-century satire within its literary and cultural precedents before proceeding to focus on the style, technique, politics motives, purposes, targets and effects of a wide range of satirical texts.

Texts in Motion: Film Adaptation introduces you to film adaptation and to the discourses and methodologies relevant to a critical understanding of one of the most common textual practices in Western culture. The module focuses, predominantly, on filmic adaptation of literary precursors, but also incorporates a consideration of adaptations based on sequential art.

Writing The Female Body compares textual representations of the female body in English Literature from the Middle Ages with the literature of the present day. The module looks at the suffering body and the body beautiful and explores changes and continuities in their textual representation over time using literature, media and theory. One central aim is to reveal the extent to which contemporary attitudes to the body are part of a much larger and longer historical continuum, of which the Middle Ages are just a part. Topics which the module will debate may include body image, idealisations of the female form, brutalisation, self-brutalisation, the sexual body, the aging body, the dying body, the grotesque and the suffering body.

First World War Poetry explores the impact of trench warfare on the form and content of war poetry, tracing changes to poetic expression that resulted from the experience of prolonged, mechanised warfare. You will gain improved skills in prosody as well as an understanding of the cultural, historical and artistic contexts of the First World War. Themes covered include war and language, the representation of trench warfare, the fragmentation of the human subject (both mental and physical), war and gender, and the home front.

Rogues’ Gallery: Crime and Criminality in the Long Nineteenth Century explores the public fascination with crime, criminals and the law in the literature of the long nineteenth century. You will examine the representation of criminals, criminal acts and the punishment of crime in the context of the criminological and penal debates of the period. The module covers a range of literary genres associated with crime writing, including the Newgate Novel, the Sensation Novel and the detective story.

Literature and Globalisation recognises that as global forces are now seen to influence the local and the everyday, a global perspective is a necessary prerequisite to the study of literature. This module examines the relationship between contemporary literary production and the forces of globalisation. Drawing on relevant theoretical perspectives, consideration will be given to the ways in which writers address questions about the local and the global and the movement and flows of people and commodities. The module will examine both critical and literary responses to commodity culture and interrogate representations of  migrants, exiles, and cosmopolitan and diasporic figures in a range of literatures in English.

Literatures of Conflict provides an opportunity to study the representation of war and conflict in a range of literary texts, situated in their historical and cultural contexts. In its exploration of the impact of warfare on literary form and content, the module seeks to understand how and why the representation of warfare has changed over time. The module will enhance your skills in close reading as well as furthering your understanding of relevant cultural and historical contexts.

About Love explores representations of romantic and/or sexual love in texts written, or set, in Anglo-American culture in the 20th and 21st centuries. The module synthesises high-cultural and popular-cultural primary sources, reading them in the context of key critical and cultural theorisations of love, bringing together narratives of desire in three key contexts: ‘falling in love’, ‘staying in love’ and ‘love after love’.

Modern American Literature: 1865 to the Present Day is centred on the study of a wide range of American literature that was written and/or published between the end of the American Civil War in 1865 and the present day. The module offers an opportunity to study American poetry, prose and drama within its historical, social, cultural, political, critical and theoretical contexts.

Pilgrims Progress: British Children’s Literature from the 18th Century to the Present Day explores British children’s literature from its origins in the eighteenth century. The module progresses through the Romantic period’s celebration of childhood and Victorian ambiguities about the angelic versus the feral child, to the Golden Age of the Edwardian period and beyond into territory darkened by war, overshadowed by the implications of empire, and the oncoming of adolescence. The module will analyse the relationships between children and adults, nature, animals, class, gender, race and sexuality, underpinned by theoretical and methodological approaches to the history and representation of childhood in literature.

Producing a Literary Publication enables you to make a direct connection between the subject matter of your degree and your plans for a graduate career. You will work collaboratively towards producing one of a range of possible literary publications while reflecting on and evaluating your ability to do so.

Special Author 1 focuses on a single author (such as Hardy or Dickens) or a related group of authors (such as the Brontës) whose works are sufficiently extensive to merit a whole semester’s study. You will examine the author’s work in the light of recent critical and theoretical approaches to authorship and canonicity and develop an ability to theorise the relationship between an author and his/her literary work. You will acquire a specialist knowledge of a literary period and a major writer through examination of the author’s development in relation to relevant historical, cultural and literary contexts.

Satire in the Long Eighteenth Century studies the works of what has traditionally been characterised as the ‘Great Age of Satire’, incorporating study of prose, poetry and drama between the Restoration and the end of the Romantic period. The module begins by situating 18th century satire within its literary and cultural precedents before proceeding to focus on the style, technique, politics, motives, purposes, targets and effects of a wide range of satirical texts.

Writing the Female Body compares important textual representations of the female body in English Literature from the medieval and contemporary periods. Covering a range of literary genres, the module places literary works in their historical and cultural contexts and theorises literary representations of the body using contemporary gender theory. Using texts from both medieval and modern periods, you will explore change and continuity in the representation(s) of the female form over time. Contemporary attitudes to embodiment are vivified as part of an historical continuum and past and present textual representations of body read as signifiers of cultural values.

Writing the Supernatural explores the textual representation(s) of the supernatural (of ghosts, haunting, and the haunted) in key works of English Literature from the 19th century to now. The module focuses on three key genres – short fiction/novella, the novel, and drama – drawing comparisons and contrasts between their revelation of the supernatural. The negotiations of the textual representation of fear, as well as the dramatic generation of terror and dread, are central focuses of the module. The extent to which supernatural writing is culturally anxious, about, for example, issues of class, gender, race and faith, will also be explored.

Rogues’ Gallery: Crime and Criminality in the Long 19th Century explores the public fascination with crime, criminals and criminal law, so evidently manifest in the literature of the long 19th century (approximately 1789-1914). The module examines a range of literary genres associated with crime writing, including the Newgate Novel, the Sensation Novel and the detective story, in the context of the criminological and penal debates of the period. The module makes extensive use of digital research tools, enabling you to conduct your own primary research and providing you with valuable research skills.

Vampire Fictions traces the cultural history of the vampire from the early nineteenth century to the present day, revealing how it can be considered a remarkably adaptable monster, found in a range of texts produced in diverse cultural contexts. Considering both canonical and popular vampire fictions, the module charts the evolution of the vampire, examining the multiple meanings of this figure in diverse historical and cultural contexts and through a variety of critical approaches.

The Graphic Novel acts as an introduction to the contemporary graphic novel, examining the cultural and political impact of some key examples of the form. You will be encouraged to read these works as a writer, examining the elements of character development, structure, and use of research and developing those with specific reference to the demands and opportunities available in the graphic novel format. The module is both critical and creative. You will study examples of draft scripts for graphic novels, with your final assessment being a mock script for a proposed graphic novel, replete with artistic direction. There will be at least one visiting graphic novelist due to give a talk as part of the module and one visiting collaborative artist.

Genre and Popular Fiction explores the conventions of genre fiction and assesses the specific demands of writing for the popular market. How have popular genres developed historically and what contributes to their enduring appeal? How have key practitioners utilised and subverted the conventions of mass market fiction? How does the emerging writer balance conformity to the reader’s expectations with the need to establish a distinctive style and voice? The module addresses these questions through a case study which examines popular genre in depth. This may consist of fantasy writing, crime fiction, romantic fiction, or any other popular genre or sub-genre.

Poetry, Film and the Deep Image explores imagistic and filmic poetry and ideas around the ‘deep image’. You will examine writing techniques evolving from Imagism, postmodernism and ekphrasis. The module is designed to develop ideas around the ‘deep image’ and reflect on how it might exist alongside possibilities within innovative writing. A focus will be on exploring how imagery relates to observational techniques. Texts and films will be studied in tandem throughout this module. Reading (and viewing) will include modernist authors such as Ezra Pound, T.S. Eliot and Mina Loy who will be studied alongside directors of the ‘moving image’ including Jean Cocteau and Andrei Tarkovsky. Ideas relating to the ‘deep image’ will incorporate postmodern writers such as Jerome Rothenberg and Robert Kelly, alongside techniques of active imagination and poem-films.

Writing for Roleplaying Games introduces you to the genres, forms and conventions of the tabletop roleplaying game. The module enables you to explore and practice the discipline of writing roleplaying game scenarios, including the understanding of rule-sets and game mechanics, the creation of non-player characters, the conception and planning of narrative spaces as sites of action, the importance of clear and cohesive plotting, and considerations of how the manipulation of certain games systems’ ludic elements can enhance interactive storytelling.

Poetry and Innovative Form enables you to practice advanced techniques and develop innovative strategies for writing poetry, while reading a range of contemporary works (including emergent forms) and reflecting upon the reading and writing. You will feed the resultant poetics of this writing back into a developed poetic practice. Emphasis will be placed upon autonomous and continuous writing practice and experimentation and the development of a poetics of writing to accompany and fortify this, as well as reading poetry as a fellow-practitioner and developing this work and awareness through workshop participation.

Advanced Fiction provides you with the opportunity to write fiction at an advanced level, with a particular focus on the novel and the short story sequence. Using increasingly complex themes and techniques, you will establish a growing sense of autonomy as a writer, shaped by the reading of fiction and also your own continuous writing practice. You are also encouraged to experiment with form and genre and to consider potential publishing outlets for your work.

The Art of Screenwriting focuses on the art of screenwriting for television and film. The module will give you an understanding of character, plot, dialogue, montage and the structure of screenwriting. The module will explore the particular skills required for writing
visually for the screen and the television medium. You will also learn to analyse films and consider a sequence analysis of scripts from the writer’s perspective. Some consideration on getting films produced and the industrial context of film making. The module will culminate in the preparing of outlines, the pitching of film ideas, treatments and writing to format your own industry standard film/television script (between 30-45 minutes long with appropriate additional documentation such as scene-by-scene and episode breakdowns).

The Writer’s Workshop enables you to develop your practical and creative skills in a specific genre, as well as to further investigate the processes involved in your own practice and that of other writers. The module provides you with the opportunity to develop and complete an extended creative project in a field of your choosing, along with a 3,000-word critique of the work. The project may take any form agreed by the project supervisor but in most cases will consist of a collection of poems, a collection of short stories, a short novel or novella, a play, a film or television script.

The Victorian Novel explores the rise of the novel in the Victorian period. You will study a range of canonical Victorian authors, including Charles Dickens and Elizabeth Gaskell, and analyse a number of characteristic Victorian genres such as realism, sensation fiction and the Bildungsroman. The module will also provide you with an understanding of the reading practices and the cultural context of the period.

Victorian Poetry introduces you to the main currents of English poetry in the Victorian period. You will study a range of Victorian poetry, including the work of Alfred Tennyson, Robert Browning, Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Christina Rossetti. You will engage with Victorian poetic theory and formal experimentation, and will also explore characteristic Victorian poetic themes such as religious doubt, social duty and gender issues.

Modernism explores the radical upheaval in literature at the beginning of the twentieth century. Concentrating on the key period from 1910-1930, the module examines the range of experimental, ground-breaking work produced by such figures as James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, T.S. Eliot and Ford Madox Ford. The modernists cast aside the conventions they had inherited from the Victorians and reinvented the rulebook of English Literature. Their work can be dazzling, baffling, but always rewarding. This module looks at a representative sample in order to answer the question: ‘what was modernism?’

The Sense of an Ending: Late Twentieth Century Literature looks at a range of literary texts from the second half of the twentieth century, the period when many of today’s leading writers developed their art. Beginning with the aftermath of the Second World War, the module looks at a range of poetry and fiction and examines how these writers moved away from modernism to develop distinctive approaches to the representation of contemporary life. Key authors include Samuel Beckett, Basil Bunting, Anthony Burgess and Penelope Fitzgerald.

Sexuality and Subversion is devoted to understanding textual representations of sexuality and sexual identity. In particular it explores the textual representation of same-sex desire, transgender and boundary-crossing sexualities in the British novel from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present day. It focuses on the British novel from 1900 to now and also incorporates an analysis of recent gender and sexuality theory. Thematic topics which you may interrogate include sexuality, crisis and sexualised scandal, sexual/textual subversion, sexual deviance, sexual stereotyping, ‘coming out’ narratives, homosexuality, lesbian and gay identity, bisexuality, transgendered sexuality.

The Shakespeare Problem addresses canonical literature but also questions the processes and validity of the canon. What is a national poet? Why is Shakespeare still considered to be the pre-eminent author in the English language? What historical reasons can explain this situation and what political implications might it have? You will analyse the formation of a literary icon and unravel the enduring myths of natural genius associated with his name. In the course of this investigation, you will also study questions of genre in Shakespeare, paying special attention to the plays which hybridise or destabilise traditional genres, in order to examine an ongoing process of critical change.

Late Victorian Gothic: Deviance, Decadence, Degeneration will see you encounter Count Dracula, Dr Jekyll (and Mr Hyde), and She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed. The module charts the gothic revival of the late nineteenth century, exploring gothic fiction alongside contemporary social and cultural developments and current critical thinking. Authors studied include Oscar Wilde, R. L. Stevenson, Bram Stoker, H. Rider Haggard and Joseph Conrad.

Gothic Romanticism examines Romanticism’s Gothic impulse during the period 1764-1830. Each week, you will analyse key literary texts from the period – including poetry, and both prose fiction and non-fiction – alongside a theoretical issue in order to establish a critical vocabulary from which to interpret and understand Gothic’s many Romantic manifestations. By considering the historical, cultural, aesthetic and ideological background to this mode of writing, you will trace the ways in which the Gothic Romance is both a conservative and a reactionary genre, supporting and challenging our conceptions of the various dichotomies that define it.

Imperialism and Textuality traces the narratives of British imperialism and English literature from the early modern period to the twentieth century dismantling of empire and the corresponding literary critiques and recreations of the colonial past. Through the identification of the intersections of imperialism and text, the module will problematise traditional theoretical assumptions with regard to national identity and developments in English literature. Representations of Europe, the Americas, Africa and the Far East will be examined to determine how far they reflect on the contemporary politics and depict the figure of the other as a form of self-critique.

Modernisms develops your understanding and appreciation of the key features of early 20th century movements in the literary arts. The module will examine a range of different forms, styles and practices in order to focus on the heterogeneous interpretations of the term modernism and engage with ongoing debates in modernist studies.

Contemporary Literature in English develops your understanding and appreciation of the key features of late 20th century and early 21st century movements in the literary arts. The module examines aesthetic paradigms relevant to the period including realism, the postmodern, late modernism and metafiction. The aim is to understand the continuations and reactions to the earlier Modernist period.

Hosting a Literary Festival enables you to make a direct connection between the subject matter of your degree and your plans for a graduate career by engaging with workplace practice via a group project. You will work collaboratively to research, plan and initiate an in-house literary festival while reflecting on and evaluating your ability to do so.

Narratives of Nation and Empire traces the narratives of the British nation, its imperialist encounters, and the rise of English literature, from the early modern period to the twentieth-century dismantling of empire. The module engages with the corresponding literary critiques and recreations of the colonial past. Through the identification of the intersections of imperialism and textual representation, the module will problematise traditional theoretical assumptions with regard to national identity and developments in English literature. Representations of Europe, the Americas, Africa and the Far East will be examined to determine how far they reflect on the contemporary politics and depict the figure of the other as a form of self-fashioning or critique.

Neo-Victorian Literature and Culture is a prominent form of postmodern popular and literary culture in which writers and directors re-imagine the 19th century through a contemporary lens. The module enables you to study prominent examples of neo-Victorian literature and culture in the context of recent critical theory. It will alert you to neo-Victorian practices of intertextuality, historical metanarrative and ‘writing back’.

Sex, Drugs and Rock ‘N’ Roll: Young Adult Fiction analyses the recent marketing phenomenon of young adult fiction, focusing on 21st century literature aimed at a specifically teenage market. Young adult fiction is characterised by its transgression of taboos. The module will be structured around an exploration of these explicit, illicit areas of interest. Alongside the sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll of the title, the module will engage with representations of mental and physical illness, pregnancy, violence, abuse, economic and social collapse, and ecological disaster. Underpinning your studies will be theoretical and critical material on adolescence, contemporary literature, and the growing body of work on young adult fiction itself.

Special Author 2 focuses on a single author (such as Christopher Marlowe, Jane Austen or Angela Carter) or related group of authors (such as the Brontës) whose works are sufficiently extensive to justify a whole semester’s study. The module will examine the author’s work in the light of recent critical and theoretical approaches to authorship and canonicity, and develop an ability to theorise the relationship between an author and his or her literary work. You will acquire a specialist knowledge of a literary period and a major writer through examination of the author’s development in relation to relevant historical, cultural and literary contexts.

Sexuality and Subversion is devoted to the critical analysis of textual representations of sexuality and especially of same-sex desire and sexual dissidence in British prose. The module focuses mainly on the novel, but also on key autobiographical prose texts, from the 19th century to now (with particular focus on the 20th century). It problematises perceptions that sexual radicalism originated in the late 20th century by interrogating its earlier textual representation(s). Texts, their contexts, and relevant literary and cultural theories combine to reveal the changes and continuities in the textual representation of subversive and dissident sexualities and sexual identities over time.

The Shakespeare Problem asks what is a national poet, why is Shakespeare considered the pre-eminent author of the English-speaking world, what historical factors can account for the Shakespeare phenomenon, and what ideological implications might it have? The module addresses canonical literature but also questions the processes and validity of the canon. You will analyse the formation of a literary icon and unravel the enduring myths of universality and natural genius associated with his name. The module will also address questions of genre in Shakespeare, paying special attention to the plays which hybridise, destabilise, or subvert traditional genres, in order to examine an ongoing process of critical change.

Late-Victorian Gothic introduces you to the gothic revival of the late 19th century, focusing on gothic fiction produced in the 1880s and the 1890s. You will encounter both well-known and relatively obscure gothic texts and explore parallels between their key themes. The module examines gothic fiction of the period alongside contemporary social and cultural developments (e.g. urban poverty, crime, imperial anxieties, immigration, fear of degeneration, changing gender roles) and a range of current critical theories (e.g. genre studies of the gothic mode, theories of urban space).

Dickens and Popular Culture explores a range of Dickens’ work within the context of mass culture. This will include discussion of his journalism, plays and short stories as well as the well-known novels. You will look at the development of Dickens’ career as the most successful and popular novelist of his generation, who used a range of popular forms and conventions such as caricature, popular entertainment, melodrama, gothic, crime, ghost stories and reportage to investigate and actively participate in a wide range of contemporary issues and debates about Victorian society such as the family, the city, education and poverty. The module will also consider Dickens’ career as an author and editor of Household Words and All Year Round in the rapidly developing literary marketplace and Dickens’ status as a national and international celebrity. The module will conclude with a consideration of the Dickens ‘industry’ and the appropriation of ‘Dickensian’ in both Victorian and contemporary societies.

Speculative Fiction critically and analytically considers a range of Anglophone speculative fiction published after 1895. The emphasis is on literary speculations regarding technological, environmental and social change and on encounters with the ‘other’, all contextualised according to relevant cultural milieux. Subject matter is likely to include a selection from utopian and anti-utopian fiction, apocalyptic literature, colonial and postcolonial speculations, time travel tales, space opera, philosophical texts, and works that question or problematise notions of gender. In each case, selected critical methodologies, including feminism, postcolonial approaches and other relevant theoretical discourses will be applied.

Advanced Theatre Writing enhances your playwriting skills and strategies. You will gain a nuanced understanding of the central role of the playwright in the theatre making process, exploring concepts and theories of theatre making and working to create more innovative theatre scripts. You will experience writing collaboratively as well as developing your own personal practice and playwright’s aesthetic. As an innovative exploration of writing for theatre, you will explore a range of ways to make theatre, including writing plays with music, genres of theatre such as ‘in yer face’ and theatre of the absurd, ways of using digital platforms and exploring the practicalities of making theatre on a more critical level. There will be at least one theatre trip, one visiting speaker and reading of 5-8 scripts. Additionally, you will prepare, pitch, develop and write to format your own original full length play.

Expanded Writing focuses on the work of the Oulipo group (the Workshop of Potential Literature) and allied system-based literary practices, enabling experimentation and development of poetics. At the heart of the group’s practice is a distinction between forms that are conventions and those that are constraints. A convention is a form that has been bequeathed by tradition; a constraint is newly invented. Built into the constraint is often the notion of the clinamen (or swerve), something that will throw an impeding spanner into the works of the mechanical process. This module will help you to understand and engage with with the underlying philosophy of composition or poetics of the Oulipo, as well as producing creative writing (poetry and/or fiction) that demonstrates this understanding by working creatively with rules and constraints. This will include exposure to a wide range of Oulipo constraints and their resultant literary manifestations.

Writing Comedy introduces you to various ways of writing comedy and the market for those comedy pieces. The module offers you the opportunity to engage in a wide range of writing activities as well as performance of comedy and researching the history and tradition of comedy writing in various formats.

The Writer at Work places creative practice within its cultural and industry context through a detailed case study. focusing on the career of a significant 21st century author, who may be working in a single literary genre or across several, including script, fiction, poetry, non-fiction or electronic media. Examples might include Alice Munro, Alasdair Gray, Caryl Churchil, Iain Sinclair. You are able to study a writer’s body of work in greater depth than is usual at this level, while also gaining insights into the author’s creative and professional practice in relation to the creative industries.

Writing for Digital Adventure Games introduces you to the genres, forms and conventions of the digital adventure game. The module enables you to explore and practice the discipline of writing digital adventure game scenarios, including the understanding of game mechanics, the creation of non-player characters, the conception and planning of narrative spaces as sites of action, plotting, scripting and considerations of how the manipulation of a game’s ludic elements can enhance interactive storytelling.

A Language module is now available as a Year 3 option, providing Language modules were studied in Years 1 and 2.

LIT2020 Renaissance Drama (20 credits), LIT2021 Renaissance Prose and Poetry (20 credits), LIT2022 Literature 1660-1760 (20 credits), LIT2023 Romanticism (20 credits), LIT2025 Satire in the Long Eighteenth Century (20 credits), LIT2028 Writing The Female Body (20 credits), LIT2033 First World War Poetry (20 credits) and LIT2034 Rogues’ Gallery: Crime and Criminality in the Long Nineteenth Century (20 credits) added as optional modules in Year 2.

LIT3021 The Victorian Novel (20 credits), LIT3022 Victorian Poetry (20 credits), LIT3023 Modernism (20 credits), LIT3024 The Sense of an Ending: Late Twentieth Century Literature (20 credits), LIT3030 Sexuality and Subversion (20 credits), LIT3032 The Shakespeare Problem (20 credits), LIT3033 Late Victorian Gothic: Deviance, Decadance, Degeneration (20 credits) and LIT3036 Imperialism and Textuality (20 credits) added as optional modules in Year 3.

Although the broad themes of the programme remain largely the same, the vast majority of modules have been replaced by new/updated versions, with a small number of additional modules added. This new programme structure is being implemented from September 2016 entry.

There is also now the option of selecting a Language module in French, Spanish or Mandarin as an integral part of this degree in Year 1. A Language module is also available as a Year 2 option, providing a Language module was studied in Year 1.