Introduces students to the craft and techniques of creative writing. (Fiction/Drama/Poetry/Screenplays) The focus may vary each term.
Prerequisite(s)
None
Corequisite(s)
None
Special Requisite(s)
None
Instructor(s)
Tanguy Harma
Course Assistant(s)
-
Schedule
Wednesdays 12:00 – 15:00
Office Hour(s)
Wednesdays 15:00 – 16:00 4 A 02
Teaching Methods and Techniques
Lecture, discussion, workshop
Principle Sources
- Roman Jakobson’s Six Functions of Language
- Lagos Egri, ‘The Art of Dramatic Writing’
- Selection of critical essays on J-K Huysmans, Against Nature: A novel without a Plot
- Jack Kerouac’s “Principles of Spontaneous Prose’
- Selection of poems by Dickinson, Gabbert and others
- Birgitt Flohrr, ‘The relationship between Fiction and Autobiography’
- Extracts by Tom Wolfe and Hunter S. Thompson
- Extract from Emerson’s ‘Nature’ / the transparent eyeball and Henry Miller’s ‘Not I, but the Father within me’
- Selected haiku by Matsuo Basho and others
- William Blake’s ‘Ah! Sunflower’, Allen Ginsberg’s ‘Sunflower Sutra’ and others
Other Sources
Course Schedules
Week
Contents
Learning Methods
1. Week
Introduction to the course
Organisation of sessions
Lecture, discussion
2. Week
What is writing? Ethics and aesthetics of literary creation
Roman Jakobson’s Six Functions of Language
Workshop: Unleashing the imagination
Discussion
3. Week
Story as plot
Lagos Egri, ‘The Art of Dramatic Writing’
Workshop: Bring in the drama: Characterisation, plotline
Lecture, discussion, writing assignment
4. Week
Deconstructing the myth of the plot
A selection of critical essays on J-K Huysmans, Counter Nature: A Novel without a Plot
Workshop: Writing with no plot-line
Lecture, discussion, writing assignment
5. Week
Intuitive writing: Blowing the song of yourself
Walt Whitman, extracts from 'Leaves of Grass'
Lecture, discussion, writing assignment
6. Week
‘That’s not writing, that’s typing’
Jack Kerouac’s “Principles of Spontaneous Prose’
Workshop: Speed writing
Lecture, discussion, writing assignment
7. Week
‘Le sang du poète’: Expressing suffering in written form
Selection of poems by Dickinson, Gabbert and others
Workshop: Now shed your blood (metaphorically)
Lecture, discussion, writing assignment
8. Week
Midterm Week
Written work, discussion
9. Week
Writing the Self: Autobiography as a regime of fiction
Birgitt Flohrr, ‘The relationship between Fiction and Autobiography’
Workshop: Write yourself onto the page
Written work, discussion
10. Week
Gonzo journalism
Extracts by Tom Wolfe and Hunter S. Thompson
Workshop: Special report from my hotel window
Lecture, Written work, discussion
11. Week
Suppressing the Self
Extract from Emerson’s ‘Nature’ / the transparent eyeball and Henry Miller’s ‘Not I, but the Father within me’
Workshop: Letting the World in
Lecture, Written work, discussion
12. Week
Minimalist poetry: The art of the haiku
Selected haiku by Matsuo Basho and others
Workshop: Creative writing exercises for Bhikhus
Lecture, Written work, discussion
13. Week
Sunflower visions: The poetics of hallucination
William Blake’s ‘Ah! Sunflower’, Allen Ginsberg’s ‘Sunflower Sutra’ and others
Workshop: Capturing the big moment in written form
Lecture, Written work, discussion
14. Week
‘So, what is writing?’ Potentialities, limitations, perspectives
Lecture, Written work, discussion
15. Week
Re-visions
Creative writing exercises
Lecture, Written work, discussion
16. Week
Final Exam Week
17. Week
Final Exam Week
Assessments
Evaluation tools
Quantity
Weight(%)
Midterm(s)
1
70
Attendance
1
10
Final Exam
1
20
Program Outcomes
PO-1
Show knowledge of a substantial range of authors, movements and texts from different periods of literary history.
PO-2
Identify the intellectual, cultural and socio-historical contexts in which literature
is written and read.
PO-3
Employ the necessary skills in the reading, analysis and in appreciation of literature.
PO-4
Recognize, interpret, and comment on rhetorical and figurative language.
PO-5
Identify, distinguish between and assess the distinctive characteristics of texts written in the principle literary genres.
PO-6
Recall and define key terms and concepts relating to language, literature and/or culture.
PO-7
Recognize the role of different social and cultural contexts in affecting meaning.
PO-8
Demonstrate responsiveness to the central role of language in the creation of meaning.
PO-9
Recognize different structures and discourse functions of the English language.
PO-10
Display competence both in written and/or oral expression and in the
communication of ideas in a variety of contexts.
PO-11
Demonstrate critical skills in the close reading, description, interpretation,
and analysis of literary and non-literary texts.
PO-12
Use logical thought, critical reasoning, and rhetorical skills to effectively
construct arguments.
PO-13
Apply guided research skills including the ability to gather, sift, organize and
present information and material.
PO-14
Show competence in planning, preparation and revision of essays,
presentations, and other written and project work.
PO-15
Reflect on ethical and philosophical issues raised in literary, critical, and
cultural texts.
Learning Outcomes
LO-1
Understand writing as a craft and learn the technical aspects of creative writing.
LO-2
Apply various tools of the craft to their own writing.
LO-3
Examine and evaluate specific uses of language and technique in sample works.
LO-4
Show competence in creative language use.
LO-5
Develop the sense of aesthetic unity.
LO-6
Have open channels of creativity and acquire mastery over written expression
