MA Literary Art

Since 2012, the M.A. Literary Art Creative Writing programme has pioneered the pedagogy of Creative Writing in India with its unique insistence on inculcating in the student both the practice and the theory of literary writing. It imagines a writer as inhabiting a range of literary, historical, social & existential horizons, each of which have their bearing on the nature and depth of individual literary output.

The programme aims to produce writers who are self-reflective and critically aware of the literary, social and cultural landscape of the region and the period they inhabit. It hopes to produce writers who are self-directed and have a unique individual literary voice.

The programme furthers the mandate of AUD to promote attributes of creativity, social responsibility and sensitivity among students, so that they become socially productive and engaged citizens. Additionally, the program combines a strong praxis orientation with a commitment to critical scholarship and interdisciplinarity. It furthers the emphasis on self-directed learning through a classroom based, continuous workshop model, individual research, and the production of creative manuscripts through an engagement with the experiential as well as the social.

At its inception, the School of Culture and Creative Expressions (SCCE) was envisaged as a site where both the theoretical and the practice mode were equally privileged in order to develop a new pedagogy of the creative arts. The M.A. Literary Art Creative Writing programme is a realization of this pedagogic model, combining equally rigorous reading, writing and theoretical components.

It is a two year M.A. Programme with two semesters each year. A semester is of sixteen weeks duration. The students should register for a minimum of 16 credits each semester and need to earn 64 credits to complete the Programme. They may register for more credits on payment of extra fees. All the students of SCCE need to take three common Foundational Courses, one each in the first three semesters, for 12 credits in total. They should also take four Elective Courses offered by the School or any other School in the University, one each in all the four semesters, for 16 credits in total. They need to take seven compulsory Core Courses from their respective discipline (in this case Literary Art Creative Writing) for 28 credits in total. Their MA dissertation in the final semester will earn them eight credits.

	Semester I	Semester 2	Semester 3	Semester 4
Core	Concept Development and Experimentation – I	Concept Development and Experimentation – II	Concept Development and Experimentation – III	Strategies of Creative Writing
Core	Pre-Modern Literary Cultures of India	Modern Literary Cultures of India	Literary Journalism
ELECTIVE	Contexts and Conditions of Production: Considering Cultural Infrastructures	Seven Forms of Poetry	Crafting Poems	Sites of Reading and Writing: The City in/& Literary Production
Foundation Courses	Contemporary Critical Theory – I Critical Theory	Contemporary Critical Theory – II Cultural Studies	Contemporary Critical Theory – III Theories of Marginality
Dissertation				Dissertation (8 credits)

Other Electives:

Forms of Autobiographical Writing
Elements of Folk Imagination
Lyric Poetry & Society
Telling the Tale
Post-Colonial Reverb: Connecting the Dots, Investigating the Imperial Imagination
Ways of Reading

At the end of the programme, the graduates will be able to demonstrate:

Critical Creative-Practice and Thought: The Programme seeks to develop the profile of the writer as a committed intellectual well-versed in the literary, social, cultural, political and aesthetic movements of the modern period, and able to find/devise forms and strategies suitable for their creative work
Disciplinary Knowledge: Students should be able to demonstrate a deep familiarity with the fields of literature and forms/strategies of creative writing available to them
Multicultural and Historical Competence: To produce writers aware and widely-read in the literary history of the medieval and ancient epochs both of Asia (especially the Indian subcontinent) and of the West
Self-Reflective: To encourage an editorial bent of mind and capacity of reading/re-reading and a capacity for thought/writing that is aesthetically self-reflexive
Self-Expression, Creative Thinking and Self-Directed Learning: To inculcate the capacity among students to express themselves confidently in writing and in presentation of their creative work, to imprint on a students' literary oeuvre the mark of originality, to develop an ability to manoeuvre drafts and think creatively about its progress and changes, and to inculcate a discipline of writing and a strong appreciation for the writerly process
Digitally Literate: To demonstrate an ability to use and navigate a wide variety of digital resources, including but not limited to Video databases, video and text blogs, archival databases and journal databases.
Social, Cultural and Ethical Awareness: An ability to demonstrate Social, Cultural and Ethical Awareness for the region and period they inhabit, especially in relation to issues of representation and marginality

Is this a Practice-based programme?

The M.A. Literary Art Creative Writing programme combines both creative writing practice (workshop model) and analytical courses. The students get an opportunity to pursue their creative practice as writers (writing fiction, non-fiction or poetry in the practice-based courses) even as their critical thinking is honed by a set of analytical courses. We believe that both these sets of courses are equally important for the development of our students as creative writers.

What are the career paths which emerge after doing an M.A. Literary Art Creative Writing?

The M.A. Literary Art Creative Writing programme significantly shapes your personal creative writing practice and hones your capacity for critical thought and scholarship. Apart from preparing grounds for your professional role as a creative writer, these attributes are also helpful in career paths such as Journalism, Editorial Work, Research and Teaching, Content Writing, Writing for the Screen and Digital Platforms, among others.

How do I apply?

Online applications open usually between April to June each year. Please check the university website regularly around this time of the year. There is an entrance test and an interview.

How do I prepare for the M.A. Literary Art Creative Writing Programme entrance test?

entrance test has a small objective section (usually 20%) that tests your familiarity with the field of literature. The rest of the exam tests your ability to respond creatively to a variety of writing prompts, related to fiction, non-fiction or poetry. The only preparation we can suggest for such an entrance test is a substantial amount of reading of literary texts across genres, time-periods and regions, and a considerable prior experience of doing creative writing of your own.

What should I get along with me for the interview?

Identity proof, admit card and a portfolio with representative samples of your creative writing.

Course Code	Course Name	Credit
SCC2LA204	Lyric Poetry & Society	4
SCC2L 103	Concept Development and Experimentation 1	4
SCC2LA102	Premodern Literary Cultures of India	4
SCC2L103	Concept Development and Experimentation 11	4
SCC2L103	Concept Development and Experimentation 111	4
NA	Contexts and Conditions of Production: Considering Cultural Infrastructures	4
SCC2LA802	Elements of Folk Imagination	4
SCC2LA210	Postcolonial Reverb: Connecting the Dots, Investigating the Imperial Imagination	4
SCC2LA206	Sites of Reading and Writing: The City in/& Literary Production	4
SCC2LA400	Dissertation	4
SCC2LA104	Modern Literary Cultures of India	8
SCC2LA	Strategies of Writing	8
SCC2LA212	Crafting Poems	4
SCC2LA104	Modern Literary Cultures of India	4
SCC2LA203	Forms of Autobiographical Writing	4
SCC2LA106	Literary Journalism	4
SCC2LA205	Telling the Tale	4