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Texts

Box the Pony : Introduction Leah Purcell , 1999 single work criticism biography (taught in 2 units)
— Appears in: Box the Pony 1999; (p. 1-7)
y separately published work icon Snake Kate Jennings , Port Melbourne : Minerva , 1996 Z250017 1996 single work novel (taught in 3 units)

'My life is about to begin. This is the only thought in Irene’s head on the day she marries a handsome Second World War veteran and becomes a farmer’s wife. But Irene quickly grows restless. Bored to her back teeth, she is scornful of her dutiful husband, heedless of her children. She wants adventure, to experience whatever is on offer: men, travel, culture. As Irene and Rex raise children and crops, the tension between them builds and builds …

'Kate Jennings’s black humour and pared-back prose, at once understated and rich in startling imagery, resonate long after the final unnerving chapter. Set in an irrigation area – barren soil blessed by water – Snake is a modern classic.' (Publication summary)

y separately published work icon Lilian's Story Kate Grenville , Sydney : Allen and Unwin , 1985 Z1039066 1985 single work novel (taught in 5 units)

Madness, cruelty and sexuality permeate the house where she grew up, but Lilian's sights are set on education, love and - finally - her own transcendent forms of independence. Lilian Singer, who starts life at the beginning of the twentieth century as the daughter of a prosperous middle-class Australian family and ends it as a cheerfully eccentric bag-lady living on the streets, quoting Shakespeare for a living.

y separately published work icon Metro Alasdair Duncan , St Lucia : University of Queensland Press , 2006 Z1276557 2006 single work novel satire (taught in 5 units) 'Liam Kelly is the very model of the modern male - boys want to be him, girls want to be with him. He and his group of loyal mates spend their days driving around town, drinking beer and very occasionally going to lectures. His good looks compensate, everyone agrees, for his superior attitude and private-school arrogance. Liam and his girlfriend Sara seem to be the perfect couple, but when she leaves for a European trip without him, the facade begins to crumble. He sees six months of freedom ahead, unaware that the consequences of his bad-boy behaviour will threaten the image he has so carefully created. Metro is a satirical tale of morality, masculinity and money from the internationally acclaimed author of Sushi Central.' (Backcover)
y separately published work icon Stasiland Anna Funder , Melbourne : Text Publishing , 2002 Z1001793 2002 single work non-fiction (taught in 5 units)
— Appears in: Reader's Digest Encounters : Real Life Reading 2006; (p. 9-174)

To write this non-fiction work about life in the former East Germany, Anna Funder interviewed former Stasi officers and the people they surveilled. Described in the National Library of Australia record as 'A book of travel, history and biography that reads like a documentary novel,' Stasiland takes 'a deliberately subjective and "literary" approach' to its material with an 'emphasis on a sympathetic authorial persona as the source of the reader's perspective' (Susan Lever 'The Crimes of the Past: Anna Funder's Stasiland and Helen Garner's Joe Cinque's Consolation'. Paper delivered at the Association for the Study of Australian Literature (ASAL) conference 2006).

y separately published work icon The Sound of One Hand Clapping Richard Flanagan , Sydney : Pan Macmillan Australia , 1997 Z366585 1997 single work novel (taught in 4 units) 'In the winter of 1954, in a construction camp in the remote Tasmanian wilderness, when Sonja Buloh was three years old and her father was drinking too much, Sonja's mother walked into a blizzard never to return. Some thirty-five years later, when Sonja visits Tasmania and her drunkard father, the shadows of the past begin to intrude into the present - changing forever his living death and her ordered life.' (Source: Libraries Australia).
y separately published work icon Jack Maggs Peter Carey , St Lucia : University of Queensland Press , 1997 Z205857 1997 single work novel (taught in 8 units) The year is 1837 and a stranger is prowling London. He is Jack Maggs, an illegal returnee from the prison island of Australia. He has the demeanor of a savage and the skills of a hardened criminal, and he is risking his life on seeking vengeance and reconciliation.
Influenced by Charles Dickens's Great Expectations.
y separately published work icon Of a Boy Sonya Hartnett , Ringwood : Viking , 2002 Z969271 2002 single work novel mystery (taught in 3 units) The year is 1977, and Adrian is nine. He lives with his gran and his uncle Rory; his best friend is Clinton Tull. He loves to draw and he wants a dog; he's afraid of quicksand, shopping centres and self-combustion. Adrian watches his suburban world, but there is much he cannot understand. He does not for instance, know why three neighbourhood children might set out to buy ice-cream and never come back home.
y separately published work icon 1988 Andrew McGahan , St Leonards : Allen and Unwin , 1995 Z77695 1995 single work novel (taught in 4 units) 'It's the Bicentennial year and for Gorden - failed writer and bottleshop boy - it seems his life is going nowhere. It's time to escape. From his overcrowded house, from Brisbane, from Expo '88, from everything. He stumbles into Wayne who has connections in Darwin and the promise of work. So the two of them head north towards swamps and crocodiles and sandflies innumerable, in search of inspiration, and of their rightful place in the culture of a nation.' (from back cover)

Description

Rationale

It is important for you to gain knowledge of Australian cultural and literary practice.

Aims

This unit aims to improve your analytical, as well as oral and written communication skills.

Objectives

On completion of this unit you would be able to:

1. Read, understand and appreciate critically various texts drawn from Australia's recent literacy history;

2. Understand and evaluate the ways in which social values and political and artistic movements inform and impact upon the production of literature;

3. Consider and investigate the dichotomy between mainstream writing and marginalized writing as it applies to various groups and periods of literature in Australia's cultural traditions;

4. Understand and appreciate some of the seminal periods of development in Australian literature;

5. Produce a series of writing and seminars of critical and creative nature based on comprehensive analysis of the above objects.

Content

This unit provides you with opportunities to read, explore, discuss and evaluate a number of Australian texts written and published over the last twenty-five years. Upon completing this unit, you will be able to understand and critically interrogate texts pertinent to contemporary Australian culture and society. A special emphasis will be placed upon the regional literature of Queensland and Brisbane. Many of the set texts examine the relationship, in broad terms, between place and perspective, geography and identity. Recent developments in literacy and cultural theory will also be discussed as they apply to changing literacy styles and perspectives. You will have the opportunity to be at the cutting edge of the contemporary, and will be invited to contribute to ongoing debates about the nature and purpose of recent fiction; the attempts to define an Australian literature; the relationship between author, text and publisher; and the emergence of the post-modern.

Approaches to Teaching and Learning

This unit will be conducted via a mixture of lectures, discussions, films and tutorials. Emphasis will also be placed on student research and investigation in relevant areas. In tutorial sessions you will receive feedback from the tutor on assessment items, and tutors will also liaise and consult with you regarding your major assessment.This unit provides you with opportunities to read, explore, discuss and evaluate a number of Australian texts written and published over the last twenty-five years. Upon completing this unit, you are able to understand and critically interrogate texts pertinent to contemporary Australian society and culture.

Assessment

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

You will receive formative feedback on your progress in this unit during tutorials and discussions throughout the semester

Weight: 0%

SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT:

ASSESSMENT 1: Summative and Formative

Type: Tutorial Exercise

Description: You are required to lead a tutorial discussion.

Weight: 20%

Relates to Objective/s: 1, 2 & 5

Approximate due date: Ongoing throughout semester

ASSESSMENT 2: Summative and Formative

Type: Major Assignment

Description: One research essay of 2500 words on a topic of your choice.

Weight: 50%

Relates to Objective/s: 2, 3, 4 & 5

Approximate due date: End of semester

ASSESSMENT 3: Summative

Type: Examination

Description: One examination covering entire unit, based on lecture and tutorial material. Topics covered should NOT be those selected for ORAL and WRITTEN assessment.

Weight: 30%

Relates to Objective/s: 1, 2, 3, & 4

Approximate due date: End semester during Exam Period

Other Details

Current Campus: Kelvin Grove and Caboolture
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