57145 Critical Writing

Requisite(s): 57041 Advanced Narrative Writing OR 57031 Non-fiction Writing OR 57142 Writing for the Screen OR 50359 Screenwriting OR 50309 Advanced Screenwriting

These requisites may not apply to students in certain courses.

There are also course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.

This subject addresses the theoretical and practical aspects of critical writing in the key creative and professional genres: literary journalism, essay writing, reviewing (particularly book reviewing) and literary criticism. Students are introduced to examples of critical writing in magazines and journals as well as in the major newspapers, and are encouraged to engage with the nature of informed critical reading in relation to contemporary writing. The subject aims to increase understanding of how appropriate critical writing responds to significant literary issues, and how it may usefully contribute to debate over these issues. This subject includes examination of significant literary or cultural topics focusing upon specific texts or authors (e.g. the history–fiction debate, the Norma Khouri affair) and the writing of a profile, essay or review article demonstrating an understanding of and engagement with the institutional, publishing and media context in which critical writing is produced.