Writing Women

Overview

This module will explore the various ways in which feminism can be translated to creative writing. We will uncover elements of feminism in works by writers such as Zoë Brigley, Fiona Benson, Angela Carter, and Amber Sparks amongst others. During this course, we will embolden the women of fairy tale, myth, history, and our own lives and discuss what feminism means to us as writers. Through prompts and writing exercises, students will challenge misogynistic portrayals of women in creative work, bring the marginalised to the forefront, and give voice to the silenced.

Programme

Each week’s topic will encompass reading of selected texts, analysis and discussion, followed by writing exercises (poetry and prose) as well as a reflective journal.

Week 1: Introduction

Using a repertoire of starter exercises, the session will begin to shed light on the cultural assumptions around writing women, while generating some material for further writing.

Week 2: The fairy tale woman

We’re all familiar with classic fairy tale tropes and narratives. This week, we will explore some of the typical conventions of the fairy tale, and experiment with writing our own fairy tale women.

Week 3: Rewriting fairy tales

We’re all familiar with classic fairy tale tropes and narratives. This week, we will explore some of the typical conventions of the fairy tale, and experiment with writing our own fairy tale women. 

Week 4: The One’s Left Behind: forgotten voices 1

This week will consider how women’s voices have often been sidelined and marginalised in literature. Through poetry and prose extracts, students will engage with sidelined characters.

Week 5: The One’s Left Behind: forgotten voices 2

This week will consider how women’s voices have often been sidelined and marginalised in literature. Through poetry and prose extracts, students will engage with sidelined characters.

Week 6: Iconic Women

What inspires us to write about well-known female figures? This week, we will read pieces about both historic and fictional women, and try to capture some of the elements that make them worth writing about.

Week 7:  Women in portraits: subverting the male gaze

This session will explore women as objects in art, using photography and paintings as prompts to inspire creative pieces, reclaiming the narratives of women in portraiture.

Week 8: Writing the self as a woman

This week will focus on conceptions of the self. What forces, internal and external, impact on and shape our sense of self? How do gender, sexuality and sex play into our worldview and lived experiences? We will explore ways to capture these experiences in our writing.

Week 9: Overcoming adversity: Triumph like a girl

In our penultimate week, we will be looking at pieces of literature which capture moments of triumph for the women within them, and thinking about how to write our own pieces filled with both rage and redemption.

Week 10: Outro

Learning Outcomes 

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

1. Demonstrate a broad understanding of what feminism constitutes within a literary context
2. Demonstrate an ability to write with nuance about female characters
3. Produce a portfolio of writing assembled over the course of the module
4. Produce a piece of written work for assessment
5. Engage with, analyse and discuss selected texts
6. Discuss development of own and others’ writing through workshopping and feedback
7. Reflect on their own work through a reflective journal, (to be shared with the tutor only)

Assessments

• Creative Writing portfolio of either three poems or one piece of prose (500 words) and a 1500 word critical commentary (1,2,4) OR
• A 1500 word essay responding to a set question analysing some of the texts explored throughout the module (1,4,5)  (80%) 
• Contribution to discussion, sharing of work and feeding back on others’ work (5,6,7) (20%)

Skills

1. Creative Problem Solving
   The writing portfolio and group discussions will help analysis and editing of their own and others’ writing
2. Critical and Analytical Thinking
   The writing portfolio will present the students with opportunity to analyse and evaluate information from critical sources and essays
3. Adaptability and Resilience
   The course places emphasis on positive feedback, working with others, self-reflection and communicating with different audiences (through written work and feedback)
4. Digital Capacity
   Students will use Blackboard and Panopto to access sessions
5. Reflection
   Students will keep a reflective journal for the purposes of exploring their own experiences week by week
6. Professional Communication
   Feeding back and commenting on others’ creative pieces will give students opportunity to develop communication skills
7. Real world sense
   Time-management and meeting deadlines to upload work every week
8. Co-ordinating with others
   Working with others to build a sense of community within the module
9. Subject specific skills
   Creative writing, both poetry and prose

Reading Suggestions

The World’s Wife, Carol Ann Duffy, (London: Faber, 2000)

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.