Reading the Prize Winners

 

Reading the Prize-winners can be studied as a stand-alone course and it is an optional course for the Certificate of Higher Education in Creative Writing at Aberystwyth University.

Key Facts

 

 

Language: English 

Duration: 10 Weeks

Number of Credits: 10

Tutor: Dr Helen Pendry 

Learning Method: Online 

Level: This module is at CQFW Level 4

Module Code: XM12010

Fee: £130.00 - Fee Waiver Scheme available

This course is currently unavailable for booking

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Overview 

This module will offer readers (and writers) of contemporary fiction an opportunity to explore and discuss prizewinning books, including the latest winners of the Man Booker Prize, Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction, and the Wales Books of the Year. It will also look at the function of prize-giving and its intended and unintended effects on the world of books.  

Programme 

Alongside the learning materials on Blackboard the tutor will be on hand via email to answer any queries and provide guidance throughout the course. There are also 5 live online discussion sessions.  

  • Unit 1 – Introduction.  
  • Unit 2 - Guided discussion focusing on the current winner of the Man Booker Prize.  
  • Units 3 & 4 - Guided discussion focusing on the winner of the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction.  
  • Unit 5 - Students will be invited to invent a prize and justify its existence.  
  • Units 6 & 7 - Guided discussion focusing on one or more of the Wales Books of the Year.  
  • Unit 8 - Guided discussion focusing on a book selected by the group. Guidance provided on the final written assignment.      

Learning Outcomes 

On completion of this module, students should be able to:   

  1. Demonstrate an understanding of contemporary texts of high cultural value with confidence using basic literary concepts relating to plot, structure, character, voice, style, and genre.  
  2. Employ concepts such as ‘canon’, ‘postcolonial’, field of literature, cultural capital, gender bias in their arguments.  
  3. Describe how prizes may constrict and contain the production of literature, as well as promote it.  
  4. Contribute with confidence to discussions about the thorny problem of how we fund the arts (and specifically literature) in Wales and beyond.   

Assessments 

  1. Invent your own prize (600 words) 30%.  
  2. Written essay (1000 words) 70%.  

Reading Suggestions 

Reading suggestions will be offered throughout the course.  

Entry Requirements 

This course is for everyone. No previous experience is needed and there are no formal entry requirements. 

What Do I Need? 

As this is an online course, you would need the following: 

  • Internet access.
  • Access to a laptop or computer with a web camera and microphone; the use of headphones might also be of benefit.
  • Use of the Chrome web-browser where possible.