The writing major provides a sequence of subjects which will enable students to gain an understanding of a range of contemporary writing practices in the context of cultural and media studies, materialist and feminist frameworks, and analyses of literary and other media forms. Students will become familiar with different kinds of contemporary writing, especially prose forms (eg prose fiction, feature articles, film and TV scripts, reviewing, travel writing, autobiography, biography and the essay), and acquire detailed knowledge of a range of techniques associated with contemporary cultural production. At second and, more fully, at third level, students will be able to reflect critically upon their own practices while developing and applying skills and techniques through individual and collaborative projects.
Students completing a writing major will complete fifty-two points including twelve points at first level, sixteen points at second level, twenty-four points at third level. Students wishing to complete a writing minor will complete twenty-eight to thirty-two points, including GSC3421 (Writing 1: techniques).
This major's objectives include the development of an understanding of a range of contemporary literary and media forms through reading and critical analysis, and the refining and extending of the student's own critical, communication and writing skills. Upper-level subjects give students the opportunity to focus on the critical analysis of particular areas of writing and media, to study recent theoretical approaches, and to extend their skills in critical and, in some subjects, creative writing techniques. At third level students will work individually and in groups on topics and projects which will allow them to develop and further their skills and techniques in practices such as writing and editing, and to prepare a portfolio of work.
Students must complete at least two of the following subjects: