Experimental Forms: Theory and Practice

Undergraduate | 2026

Course page banner
area/catalogue icon
Area/Catalogue
WRIT 3001
Course ID icon
Course ID
200906
Level of study
Level of study
Undergraduate
Unit value icon
Unit value
6
Course level icon
Course level
3
Study abroad and student exchange icon
Inbound study abroad and exchange
Inbound study abroad and exchange
The fee you pay will depend on the number and type of courses you study.
Yes
University-wide elective icon
University-wide elective course
Yes
Single course enrollment
Single course enrolment
Yes
alt
Note:
Course data is interim and subject to change

Course overview

This third-year course aims to introduce students to a variety of experimental literary traditions and methods from the early twentieth century to the present. It offers a particular focus on the use of formal constraints, hybrid forms, collage and cut-up, games, and the ethical use of Artificial Intelligence as a tool for avant-garde creative practice. The course will expand students’ understanding of the importance of experimentation to literary innovation and help them work towards incorporating established methods into their own writing practice as well as giving them tools to devise their own approaches.

Course learning outcomes

  • Interpret, craft, and reflect critically on a broad range of experimental texts and techniques belonging to different genres, traditions, and movements
  • Conceptualise experimental writing projects and constraints, devise plans for their research and execution, and fulfil these to deadlines
  • Analyse creative, critical, and theoretical texts related to different experimental forms, modes, and genres, informed by the global, historical, and technological contexts of their production
  • Write and revise polished creative and critical works that demonstrate significant levels of clarity, insight, narrative innovation, and sophistication
  • Evaluate their own and others’ writing, both in seminar-based workshops and through written feedback

Prerequisite(s)

N/A

Corequisite(s)

N/A

Antirequisite(s)

N/A