English and Creative Arts at Murdoch

WELCOME! To the English and Creative Arts Program at Murdoch University.

The structure of the English program is highly flexible. Students may choose to take a general major in English, or they may prefer to concentrate on one or more of the following streams within the program:

Undergraduate

• Creative Arts
• Creative Writing
• English and Comparative Literature
• Theatre and Drama

Minors

• Creative Arts
• Creative Writing
• English
• English and Comparative Literature
• Theatre and Drama

Any of these streams may be taken as a minor in combination with another program major, and it is also possible to take a minor in English without specialising in one of the streams.

English and Careers

There are many job opportunities relating to an English degree, which vary according to which areas the student chooses to specialise in or whether a more general approach is taken. Depending on the particular make-up of the degree, graduates in English would be well trained for employment in several of the following professions: advertising, design, teaching, public administration, journalism, acting, stage direction, publishing, computer arts, and many fields of business. Regardless of specialisation, all English graduates will have a high level of understanding in relation to a wide-ranging history of ideas; be familiar with contemporary theories and practices of writing and performance; be skilled in methods of analysis and argument; and be confident in their ability to recognise and experiment with many different styles of presentation and expression.

Why choose Murdoch ?

• Students are taught by people who write award winning novels, poems and plays, people who write critical books on literature; and people who are trained at some of the great universities of the world.
• The Children's Theatre unit in the English course is the only unit available in a WA university that leads to public performances aimed at children.
• In australia, English at Murdoch is renowned for its vibrant and innovative approach to the study of English.

Showcasing Creative Writing Talent

At the end of each year, submissions are called from Murdoch students who’ve taken creative writing units during the year. Selections of the year’s best creative writing are then posted on the Murdoch University website for all to read, informing new and prospective students, as well as family and friends of the work of the Creative Writing program.

Semester 2, 2008

The following pieces have been selected to represent work done in Semester 2, 2008.

• Poetry
  Oranges by Alana Hall
  Poem for the Cahill Expressway by Alana Hall
  The morning by Alana Hall
  What the balloonsmith learned about love, by Sarah Duyveston
   
• Fiction
  Undine’s Cave by Mabel Lee Xian Li (first year student)
   
• Literary Journalism
  Society for Creative Anachronism by Clare Molloy
  

Semester 1, 2008

The following seven pieces were written by undergraduate students for EGL269 Creative Writing: Text and Practice II in 2008. The pieces were selected from a range of submissions by three Murdoch University creative writing staff members.

• Lee Chwi Lynn - The Dress
• Lee Chwi Lynn -  Divide and Conquer
• Leonie Brialey - "All You Need In A Day"
  OR, "Small Hands For Buying Onions"
• Leonie Brialey - Still Life With Animals
• Jesper Degerman - Bow to Simplicity
• Katey Middle - Nursing Home Widow
• Katey Middle - How a Body Breaks