Admission and Unit Information - Master of Arts in Cultural and Creative Practice

This unit will consider the nature of writing in terms of both writing and editorial practice. It will involve the analysis of major works by contemporary writers (both of fiction and non-fiction) and reflect on the processes through which works move from conception to completion and publication. This reflection will be both theoretical and practical as the unit will involve significant input from Giramondo Press and the literary journal Heat. It will also involve engagement with events UWS will stage in collaboration with the Sydney Writers' Festival and offer students the opportunity to become involved in the development of those events.

This course familiarises students with methods of pursuing and presenting research across the humanities as well as with regard to the kinds of research required for undertaking creative work. It further provides students with the opportunity to explore these methods in their own research or creative practice. The unit is comprised of specific training exercises, which will enable students to develop the research skills necessary to developing for their masters project.

The masters project provides the opportunity for students to undertake a major research project in a selected area under academic supervision. The thesis (12,000 words) may be presented in a written, rationally-argued format. Alternatively, it may be of a non-standard project (eg. Video, script, poetry, fiction) if certain conditions are met including presentation of a 3,000 word research essay giving a critical exposition of the project in a written, rationally-argued form. This unit is to be completed in two sessions.

This unit will focus on critical theory as it is applied to literature and other kinds of creative practice, and the ways in which these practices interact with cultural contexts. The unit will shift between classical views of cultural practice (especially those developed by the Greeks) and contemporary theory. An overview of various theoretical perspectives will be offered before turning to the analysis of particular, important, theoretical texts. These texts will focus on creative practice or cultural practice more generally, and provide students with tools which will help them to develop sophisticated understandings of the nature of creative practice.

This unit will consider elements of the physical world around us: the phenomena we enhabit which form our sense of self. We will engage with ideas from science, phenomenology, and literary theory in considering particular aspects of both our interaction with nature, and how it shapes us, and the manner in which we shape and force ourselves upon nature. A specific theme related to this interaction between the world and our worlds will be addressed. The unit will involve interaction with Sydney Consortium events staged at the Australian Museum.

This course familiarises students with methods of pursuing and presenting research across the humanities as well as with regard to the kinds of research required for undertaking creative work. It further provides students with the opportunity to explore these methods in their own research or creative practice. The unit involves workshops in which students work through elements of the work they are developing for their masters project.

The masters project provides the opportunity for students to undertake a major research project in a selected area under academic supervision. The thesis (12,000 words) may be presented in a written, rationally-argued format. Alternatively, it may be of a non-standard project (eg. Video, script, poetry, fiction) if certain conditions are met including presentation of a 3,000 word research essay giving a critical exposition of the project in a written, rationally-argued form. This unit is to be completed in two sessions.

This unit will involve a consideration of processes of translation between cultures. It will focus on examples of specific cultural forms (from literature and other art forms) and develop readings that allow us to reflect upon processes of intercultural communication. It will also consider the transference, or translation of ideas into written and other creative forms, using the idea of quest or search as a point of departure. It will consider the idea of 'archives' in this process. It will involve interaction with events staged by the Sydney Consortium at the State Library of NSW.

This unit will involve a reflection on practice-based research in the arts. It will involve a consideration of how various art-forms might interact and inform one another. There will, then, be a focus on interdisciplinary interaction in the arts: across music, visual arts, and writing, with a strong interest in the potentials of new media. We will, in the course of the unit, engage with material at the Museum of Contemporary Arts and relate aspects of it to events staged by the Sydney Consortium.