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Texts

y separately published work icon The Getting of Wisdom Henry Handel Richardson , London : Heinemann , 1910 Z901329 1910 single work novel (taught in 25 units)

'A coming-of-age story of a spontaneous heroine who finds herself ensconced in the rigidity of a turn-of-the-century boarding school. The clever and highly imaginative Laura has difficulty fitting in with her wealthy classmates and begins to compromise her ideals in her search for popularity and acceptance.' (From the publisher's website.)
The Night the Prowler Patrick White , 1974 single work short story (taught in 2 units)
— Appears in: The Cockatoos : Shorter Novels and Stories 1974; (p. 120-168) The Night, the Prowler : Short Story and Screenplay 1978; (p. 5-57)
— Appears in: Loomingu Raamatukogu : Eesti Kirjanike Liidu Ajakiri , no. 2/3 1979; (p. 5-43)
Lucky Country (from Paese Fortunato) Rosa R. Cappiello , 1983 extract novel (Paese Fortunato : Romanzo) (taught in 2 units)
— Appears in: Meanjin , Autumn vol. 42 no. 1 1983; (p. 7-14)
y separately published work icon Carpentaria Alexis Wright , Artarmon : Giramondo Publishing , 2006 Z1184902 2006 single work novel (taught in 47 units) Carpentaria's portrait of life in the precariously settled coastal town of Desperance centres on the powerful Phantom family, whose members are the leaders of the Pricklebush people, and their battles with old Joseph Midnight's tearaway Eastend mob on the one hand, and the white officials of Uptown and the neighbouring Gurfurrit mine on the other. Wright's storytelling is operatic and surreal: a blend of myth and scripture, politics and farce. The novel is populated by extraordinary characters - Elias Smith the outcast saviour, the religious zealot Mozzie Fishman, leader of the holy Aboriginal pilgrimage, the murderous mayor Stan Bruiser, the ever-vigilant Captain Nicoli Finn, the activist and prodigal son Will Phantom, and above all, Angel Day the queen of the rubbish-dump, and her sea-faring husband Normal Phantom, the fish-embalming king of time - figures that stand like giants in this storm-swept world. (Backcover)
y separately published work icon An Imaginary Life : A Novel David Malouf , New York (City) : George Braziller , 1978 Z828578 1978 single work novel (taught in 8 units)

'In prose that is both elegant and lyrical, David Malouf departs from the little-known facts of Ovid's exile beyond the pale of civilization to create a deeply moving novel of extraordinary beauty. An outcast in a vast wasteland at the edge of the Black Sea, Ovid discovers a feral child. As he teaches the boy to speak the language of the civilized world, the child tutors him in his own tongue, the language of nature, and the once barren landscape begins to resonate with meaning.' (Publisher's blurb)

Description

This course introduces students to major issues and works in Australian literature, with a particular focus on material from the past two centuries. It will contextualise important works in terms of a range of local and global literary and cultural formations, thus providing a map of the complex and changing nature of national culture.

Assessment

1500 Word Research Exercise - 20%

2000 Word Essay - 35%

Open Book Exam - 35%

Other Details

Additional poems, essays and stories: pdfs will be available via webVista Blackboard.

Offered in: As ENGL2520 - 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006
Current Campus: Kensington Campus
Levels: Undergraduate
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