Prescribed Texts

• Nadine Gordimer A World of Strangers
• Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Half of a Yellow Sun
• Antjie Krog Country of My Skull
• Course Reader Reading for Writing: Drama

Whether in newspapers, magazines, books or television coverage, journalism influences much of what we think and know about our societies and ourselves. In shaping their ‘stories’, in conveying their ‘facts’, journalists use many of the techniques of literary discourse. At the same time, some of the most challenging contemporary developments in literature have involved journalistic techniques and principles. In this module, we encourage students to think, speak and write in informed ways about the ‘sociological’, the ‘literary’, the ‘creative’ and the ‘documentary’.
Throughout the course, the extensive emphasis on critical reading informed by an awareness of expressive technique is intended to train students in developing their ability to read the work of established authors in a writerly way. Students will be expected to produce several written tasks, among them an academic essay and a piece of creative writing.