AustLit

This course investigates some of the ways in which the conventional, accepted and the normal have been questioned through the processes of wondering and the construction of Wonderworlds: An Exploration of English Literature. Exploration and questioning of conventions is a foundation of studies in English, and the Humanities. To wonder is to imagine where we are not, and to consciously make sense of what might be in terms of our identities, environments, relationships and institutions. The word wonder encompasses an authors speculation about new worlds and a reader / viewers experience of surprise, awe and fascination. This course investigates multiple forms Wonderworlds: An Exploration of English Literature might take. These include alternative physical spaces, alternative views of time, alternative psychological realms, alternative histories, imagined futures, fantasy, the supernatural and other elements unspeakable in the Western rationalist tradition.