TRAM059

Module Catalogue

Module Code: TRAM059

Module Title: CREATIVE WRITING

Module Provider: Language & Translation Studies	Short Name: TRAM059	Previous Short Name: TRAM059
Level: M	Module Co-ordinator: DOLOUGHAN F Dr (Cult & Comm)
Number of credits: 10	Number of ECTS credits: 5

Module Availability

Spring semester

Assessment Pattern

Unit(s) of Assessment	Weighting Towards Module Mark (%)
Exercises done in class;	20%
3 homework assignments of 400 words each;	50%
A writer’s diary in which students reflect on their textual practice both in relation to aspects of narrative discussed in class and in the light of their own creative insights and output.	30%
Students are required to submit a Portfolio containing all three elements of their coursework by a date after Easter (to be notified).

Qualifying Condition(s)

Level 3: A weighted aggregate mark of 40% is required to pass the module.

Level M: A weighted aggregate mark of 50% is required to pass the module.

Module Overview

This module focuses on the skills that translators should have as expert text analysts and users. It draws attention to the similarities between original text production and translation by looking at such phenomena as intertextuality, style and time/process/object representations. Students are expected to engage in practical exercises and produce different pieces of writing as well as reflect on their own textual output; in this way they can hone their writing skills and sharpen their awareness of the nature of texts, both of which are transferable to the area of translation.

Prerequisites/Co-requisites

For HE3, pre-requisite is Level HE2 or European university equivalent or equivalent language competence.
For M-level, co-requisites are the modules Translation of Persuasive Texts and Translation of Children’s Literature.

Module Aims

This module is intended to develop students’ creative and critical practice and to extend their understanding of the commonalities between the processes of translation and of writing in general. It seeks to do this through exposure to and discussion of a range of ‘creative’ texts and to highlight the interdependency of textual artifacts. It will also offer opportunities for students to create their own texts both on the basis of existing texts as well as ‘from scratch’.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the module students should have:

Enhanced awareness of the craft of writing;
An appreciation of the interdependency of texts and an understanding of the extent to which creative writing may represent a critical response to other texts;
Understanding of a repertoire of techniques by which particular stylistic effects may be achieved;
An enhanced ability to read their own textual productions with a critical eye and to express their judgments using a critical/analytical vocabulary;
Increased knowledge of the writing process and of their own preferred modes of production.

Module Content

This module will take the form of a weekly writing workshop, divided into two parts. In the first hour there will be input from the lecturer informed by a range of theories and critical insights from narratology; translation studies; and professional literacy studies, supported by guided discussion of extracts from published narrative texts. The second hour will comprise a mixture of short writing exercises and feedback on student-generated pieces of writing.

Indicative content:

· The writer as translator and the translator as writer

· Drawing on experience: autobiographical and life-writing

· Drawing on other texts: transposition and adaptation

· The language of things: precision and exactitude

· Translating space and representing place

· Representing time

· Reporting speech

· Developing a theme

· Sequencing and hierarchy

Revising and editing

Methods of Teaching/Learning

The module will be run as a workshop/seminar with active student participation. It will include responding critically to published texts and using a series of stimuli (e.g. verbal; visual; auditory) to prompt creative output.

2 contact hours per week

Selected Texts/Journals

Calvino, I. (1996) Six Memos for the New Millennium. London: Vintage

Mills, P. (1996) Writing in Action. London and New York: Routledge

Sanger, K. (1998) The Language of Fiction. London and New York: Routledge

Simpson, P. (1997) Language through Literature. London and New York: Routledge

Toolan, M. (2001) Narrative: a critical linguistic introduction (second edition.) London and New York: Routledge

In addition, students will find useful the following works for reference:

Allen, G. (2005) Intertextuality. London and New York: Routledge

Bassnett, S. and P. Bush (eds) (2006) The Translator as Writer. London and New York: Continuum

Dawson, Paul (2005) Creative Writing and the New Humanities London and New York: Routledge

Eco, U. (2003) Mouse or Rat? Translation as Negotiation. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson

Nasta, S. (2004) Contemporary writers talk. London and New York: Routledge

Perteghhella, M. and E. Loffredo (eds) (2006) Translation and Creativity Continuum: London and New York

Last Updated

20 July 2007

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