Program Overview

The Story and I - Finding the Form: A Practical Exploration of Storytelling

Module Description

The Story and I - Finding the Form: A Practical Exploration of Storytelling (ANTH0081) is a module that explores the history, practice, and craft of first-person non-fiction storytelling. This module is an exploratory unit that uses the frame of a one-module course to teach students the value, techniques, and multiple narrative possibilities of narrating a personal story using creative writing.

Key Information

• Faculty: Faculty of Social and Historical Sciences
• Teaching department: Anthropology
• Credit value: 15
• Restrictions: This PGT module is available to Anthropology students only, and students in Public Anthropology are prioritized. Please note that the number of postgraduate students able to register is capped.

Alternative Credit Options

There are no alternative credit options available for this module.

Module Content

This module delves into the reasons behind storytelling, the methods of storytelling, and the audience for whom stories are written. It examines how to craft stories that are both deeply personal and universally relatable. Through the module, students will read and analyze the work of journalists, authors, and memoirists who have written about their lives, experiences, and opinions. Among the writers studied are David Sedaris, Jon Ronson, Hanif Kureishi, Fern Brady, Sarfraz Manzoor, and Zadie Smith. The module also explores first-person journalism from sources like The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Times, The Guardian, and The Daily Mail.

Learning Outcomes

As a result of the course, students will:

• Be familiar with and have preliminary insight into the validity and implications of adopting different narrative forms.
• Develop an informed understanding of why we tell stories and what relevance a story might have to the wider world.
• Learn the key skills needed to write in the first person for a broad audience and understand the principles of making writing engaging and appealing.
• Develop awareness of and sensitivity to human diversity through the exploration of diverse stories.
• Critically read and interpret a range of texts within their historical, social, and theoretical contexts.
• Develop analytic skills and recognize the politics of language, indirect forms of communication, and theoretical statements embodied in different texts.

Indicative Delivery Method

The module consists of one 2-hour lecture and one 1-hour seminar per week.

Additional Information

This module has a strong practice-based focus, using artistic research methods.

Module Deliveries for 2026/27 Academic Year

• Intended teaching term: Term 1
• Postgraduate (FHEQ Level 7)

Teaching and Assessment

• Mode of study: In person
• Intended teaching location: UCL East
• Methods of assessment: 100% Coursework
• Mark scheme: Numeric Marks

Other Information

• Number of students on the module in the previous year: 36
• Module leader: Mr. Sarfraz Manzoor