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Writing for the Planet: Creative Writing as Climate and Ecological Activism

Module description

This module invites you to explore creative writing as activism during the climate and ecological emergency.

Dynamic critical readings of a diverse selection of important creative writers addressing these issues today will fuel new critical and creative writing of your own.

Together on this module we will address some central questions. To what extent can literary writing be an effective form of activism on these issues? How can creative writing deal with the vast scientific and socio-political complexity involved? Who are the best writers addressing these issues today and why is their work successful? Who is publishing these texts in what forms? What are the possibilities for pushing traditional forms of writing and publishing to increase the impact of the work?

By the end of the module, you will have read and discussed a range of literary essays and writings on this this theme, and you will have produced: (a) a literary essay; and (b) a linked creative writing project.

Module aims - intentions of the module

The module will develop your skills in writing creatively on the broad theme of the climate and ecological emergency, with a view to the impact of the writing as a form of activism.

You will develop your knowledge of key issues, texts, and writers in this field; your awareness of the role of different forms and approaches to publishing on this issue; your ability to read critically; your ability to construct a persuasive literary essay intended for verbal delivery as a talk; your ability to deliver a talk persuasively in video or podcast form, and your ability to compose a new piece of creative prose writing engaging with the theme of the module.

You will improve your skills in critical reading, research, debating, verbal presentation, essay writing, and creative writing, through assigned work, and through feedback from both your peers and your tutor.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Be familiar with the work of a diverse selection of key contemporary writers addressing the theme of the climate and ecological emergency, and with their distinctive literary approaches
• 2. Be able to critically read fiction and non-fiction addressing the climate and ecological emergency and evaluate its success as a work of literature and as a work of activism.
• 3. Produce a literary essay intended for spoken delivery as a talk on the issue of literary activism in relation to the climate and ecological emergency, demonstrating a sound knowledge and understanding of current issues and debates on the topic, and ability to
• 4. Compose a new piece of creative prose that demonstrates active engagement with the theme of this module.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 5. Demonstrate advanced skills in critical reading and constructing a persuasive argument through the incorporation of literary techniques in the composition of an essay which is suitable for verbal delivery, taking into account use of vocabulary and rhythm.
• 6. Demonstrate a sound understanding of creative writing craft techniques and fluency in deploying them.

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 7. Critically analyse complex written contemporary publications and media, and clearly communicate your interpretation of this material in written form.
• 8. Come up with creative solutions to difficult problems, and produce original and engaging writing that demonstrates good audience awareness.
• 9. Produce a compelling verbal talk in video or podcast form with attention to clarity, pacing, vocal variety, and fluency.

Syllabus plan

This module will include the following elements:

• Critical reading and discussion of a series of key texts on this topic by diverse contemporary writers;
• Experimenting with different creative writing approaches and exercises in response to these texts and the issues they raise, and exploring them through a creative writing workshop process;
• Constructively offering feedback on your peers’ work in the workshop and receiving feedback on your own work from your peers and the seminar tutors;
• Meeting with your peers in small groups beyond the seminar to discuss readings and to share and workshop your work informally;
• Developing a draft title and plan for a creative writing project on the theme of the module;
• Formulating a research question to underpin your literary essay to deliver as a talk, and developing an essay title and plan;
• Discussing and revising these plans and responding to feedback with thoughtful responses and redrafting;
• Producing two pieces of high-quality writing engaging with the theme of the module: an essay recorded as a talk, and a creative work of prose;
• Collaborating with your peers to publish a zine and/or podcast to share your work with wider audiences (optional).

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 50%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 50%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Basic reading: core texts may vary or be changed, but recommended reading will include:

1. Atwood, Margaret, Burning Questions, Chatto & Windus, 2022
2. Hildyard, Daisy, Emergency, Fitzcarraldo, 2022
3. Catton, Eleanor, Birnam Wood, Granta, 2023
4. Ghosh, Amitav, The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable, University of Chicago Press, 2016
5. Offill, Jenny, Weather, Granta, 2021;
6. Rundell, Katherine, The Golden Mole: and other living treasure, Faber and Faber, 2022
7. Powers, Richard, The Overstory, Vintage, 2018;
8. Brady, Amy ed., ‘Climate Fiction: A Special Issue’, Guernica, March 4, 2019
9. Stanley Robinson, Kim, The Ministry of the Future, Orbit, 2021
10. Martin, Mark ed., I’m With the Bears: Short Stories from a Damaged Planet, Verso, 2011

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE page: https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=13119
• New Yorker, Paris Review, TLS

Key words search

Creative Writing, Fiction, Cli-Fi, Literary Essay, Publishing, Ecopoetics, Climate Change, Ecology, Environment, Political Activism, Literary Activism, Culture, Aesthetics, Impact