Find out how you can discover the world of Fantastika with AUB Online’s MA Creative Writing.
Dr Kevan Manwaring is the Course Leader for AUB Online’s MA Creative Writing. In this blog post, he explains how the programme’s Im/Possible Worlds module will help you to explore the various exciting genres of Fantastika.
One of the astonishing things about language is its ability to allude to what is not present, what no longer exists, and what might or may never exist – to imagine other worlds and other ways of being. It can expand the possibilities of being human – stretching our minds and hearts in all kinds of directions, facilitating what Donella Meadows describes as ‘expanding the boundary of caring’.
Fiction excels in expanding our collective imagination. Throughout MA Creative Writing (Online), we'll explore the possibilities of imaginative fiction, in particular during the module titled Im/Possible Worlds.
During Im/Possible Worlds, you’ll look at the imaginative genres of Science Fiction, Fantasy, Weird, speculative, Solarpunk, etc. (contained under the umbrella term of ‘Fantastika’).
You’ll explore how you can challenge hegemonies and shibboleths, providing a space for imagineering, plurality, neuroplasticity, and inclusive representation, encouraging future-thinking, problem-solving, and paradigm-shifting.
How far you go along the mimesis/anti-mimesis spectrum is up to you. You could write what appears to be mimetic realism, with only the subtlest hint of the uncanny, supernatural, or speculative. Alternatively, you could write Secondary World Fantasy, Science Fantasy, or Hard Science Fiction – or anything in between.
The sky’s the limit. Whether you prefer something set in another world, on the other side of the universe, or something nearer to home, Im/Possible Worlds will allow you to explore your own spectrum of possibility.
The module will be informed by a lifetime’s research into the Fantastic. This is through both the stories and novels I’ve authored, such as a five-volume Fantasy series and a national prize-winning Science Fiction novel. Additionally, it’s evident in the scholarship manifested in various conference papers, peer-reviewed articles, and a forthcoming monograph from Routledge on environmental aspects of Fantasy.
This will be enriched by guest speakers from the worlds of Science Fiction and Fantasy to ensure you have access to cutting-edge advice from the industry.
Informed and inspired by the lectures, guided practices, writing activities, and webinars, you’ll devise a mini presentation on an aspect of Fantastika that inspires you. You’ll then go on to compose a complete short story in your chosen genre.
Along with a contextual statement describing how the submitted short story fits within its genre, and the reflective journal, you’ll have ample opportunity to demonstrate how you meet the learning outcomes of the module.
We hope you can join us!
Explore the imaginative world of Fantastika and elevate your skills as a writer with AUB Online’s MA Creative Writing:
