A research network  for francophiles

CREATE is a new initiative that unites researchers and educators in French language, literature, and Francophone culture from Durham University, King’s College London, Royal Holloway, and the University of St Andrews. Born from a SEEDS meeting held in June 2023 at the French Embassy in London—supported by the French Embassy Higher Education, Research and Innovation Department—CREATE emerged from a shared desire to rethink and rejuvenate language teaching in the UK.

This SEEDS meeting brought together voices from British institutions (Durham, King’s, St Andrews) and French academia (CY Cergy), sparking a conversation around a compelling observation: while creative writing is a cornerstone of English Studies and increasingly embraced in Francophone universities, it remains on the fringes of French programmes in British higher education. Yet, interest in this approach is growing rapidly across modern languages departments and language centres.

So, what if creative writing could be the key to revitalising language learning, foreign language pedagogy, and literary research in the UK?

At Durham, King’s, Royal Holloway, and St Andrews, we believe it can. That’s why CREATE is committed to building a robust conceptual, methodological, and educational framework for integrating creative writing into research, teaching, and assessment. Our goals are ambitious: to make creative writing practices visible, to develop resources for teacher training, and to foster essential skills—like creativity, autonomy, problem-solving, and intercultural awareness—that are too often overlooked in academic and professional settings.

Through conferences, study days, resource-sharing, summer universities, and a host of engaging events, CREATE seeks to breathe new life into language and literature studies—and perhaps even inspire future writers, thinkers, and educators.