Program Overview
The Creative and Critical Writing MA at the University of Sussex is a one-year full-time or two-year part-time program that explores the transformative relationship between creative writing and critical and philosophical thinking. Graduates develop expertise in creative practice and analytical thinking for various careers in the writing and media industries.
Program Outline
Degree Overview:
The Creative and Critical Writing MA at the University of Sussex is a one-year full-time or two-year part-time program that explores the relationship between creative writing and critical and philosophical thinking. The program emphasizes how a deeper understanding of critical and philosophical texts can enhance and transform creative writing practices. The program's objectives include:
- Developing students' compositional practice in poetry, fiction, or creative non-fiction.
- Enriching students' writing through engagement with critical and philosophical thinking.
- Providing students with a strong foundation in the intellectual traditions of "Sussex English," including creative writing, psychoanalysis, Marxism, ecocriticism, postcolonialism, deconstruction, feminism, queer theory, and word-image theory. The program is unique in the UK and has been running successfully for over 20 years. It is closely linked to the interdisciplinary research conducted at the Centre for Creative and Critical Thought.
Outline:
The program is structured around core modules and optional modules.
Core Modules:
- Creative Writing Workshop: Reflection, Methods, Practice (Autumn): This module provides students with a practical and theoretical foundation in creative writing, focusing on reflection, methods, and practice.
- Creative and Critical Writing Dissertation (Summer): This module culminates in the completion of a dissertation, allowing students to delve deeply into a specific area of interest related to creative and critical writing.
Optional Modules:
- Decolonising Modernism: 1850 to the Contemporary (Autumn): This module examines the impact of colonialism on modernism, exploring how colonial and postcolonial perspectives have shaped literary and artistic movements.
- The Avant-Garde in North America: Creative and Critical Practice (Autumn): This module focuses on the development of avant-garde movements in North America, examining their creative and critical practices.
- Adventures in Poetry: Writing Workshop (Spring): This module provides a workshop environment for students to explore and develop their poetry writing skills.
- Modernist and Contemporary Fictions (Spring): This module examines key works of modernist and contemporary fiction, exploring their themes, techniques, and historical contexts.
- New Configurations in Critical Theory (Spring): This module introduces students to contemporary developments in critical theory, exploring new approaches to literary and cultural analysis.
Teaching:
The program is taught by a faculty of internationally recognized writers working across diverse creative and critical genres. The teaching is informed by the interdisciplinary research conducted at the Centre for Creative and Critical Thought.
Careers:
The program equips graduates with skills in critical assessment, written communication, problem-solving, and independent thinking. These skills are highly transferable and can lead to careers in:
- Publishing, journalism, and editing
- Libraries, teaching, and consultancy
- Media, marketing, and events management Some graduates also pursue further research and work in academia.
Other:
The program is designed to provide students with a rigorous and stimulating intellectual experience, fostering their creative and critical thinking abilities.
