BA (Hons) Creative Writing and Media with Foundation Year Bachelor's degree at York St John University

Explore theories and concepts relating to analytical interpretation of the media. Introduction to major issues relating media to social and cultural contexts. Assessment and evaluation of approaches to critical and analytical investigation.

Introduction to theories, debates and practices in narrative, enhancing understanding of narrative as it functions within literature and culture. Examination of codes and conventions governing production, structure, reception and interpretation of narrative. Exploration of films, novels, poetry and plays. Consideration of relationship between narrative and culture and critical thinking about historical development of narrative forms.

Introduction to variety of professional contexts for work as a creative writer. Development of professional skills needed to work as a writer, working to deadlines and writing to briefs. Engagement with many different forms of writing, from memoirs to scripts and graphic novels to blogs. Opportunity to meet visiting writers.

Core skills in creative writing, including creating setting, poetic form, working with dialogue, and characterisation. Development of skills in workshopping and collaborating on creative work. Experimentation with range of forms and ideas in group writing activities.

Exploration of concept of ideology by analysing viewing behaviour and beliefs of media audiences. Study of media communication models and their histories. Research surrounding audiences. Exploration of nature of contemporary mass communication and how ideology and meaning impact the communication process.

Critical thinking about how media informs, intersects and engages with concepts of identity. Engagement with contemporary discussion and debate surrounding identity, including race, gender, nationality and age. Evaluation of theoretical, historical and socio-political influences and implications of contemporary mediated identities.

Opportunity to read and produce range of fictional forms, from flash fictions to novellas, and short stories to novels. Development of understanding of characterisation, voice, plot, narration, dialogue and point of view. Production of own fiction portfolio.

Exploration of range of non-fiction texts including journalism, creative non-fiction, fictocriticism, manifestos, blogs and online journals, documentary, travel and life writing. Development of understanding of voice, structure and audience in relation to these forms. Consideration of blurred lines between fact and fiction in non-fiction writing. Production of own nonfictional work.

Introduction to theory and practice of convergence technology, transmedia activity and network theory. Focus on continuing development and evolution of communication technologies and how they shape everyday lives. Consideration of developments in relation to social, political and cultural factors.

Engagement in debates about production, reception and contexts of media and cultural products that have caused controversy. Debates about taste and reception of text in different traditional, new and emergent media. Introduction to terminology of aesthetic discussion and dispute, including propaganda, artistic licence, canonical status, acceptability, pornography and censorship.

Exploration of various forms and uses of music within fields of cultural production, focusing on evolutions of processes and movements as indicators of cultural change. Exploration of possibilities for social, political and cultural exploration offered by study of music. Discussion of concepts and theories surrounding authorship, activism, mode of production, meaning and representation.

Exploration of different ways books and films tell stories and what happens to literature and literary characters when translated onto the screen. Introduction to theory, methods and conventions behind process of adaptation. Examination of specific examples of film adaptation. Option to experiment creatively on adaptation project.

Development of research skills in preparation for more extensive independent research project in final year. Focus on selected science fiction primary texts and related theoretical, philosophical, inter-textual and historical secondary material. Development of important academic skills through research. Major discussions within the genre, including race, environment, relationship between human and machine, and what it is to be human.

Familiarisation with important critical debates surrounding visual culture. Appreciation of vital relationship between word and image, from traditional illustration through to contemporary internet culture. Investigation of how visual strategies can be used to communicate complex ideas.

Engagement with vocational elements of working with media and exploration of entrepreneurial potential. Group work to produce creative portfolio and pitch idea to panel. This could include magazine, film festival, or exhibition. Consideration of marketing and advertising, business cases, product development and effective communication of ideas.

Work-related module developing understanding of relationship between creative writing practices and employability in creative industries. Exploration of methods and means of literary publishing, production and performance, developing transferable and employable skills through project work. Combination of broad exploration of industry aims and ethics with first hand experience of specific editorial, commercial and practical processes.

Broadening of understanding of formal qualities of poetry, from sonnet to prose poem. Discovery of how to produce dazzling imagery and perfect rhythm, manipulating voice and pace. Study of range of contemporary poets supplemented by visits and readings. Production of own portfolio of poetry.

Coverage of essential elements of scriptwriting, including writing convincing dialogue, creating interesting characters, and constructing coherent stories. Introduction to cultural, theoretical and industrial contexts of scriptwriting. Development of expressive and technical skills in writing scripts for radio, television, stage and film. Production of own original script.

Introduction to major theoretical debates and ideas surrounding contested idea of globalisation. Examination of role media plays in reflecting and reacting to processes of change and its influence on emergent, resistant and dominant cultures.