Narrative Studies

MLS Handbook

Storytelling Matters

As human beings we are seemingly built to crave stories, to tell stories, to respond to stories, and to make sense of the world and ourselves through story.

In this 30-credit interdisciplinary master’s program you’ll have the opportunity to tell to stories you want to tell, your way.

You have enormous flexibility to explore the structural, social, cultural, aesthetic, rhetorical, and historical aspects of narrative and storytelling in texts, film, and other media. You’ll explore how narratives have been and are being constructed across cultures, geographies, and genres. You’ll gain practice in crafting narratives for a range of audiences. You’ll prepare to apply the power of narrative in the world. Valuable and relevant for work in professions and organizations that value imagination, critical thinking, and highly skilled communication, this master’s degree can also advance your teaching career or serve as a great launch-point for doctoral studies.

Electives allow you to pursue your individual interests, and a capstone course primes you for critical and eloquent engagement with the world beyond the university.

Core courses (6 credits)

◆ ENG 503 History of Narrative

◆ ENG 509 Studies in Narrative Writing

Elective Courses (21 credits)

Choose seven courses from the list below. Other courses (ENG, COM, FMS, HST, or appropriate field) may be used for up to 6 credit hours with approval from the academic unit.

◆ ENG 505 Narrative Research Methods

◆ COM 510 Transmedia Narratives

◆ ENG 514 Studies in Experimental Narrative

◆ ENG 516 Literary Publishing

◆ ENG 519 Superstition Review

◆ ENG 520 Visual Narratives

◆ ENG 521 Writing the Southwest

◆ ENG 522 Narratives of Conquest

◆ ENG 584 Internship [with Advisor approval]

◆ ENG 590 Reading and Conference [with Advisor approval]

◆ ENG 598 Special Topics [with Advisor approval]

◆ ENG 598 Narrating the Archives

Capstone (3 credits)

◆ ENG 597 Graduate Capstone Seminar

◆ ENG 503: History of Narrative (3)

Historical overview of narrative as a mode of discourse and communication. Begins with the study of influential traditional narrative forms from Biblical and classical sources and moves to study innovation in narrative, including flashbacks, interior monologue, non-linear narrative and frustration of narrative expectations.

◆ ENG 505: Narrative Research Methods (3)

Addresses narrative and arts-based forms of qualitative research. Focuses on reporting study findings in narrative form.

◆ ENG 509: Studies in Narrative Writing (3)

Focus on specific kinds of narrative writing, like blogging, travel writing, etc. (May be repeated for credit when topics vary.) Regardless of topic, you’ll look at basic structural issues in narrative writing and gain practical, applied experience crafting your own narratives for multiple audiences.

◆ COM 510: Transmedia Narratives (3)

Explore the history, production, distribution and consumption of transmedia narratives as an emergent multiple-platform dynamic of storytelling. Focus on digital storytelling, the dynamics of nonlinear narrative and immersive audience experience.

◆ ENG 514: Studies in Experimental Narrative (3)

Critical analysis of experimental or unconventional narratives, including nonlinear narrative, surrealist narrative and metanarrative. Course materials include both text and visual narratives.

◆ ENG 516 Literary Publishing (3)

Explore various aspects of literary publishing, including market profile of journals, techniques for preparing submissions, the role of literary awards and contests, etc. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.

◆ ENG 519 Superstition Review (3)

Collaborate to complete tasks that lead to the publication of one issue of the national online literary magazine Superstition Review.

◆ ENG 520 Visual Narratives (3)

Read, analyze, and craft visual narratives, exploring forms such as graphic novels, picture-books, films, commercials, and video games.

◆ ENG 521 Writing the Southwest (3)

Study cultural representations in twentieth-century narratives of the Southwest United States, focusing on race, class, and gender in Southwest literature and cultural production.

◆ ENG 522 Narratives of Conquest (3)

Critically study narratives relating/responding to the conquest of the Americas from the fifteenth century to the present.

◆ ENG 584 Internship (3)

Structured practical experience following a contract of plan supervised by faculty or practitioners [with Advisor approval; must involve narrative content] (e.g. Mentoring Youth Writers).

◆ ENG 590 Reading and Conference (3)

Independent study in which a student meets regularly with a faculty member to discuss assignments [with Advisor approval; must involve narrative content].

◆ ENG 598 Narrating the Archives (3)

Interdisciplinary course that critically examines archives as sites of power and contestation. Explore stories told and untold in the archives and prepare to work with institutional and community archives.

For more information about joining this innovative master’s degree at ASU’s Polytechnic campus and full admission criteria, contact:

Ian Moulton, PhD

Director, President's Professor of English and Cultural History

Santa Catalina Hall, Room 251A

[email protected]

480-727-1172

College of Integrative Sciences and Arts

7271 E. Sonoran Arroyo Mall

ASU Polytechnic campus

Mesa, AZ 85212-2780

Join us!

We welcome applicants who hold a bachelor’s degree or master’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university in a related field such as English or any humanities discipline, and who have earned a 3.0 cumulative GPA in the last 60 hours of the bachelor’s or in an applicable master’s program. There is no GRE or other entrance exam required.

Apply at any time. We admit students on a rolling basis as applications are completed.

In addition to submitting the ASU graduate admission application and fee, applicants submit official academic transcripts, a letter of intent that includes a statement of purpose, a resume, a portfolio of at least three different kinds of writing samples, three letters of recommendation (and evidence of English language proficiency for international students).

Recent MA in Narrative Studies capstone projects

Black Girl, Rediscovered: Black Girl Joy in Middle-Grade Fiction

Kendall Dawson

MA in Narrative Studies

This capstone is an analysis of six middle-grade fiction novels which encapsulate the joys of Black girlhood, spearheaded by Black women authors. Too often in popular and academic settings, Black girls are diminished of their full potential due to centuries of supremacy and sexism. My professional journey has always stemmed from the joys and sorrows of my childhood, in order to assist Black children in seeing themselves in the pages of a book.

Mixed Tears

Delena Humble-Fischer

MA in Narrative Studies

This capstone is a testimonio of the process I have gone through in confronting, unpacking, and understanding my mixed-race identity. In this project, I detail my difficult unlearning process as a white Chicana and explore the ways I have perpetuated harm due to that privilege. Dealing with colorism, white supremacy, and nuanced conversations about identity negotiation, this project is a culmination of years of personal and academic work.

Somewhere in the Middle

Laurie Ralston

MA in Narrative Studies

“Somewhere in the Middle” is the culmination of my time in the Narrative Studies master’s program at ASU. The short stories in this collection tap into the lives of women as they deal with personal issues of love, memories, relationships, and self-esteem. As I’ve written these stories, I’ve realized that they spring from a need to make sense of my own relationships with my parents, friends, and partners, as well as to understand myself.

Grant Me Wisdom: One Woman’s Experience Teaching Inside Arizona Prisons

Beth Sheets

MA in Narrative Studies

Grant Me Wisdom: One Woman’s Experience Teaching in Arizona Prisons is a collection of seven creative non-fiction stories dealing with various topics related to teaching in men and women’s prisons in the state of Arizona. Working with the Pen Project as an undergraduate student, coupled with my final project for my Visual Narratives graduate course, compelled me to explore the possibilities of prison education and to understand the complex lives of incarcerated individuals within the prison system.

Two core classes, one capstone — you shape the rest.

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ENG 503

History of Narrative: Historical overview of narrative as a mode of discourse and communication.

Learn More ⇾

ENG 509

Studies in Narrative Writing: Focus on specific kinds of narrative writing, like blogging, travel writing, etc.

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ENG 597

Graduate Capstone Seminar

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