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Creative Writing
CREATIVE WRITING The Faculty of Humanities offers a one-year programme in creative writing during the academic year 2008/2009. The course is based on meetings, and teaching is distributed over two semesters with 7 weekend meetings (3 in the autumn, 4 in the spring) and two week-long meetings (5 days at the beginning of each semester). The first meeting will be held in mid-June. Application deadline: 1 March 2008.
This course and a supplementary course is normally offered every second year by the disciplines of Nordic linguistics and literature.
During the academic year 2007/2008 we will be offering the supplementary course in creative writing. Please note that the deadline for applications has been extended to 15 April 2007.
The supplementary course in creative writing will be offered next time during the academic year 2009/2010, and the deadline for applications is 15 April 2009.
Maximum number of students for both courses is 15.
Curriculum:
1. Course title
Nordic literature: Creative Writing
2. Code
NOR-1113
3. Credits 60
4. Semester Autumn/Spring
5. Course type Compulsory
6. Description
The creative writing programme is different from other studies of the humanities and must be compared to education in other forms of art offered at college level in Norway and at universities in countries like Sweden, Germany, England and the USA. The objective of the programme is to provide opportunities in the region for students who wish to develop their creative writing skills.
The aim of the course is to develop the writing skills of each individual student through boldness and experimentation, increasing the students' sense of quality and their ability to evaluate through intensive studies of texts, and providing knowledge of the devices of literary language, of the recent development of Norwegian and Northern Norwegian literature, and of the literary system in Norway.
The course is divided into a skills component and a knowledge component.
The skills component consists of the students' own production of fictional texts based on writing assignments given both during and between the student meetings. In addition, active participation in the text workshop is required.
The text workshop constitutes the core of the course. Students are to present their own work to their fellow students in small groups, and they will have their own work discussed in plenum, both by fellow students, the teachers of the course, and different guest writers who are invited to the different meetings.
The guest readers constitute a significant pedagogical element in the course in order to demonstrate the diversity not only of text design and writer strategies, but also of different readings and evaluations of the same texts, which is meant to counter trend formation, uniformity, and simplification of literary complexity.
In addition to Norwegian and Nordic writers, the students will also meet representatives from the literary institution (publishing directors, critics, representatives from different writers' organizations).
The knowledge component will provide an overview of important tendencies in modern literature and literary understanding. The studies will be based on work studies of a selection of Nordic novels, short stories, poems, and drama, as well as articles about literary theory, genre theory, and literary analysis. Insight into and the ability to use simple concepts for the description of the distinctive character of literary texts will be required. Teaching in the knowledge component will consist of lectures and seminars.
7. Aims/learning outcomes
The objective of the course is to develop the writing skills of the individual student when it comes to the field of fiction. Through their own text production and studies of the texts of others, the students' competence in analysing the weak and strong points of texts will be strengthened, with the aim of increasing the capacity of each student to evaluate and edit their own linguistic works of art. The theoretical component will provide an increased understanding of literary structures.
8. Language of instruction
Norwegian
9. Exam language(s) Norwegian, Swedish, Danish
10. Recommended previous qualifications/ courses
Ex. phil., Ex.fac.
11. Required previous qualifications/ courses
University admission certification
The application for admission must include approximately 15 pages of literary text, as well as information about other education, writing experience, motivation for the course, and opportunities to work between meetings.
12. Teaching and learning methods
Teaching will be given in the form of lectures and seminars, which are meant to support the text workshop where writing assignments are given and where newly written text are commented on in groups and in plenum. In addition, individual supervision is given.
Students are also strongly advised to make use of the creative group pressure that will arise in such a student group to write as much as possible (ideally, much more than the required pages of text) in the course of the academic year. For this reason, the course starts in June rather than in August.
The course is based on meetings, making it possible to live outside of Tromsø. Teaching is distributed over two semesters with 7 weekend meetings (3 in the autumn, 4 in the spring) and two week-long meetings (5 days at the beginning of each semester).
In the autumn, the students have to write assignments in different genres to make them explore different forms of expression and maybe discover unknown aspects of their own writing skills. In the spring semester, the students are then given the responsibility for their own writing between meetings, by formulating a writing project and submitting parts of it before each meeting.
13. Coursework Requirements
The students are expected to hand in texts for the meetings.
14. Assessment method
The examination consists of two parts:
1. The submission of a "completed" text selection of 30-40 pages, produced in the course of the year of studies.
2. If the text selection is assessed as passed, the student is allowed to take the oral examination, where the knowledge of the materials of teaching is tested.
15. Grading
Only the assessment pass/fail is given. In order to get the course accepted as 60 ECTS, the student must pass both parts of the examination.
16. Resit admission and procedure
Resit examinations:
1 Resit examinations will be held as soon as possible after the ordinary exam and normally no later than September 15 for courses offered in the spring semester and February 15 for courses offered in the autumn semester. It is only possible to take the resit examination once, no later than at the beginning of the following semester.
2 At resit examinations, the candidate is to retake the exam(s) which he/she did not pass at the ordinary examination.
17. Student evaluation
The students are given the opportunity to evaluate the teaching in all courses twice: - Approximately halfway through the course, in the form of a conversation between the teacher(s) and the students, or as written feedback to the teacher(s) and/or the Student Advisor for the discipline of which the course is a part. - At the end of the course by completing an approved evaluation form, which is to be submitted anonymously to the responsible teacher(s).
18. Syllabus
Theory: Literature and society and the literary institution: 200 pages.
Genre- and literary theory and literary methodology: 600 pages.
Norwegian and Northern Norwegian literary history: 200 pages.
Fictional syllabus: (novels, short stories, poetry, drama, essays): 1200 pages
Students who have taken or who plan to take examinations in Nordic and/or general literature must note that texts on the syllabus in the different subjects must not overlap.
If you have further questions about the programme, please contact Student Advisor Trine Lise Larsen, e-mail:Trine.Lise.Larsen, tel. 776 44 249.
Web:
http://forfatterstudiet.tk/
TRYKK 2003 - Antologi for forfatterstudiet ved Universitetet i Tromsø 2003
"Supermaria & Bros." - Antologi for Forfatterstudiet i Tromsø 2001
CREATIVE WRITING - SUPPLEMENTARY COURSE:
During the autumn 2007/spring 2008 the Faculty of Humanities will be giving an additional course in creative writing. The maximum number of students is 15, and the course will be organized around 6 meetings.
First meeting is in mid-August. The course is worth 30 credits.
15-30 pages of fictional text, as well as an application form, transcript of records, information about other education, writing experience, motivation for the course, and opportunities to work between meetings, must be sent to the university within 15 April 2007.
The application form is downloadable (item 3.1.: put a tick by “Etter- og videreutdanning” høst 2007, write "NOR-1114 Forfatterstudium påbyggingsemne"): Download application form
Course description
1. Course title
Nordic literature: Creative Writing, supplementary course
2. Code
NOR-1114
3. Credits 30
4. Semester Autumn 2007, spring 2008
5. Course type Optional
6. Description
The objective of this course is to provide an alternative in the region for students who wish to further develop their creative writing skills. The aim of the course is to develop the individual student's writing skills, sense of quality and ability to evaluate, to provide knowledge of the devices of literary language and of the recent development of Norwegian literature, and to provide insight into genre theory and literary theory.
The course is meant for persons who have previously taken the course NOR-1113 Creative writing (60 credits) or equivalent, and who have published at least one fictional book or a certain number of texts in journals or anthologies.
While the basic course in creative writing at the University of Tromsø aims at training students in all genres, and to a large extent provides writing assignments, the idea of this course is for the students to work on their own projects throughout the entire course. The goal is to come a long way towards a completed manuscript.
The course is divided into a skills component and a knowledge component.
The knowledge component will provide an overview of important tendencies in modern literature and literary understanding. The studies will be based on work studies of a selection of novels, short stories, poems, and drama, as well as articles about art and literary theory, genre theory, and literary analysis. Insight into and the ability to use relevant academic terminology in the description of the distinctive character of literary texts will be required.
The skills component consists of individual writing practice and active participation in the writing workshop. The students must be willing to present their own work to their fellow students in the workshop, and to participate in group work on the work of fellow students.
During the course, students will meet Nordic writers who will participate in the writing workshop, i.e. in commenting on the students' texts.
7. Aims/learning outcomes
The objective of the course is to further develop the individual student's writing skills in the field of fiction. Through the work in the text workshop, the student will also receive training in commenting on the texts of others. The theoretical component of the course seeks to provide an extended literary understanding.
8. Language of instruction
Norwegian
9. Exam language(s) Norwegian, Swedish, Danish
10. Recommended previous qualifications/courses
Ex. phil., Ex.fac.
11. Required previous qualifications/courses
In addition to university admission certification, it is required that the applicant has previously the course NOR-1113 Creative writing (60 credits) or equivalent, published a fictional book, or has a draft for a manuscript of at least 40 pages.
The application for admission must include approximately 15-30 pages of literary text, as well as information about other education, writing experience, motivation for the studies, and opportunities for working between the meetings. The texts submitted must be part of a context, and ideally the start of the project with which the student wishes to work throughout the year.
12. Teaching and learning methods
The course is equivalent to one semester's full time studies (30 ECTS), but is organised as a distance course lasting for two semesters, with 4 weekend meetings (two in the autumn, two in the spring), and two one-week meetings (5 days at the beginning of each semester).
Teaching will be given in the form of lectures, seminars, a writing workshop, and individual supervision.
13. Coursework Requirements
Throughout the course, the students must submit texts for the different meetings.
14. Assessment method
One or more literary texts produced throughout the course must be submitted for evaluation. The text(s) must be part of/constitute one overall project. Number of pages: 40 - 60.
15. Grading
Only the assessment pass/fail is given.
16. Resit admission and procedure
Resit examinations will be held as soon as possible after the ordinary exam and normally no later than September 15 for courses offered in the spring semester and February 15 for courses offered in the autumn semester. It is only possible to take the resit examination once, no later than at the beginning of the following semester.
17. Student evaluation
The students are given the opportunity to evaluate the teaching in all courses twice:
- Approximately halfway through the course, in the form of a conversation between the teacher(s) and the students, or as written feedback to the teacher(s) and/or the Student Advisor for the discipline of which the course is a part.
- At the end of the course by completing an approved evaluation form, which is to be submitted anonymously to the responsible teacher(s).
18. Syllabus
Theory (literary analysis, literary theory, genre theory, literary history): 600 pages. Fictional syllabus: 800 pages. Students who have taken or who plan to take examinations in Nordic and/or general literature must note that texts on the syllabus in the different subjects must not overlap.
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