BEAT WRITING - 2024/5

Module Overview

The Beat Generation writers scandalised and shocked mid-20th Century American culture, challenging societal norms of gender, politics, religion and spirituality, race, sexuality, sex, drugs and music alongside proposing radical literary practices that struck at the heart of polite literary society. They, and their writings, were seen as wild, unpredictable, dangerous and transgressive. This was the birth of youth culture.

In this course, students will be introduced to key aspects of and movements in Beat writing, through the techniques employed by the writers themselves, from the spontaneous writing of Jack Kerouac, the paranoia cut-up methods of William Burroughs, the visionary ‘madness’ of Allen Ginsberg to the writings on gender and race of Anne Waldman, John Wieners and Leroi Jones. Alongside this we will look at the writing practices of the Beat writers of the San Francisco Renaissance, for example the beast language of Michael McClure and the Zen poetics of Gary Snyder.

In each workshop we will first spend some time discussing the set texts and the techniques employed by those writers concerned, before moving on to the workshop part of the class where students will produce work in accordance with the task set for that week. We will read and discuss a selection of pieces at the end of each class.

At the end of the semester students will produce a creative portfolio of Beat or Beat-inspired writing, alongside a critical essay and commentary reflecting on the creative work produced and using theories, concepts and practices studied on the module, OR an academic critical essay examining some aspect of the Beat Writing phenomenon.

This module connects to other contemporary literature modules on the programme where the emphasis is on 20th and 21st Century approaches to creating and examining literatures and our cultural responses to them.
As a hybrid creative writing and English literature module, it also makes up part of the creative writing pathway in the degree, connecting to a wide variety of creative writing modules offered as part of the programme.

 

Module provider

School of Literature and Languages

Module Leader

MOONEY Stephen (Lit & Langs)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 7

JACs code: T720

Module cap (Maximum number of students): 15

Module Availability

Semester 2

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None.  

Module content

The following areas are indicative of topics to be covered:

• Beat and its Interpretations


• Spontaneous Writing


• Visionary Beat


• The Paranoia Cut-Up


• Bop Prosody


• Meat Writing


• Zen Writing


• Fast Speaking Women


• Beat Memoir


• Gender and Transgression in the Beats


• Violence, Transgression, Anger in the Social Beat 

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate:

• the development in their knowledge and understanding of literary and creative texts and textual practices that will feed forward into their future careers as writers and /or critics


• their understanding of the social, cultural, historical and geographical contexts for the production of literary and creative texts and of the way those texts intervene in related discourses such as cultural and ecological sustainability


• their understanding of verbal creativity and the formal and aesthetic dimensions of literary and creative texts as well as professional writing more widely


• their creative ability in writing on themes or in techniques related to Beat writing and/or a mid- 20th Century context


• a range of subject specific and transferable skills gained in critical and creative thinking, in the production of critical and creative texts, and of practical support in the development of employability and/or creative practice skills


• individual critical and/or creative responses to the subject material via a diverse range of assessment submission options designed to appeal to diverse and inclusive learning and composition practices and/or to allow students to select assessment types most useful to them in planning for their current professional orientation or future employment plans

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

* Creative Piece (3000 words in prose or equivalent in other forms) plus critical essay and commentary (1500 words) (100%) OR Critical Essay (4500 words) (100%)

 

Formative assessment and feedback

Verbal feedback and formative ‘feed forward’ is provided through seminar discussions, and tutor and peer feedback in seminars, on short pieces (250-500 words of prose, or equivalent in another form) presented as part of the confidence building safe space of the creative writing workshop element of the classes.
Each student can expect to present 2-3 such pieces over the course of the semester according to a schedule worked out between the tutor and the student cohort.

Written and/or oral tutor feedback will also be provided on one piece of creative writing (maximum of 1000 words or equivalent for poetry or other form) during the course of the module (the student is free to submit this at any point of the semester).
As such, writing, presentation and critical analysis skills will be developed and honed which will feed forward to the summative assessment at the end of the module. There is the option of a range of other feedback mechanisms agreed between tutor and students in week 1 of the module, such as seminar contribution and writing exercises.

 

Module aims

• The module aims to: develop in students a thorough critical understanding of Beat Generation writing in the context of
  mid-20th Century culture through a range of prose, poetic and dramatic texts
• sharpen students' ability to analyse and appraise compositional styles and techniques in the Beat writing mode, and apply critical insights to their own writing practices OR published works
• facilitate the acquiring of the advanced detailed knowledge and skills necessary for producing Beat writing
• help students refine the ability to apply critical awareness to one's own creative writing OR published works
• encourage students to work as a group in the production of collaborative work in the workshop context and to submit work for publication
• facilitate the advanced examination of the theory and conceptualisation of Beat writing critically alongside the practices and published texts produced in relation to it
• encourage students to further critically develop their thinking about their own practice as writers, OR that of other writers, and to present this in cogent terms
• further critically develop students' technical writing skills in multiple forms, such as prose, poetry, drama, screenwriting and other, including intermedial, forms
• expand students' understanding of the context of mid- to late-20th century ecological concerns in Beat Writing
• help prepare students to consider possible routes to publication for their work and make them aware of possible careers as arts professionals

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

• Hone and develop students’ writing skills in academic writing, and/or creative writing (prose fiction and/or poetry) by more fully developing their sense of their own practice as writers in relation to mid 20th century practices that have had, and continue to have, a significant formative effects on contemporary writing, and to help students produce innovative, imaginative and exciting publication standard creative work through the study of canonical and alternative texts and writerly techniques and practices and applying this knowledge to their own work


• Assist students in locating literary texts and their critical writing, and/or their creative work in historical and cultural contexts by developing an advanced understanding of the context of radical and experimental writing practices that were instrumental in the formulation of the wider development of youth culture


• Equip students with the research and writing skills they will need to produce critically informed academic writing, and/or creative writing (prose fiction and/or poetry) and creative criticism by developing a stronger sense of the materials and techniques available to them as writers, and are able to locate their work within the context of contemporary writing through workshopping and discussing their own work and those of other students


• Facilitate in students productive reflection on both the creative process itself and the finished work by helping them gain significant confidence and ability in critically analysis and thinking, and an ability to use specific compositional skills that will have practical application to their practices and employability as writers

The learning and teaching methods include a combination of lecture materials, seminars, captured content, guided learning and independent learning.

Students will engage with preparatory reading, including creative work by other students, in advance of the seminar which will combine discussion of interrelated critical ideas and texts with in-class creative or critical writing exercises each week. Designed to help students reflect on and apply their learning to creative and critical outputs, the workshop environment acts as a safe space for developing and exchanging ideas, support and writing skills.

Varied learning materials such as lexical texts, visual materials, sculptural objects and other physical material prompts, video and sound objects are designed to increase student accessibility and will present them with a range of interpretive materials and approaches with which to work and develop their own thinking and creative responses.

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: ELIM031

Other information

Surrey's Curriculum Framework is committed to developing graduates with strengths in Employability, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability and Resourcefulness and Resilience. This module is designed to allow students to develop knowledge, skills and capabilities in the following areas:

Employability: This module acts alongside other MA modules in both the English literature and creative writing programmes to help students hone to a highly polished and professional standard their writing, composition and communication skills, as critics and/or as creative writers.
In this Masters level module you will get the chance as an English literature student to study, alongside advanced critical materials, highly contextualised and influential contemporary literary forms, texts and literary devices and explore the subtleties and nuances of language that responds to late-capitalism and its uses of language not just in a cultural context, but also in relation to economies of writing and literary production which will be of interest to all students interested in the literary industries as employers and objects of study and analysis.
This feeds directly into the writing, language, analytical and communication skills Masters level students in literature and creative writing develop on their degree beyond those attained in undergraduate degrees. These advanced skills are highly prized by contemporary employers in students educated to post-graduate level.
As a creative writing student, you will get the chance to explore literary form, style and language from a critical and influential period in literary history alongside the study of pivotal works from the period and alongside key critical materials that will help you develop and contextualise your own writing. We will look at areas such as modernist and post-modernist forms, identity writing, meaning and nuance in radical and experimental writing, interfaces between lexical text and the visual arts, narrative and non-narrative modes of writing and other formal aspects of the writing craft.
The skills developed in this module, developed alongside your other literature and creative writing modules, will help equip you for the vast range of employment and career pathways that our post-graduate students go on to after (and sometimes during) their degree, beyond that of academic or ‘creative writer’ (novelist, poet, non-fiction writer, for example). Amongst these are: copywriting, editorial roles, teaching, publishing, marketing, proofreading, journalism and social media roles of all types just to name a few.
For both English literature and creative writing students, you will get the opportunity to experiment with and present critical and creative work in the workshop settings as well as respond to the work of other writers and critics, another set of key skills that English literature and creative writing bring to the table in a host of career and employment settings.
 
Global and Cultural Capabilities: Literature and creative writing are fields that teach us about the human experience and our part in local and global cultures, facilitating exchange of ideas and experiences and helping to foster creative and cultural empathy in readers and writers of all kinds across the globe. Creative and critical writing in these fields also play a very important recording and preservation role in narrativising and keeping alive and vibrant different cultures and experiences, especially those that might otherwise be silenced or endangered.
In this module you examine the explosive literature of the mid-20th century American counterculture that challenged orthodoxies of gender, race and identity and that spread across the globe in different, and often problematic, ways.
You will be asked to respond critically or creatively to texts and modes of writing from this turbulent social, cultural and literary period, and are encouraged to share and/or write your experiences and knowledge through the lenses of, or in response to, this pivotal conflux of political and social movements (such as the anti-war movement, women’s liberation, the civil rights movement, gay rights, and more) in relation to your own cultures and backgrounds, to think about those of other students and writers, to respect and value differences in experience and to bring this knowledge into your critical and creative writing practice.
The weekly seminar and workshopping sessions give students the opportunity to present your own narrative to the cultural and literary context of ‘Beat Writing’ and to experience and respond to those of others in a friendly, constructive and open forum.

Resourcefulness and Resilience: English Literature as a discipline exposes us to different, varied and diverse experiences from history as well as our contemporary world. These literatures and the critical material around them teach us many things about ourselves as people, individuals and communities. How and why we behave and think the ways we do, how we cope with the challenges that our lives (and our lives in university!) throw at us. This module is no exception, exploring as it does the radical anti-establishment forces that changed mid-20th century American and global society and culture in vital ways, reminding us forcefully that we can reshape our communities in ways that better reflect our own needs as individuals and citizens. Civil rights, women’s rights, gay rights, student activism and more all took huge steps forward in this period and stand as hopeful and inspiring examples for students and writers today.
Famously, literature conveys important lessons, comfort and significance (emotional, mental and spiritual) to us through the medium of language, not just in what it says, but how it says it. Beat Writers created new, vibrant and liberatory methods of literary expression that still inspire today.
For creative writing students, the life of a writer can often be a solitary and isolating one. This module, through workshopping, group work and shared writerly experience will help equip you for the real world setting of your current and future writing practice. You will also continue to hone the critical contextualising faculties beyond those of undergraduate study in this and other MA modules on your degree through constructive critical workshopping of your work and those of your post-graduate peer writing community. The creative writing workshop at post-graduate level is a focussed and creatively scholarly forum for you to receive support, guidance, encouragement and practically helpful feedback in a friendly and affirming environment that is difficult to replicate outside of university. The writing friendships and writerly connections you make in these creative writing seminars and workshops, and attached events, you will likely carry forward throughout your career as a writer. You will also benefit from the experience of your tutors as professional writers working today and from periodic guest speakers attached to this and other creative writing modules in relation to your practice as a writer, the practicalities of building a portfolio of writing and a profile as a writer, the realities of the publishing industries and the importance of connecting to writing communities that will be essential to your current and future emotional and practical wellbeing and success as a writer.

Sustainability: On this module, you will study, as part of our examination of the social and pollical context of Beat Writing, the work of writers such as Gary Snyder, Michael McClure and Joanne Kyger whose work has been categorised as early eco-writing, powerfully concerned about the exploitation of the planet’s natural resources, including natural ecosystems and the ‘voices’ of animal and plant life, often (but not always) in relation to Buddhist teachings of balance and sustainability. Creative writing students will also have the opportunity to write their own sustainability narratives in their current context in response to the ideas and techniques encountered in the writings on this module. In this regard, this module corrects directly to other modules on your degree that also have a strong focus on cultural and ecological sustainability.

 

 

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2024/5 academic year.