CRWR 2018 - Experimental Writing: Games, Constraints and AI

North Terrace Campus - Semester 2 - 2024

Experimental and avant-garde writing has long been a driver of more mainstream literary innovation. This course will introduce students to an array of experimental techniques, including approaches that have been central to Surrealism, Modernism, and OULIPO. Together we will engage with examples of pathbreaking experimental works, including some of the most breathtakingly audacious writing being published today. Working with found texts, collage, cut-ups, manifestos, game forms, the intersection of text and image, and digital technologies including AI, students will produce a portfolio of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, drama, screenwriting, or multiple forms. To produce their portfolios, students will make use of established techniques, as well as devising their own methods of formal constraint and literary innovation. They will be encouraged to approach the refinement of their practice and poetics as both a literary craft and an art pursued for its own ends that may stand liberated from the demands of the market.

  • General Course Information
    Course Details
    Course Code CRWR 2018
    Course Experimental Writing: Games, Constraints and AI
    Coordinating Unit English, Creative Writing, and Film
    Term Semester 2
    Level Undergraduate
    Location/s North Terrace Campus
    Units 3
    Available for Study Abroad and Exchange Y
    Prerequisites 12 units of Level I study
    Incompatible CRWR 2005
    Biennial Course Even years only
    Course Staff

    Course Coordinator: Professor Patrick Flanery

    Course Timetable

    The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

  • Learning Outcomes
    Course Learning Outcomes
    On successful completion of this course students will be able to:

    1. Confidently interpret and respond to a range of experimental and especially poetic literary texts;
    2. Begin to demonstrate the ability to frame experimental writing projects, produce plans for their research and execution, and fulfil these to deadlines;
    3. Engage rigorously and self-reflexively with selected experimental texts and the global and historical contexts of their production;
    4. Write and revise experimental texts that demonstrate high levels of aesthetic innovation and sophistication and which approach genre as a labile space of transformation;
    5. Critically evaluate their own and others’ creative work, both orally and in writing;
    6. Engage seriously, sensitively, and respectfully with their peers, both in person and online, to provide substantive and productive feedback on creative work.
    University Graduate Attributes

    This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

    University Graduate Attribute Course Learning Outcome(s)

    Attribute 1: Deep discipline knowledge and intellectual breadth

    Graduates have comprehensive knowledge and understanding of their subject area, the ability to engage with different traditions of thought, and the ability to apply their knowledge in practice including in multi-disciplinary or multi-professional contexts.

    1,2,3,4,5,6

    Attribute 2: Creative and critical thinking, and problem solving

    Graduates are effective problems-solvers, able to apply critical, creative and evidence-based thinking to conceive innovative responses to future challenges.

    3,4,5,6

    Attribute 3: Teamwork and communication skills

    Graduates convey ideas and information effectively to a range of audiences for a variety of purposes and contribute in a positive and collaborative manner to achieving common goals.

    2,4,5,6

    Attribute 4: Professionalism and leadership readiness

    Graduates engage in professional behaviour and have the potential to be entrepreneurial and take leadership roles in their chosen occupations or careers and communities.

    2,4,5,6

    Attribute 5: Intercultural and ethical competency

    Graduates are responsible and effective global citizens whose personal values and practices are consistent with their roles as responsible members of society.

    4,5,6

    Attribute 7: Digital capabilities

    Graduates are well prepared for living, learning and working in a digital society.

    2,4,5,6

    Attribute 8: Self-awareness and emotional intelligence

    Graduates are self-aware and reflective; they are flexible and resilient and have the capacity to accept and give constructive feedback; they act with integrity and take responsibility for their actions.

    4,5,6
  • Learning Resources
    Required Resources
    Students may expect to acquire up to 6 set-text books. A final reading list will be provided by the end of Semester 1. It is likely to include the following:

    Hoa Nguyen, A Thousand Times You Lose Your Treasure
    Don Mee Choi, DMZ Colony
    Anne Carson, Wrong Norma

    Additional readings will be made available through MyUni and the Library (Reading Lists). This may include work by: Anne Carson, Anne Garréta, Claudia Rankine, Lydia Davis, and K Allado-McDowell, among others.
    Recommended Resources
    The Routledge Companion to Experimental Literature, edited by Joe Bray, Alison Gibbons, Brian McHale


  • Learning & Teaching Activities
    Learning & Teaching Modes
    Teaching is delivered through a one-hour weekly lecture and two-hour tutorial.
    Workload

    The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

    The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

    WORKLOAD – STRUCTURED LEARNING TOTAL HOURS
    1 x 1-hour lecture per week - 12 hours per semester
    1 x 2-hour tutorial per week - 24 hours per semester
    TOTAL = 36 hours per semester

    WORKLOAD – SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING TOTAL HOURS

    4 hours reading and research per week - 48 hours per semester
    6 hours writing and portfolio work per week - 72 hours per semester
    TOTAL = 120 hours per semester

    Combined TOTAL = 156 hours per semester

    Learning Activities Summary

    No information currently available.

  • Assessment

    The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

    1. Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
    2. Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
    3. Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
    4. Assessment must maintain academic standards.

    Assessment Summary
    1. 1,500-word critical essay - Formative & Summative (30%) / 1,2,3,4,5
    2. 3,000-word creative portfolio - Formative & Summative (60%) / 1,2,3,4,5
    3. Seminar Participation - Formative (10%) / 5,6

    Assessment Detail
    Seminar Participation (Weighting 10%) Students will be required to: prepare for seminars by having done the set reading and/or writing exercises; and to engage in cooperative and collegial discussion and tasks within seminars. They will also complete in-class quizzes.

    1500-Word Critical Essay (Weighting 30%) Students will write a critical essay that responds to a question set by the course convenor.

    3000-Word Creative Portfolio (Weighting 60%) Students will produce a creative portfolio in one or more literary genres; a proportion of the word count may be devoted to explicating their experimental processes and, as relevant, describing their use of AI tools.
    Submission
    Submission of critical essay and creative portfolio will be made exclusively through Turnitin.
    Course Grading

    Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

    M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
    Grade Mark Description
    FNS   Fail No Submission
    F 1-49 Fail
    P 50-64 Pass
    C 65-74 Credit
    D 75-84 Distinction
    HD 85-100 High Distinction
    CN   Continuing
    NFE   No Formal Examination
    RP   Result Pending

    Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

    Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

    Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

  • Student Feedback

    The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

    SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

  • Student Support
  • Policies & Guidelines
  • Fraud Awareness

    Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

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