AustLit logo

AustLit

Australian Literature (ENGL205)
Department of English - Macquarie University
Semester 1 / 2011

Texts

y separately published work icon Coonardoo : The Well in the Shadow Katharine Susannah Prichard , 1928 Z1081769 1928 single work novel (taught in 39 units) Set in North-West of Western Australia, it describes life on cattle stations and the relationship between the white owner of the station and Coonardoo, an Aboriginal woman.
y separately published work icon The Monkey's Mask Dorothy Porter , South Melbourne : Hyland House , 1994 Z528794 1994 single work novel crime (taught in 31 units)
y separately published work icon The Dreamers Jack Davis , Paddington : Currency Press , 1996 Z450251 1982 single work drama (taught in 18 units)
— Appears in: ドリーマーズ : ノー・シュガー 2006;

'With humane irony the Western Australian poet, Jack Davis gives a painful insight into the process of colonisation and the transformation of his people.'

'The Dreamers is the story of a country-town family and old Uncle Worru, who in his dying days, recedes from urban hopelessness to the life and language of the Nyoongah spirit which in him has survived 'civilisation'.' (Currency Press website)
y separately published work icon Growing up Asian in Australia Alice Pung (editor), Melbourne : Black Inc. , 2008 Z1496451 2008 anthology autobiography short story poetry interview extract (taught in 4 units) 'This is an anthology of writing about what it is really like to grow up Asian-Australian. Including contributions from established writers, public figures and exciting new talents, this diverse and unpredictable collection throws out the cliches and takes readers behind the stereotypes.' (Publisher's blurb)
y separately published work icon Not Meeting Mr Right Anita Heiss , Milsons Point : Bantam Australia , 2007 Z1354637 2007 single work novel humour (taught in 5 units)

'Alice Aigner is successful, independent and a confirmed serial dater - but at her ten-year school reunion she has a sudden change of heart. Bored rigid by her married, mortgaged and motherly former classmates, Alice decides to prove that a woman can have it all: a man, marriage, career, kids and a mind of her own.

'She sets herself a goal: meet the perfect man and marry him before her thirtieth birthday, just under two years away. Together with her best friends Dannie, Liza and Peta, Alice draws up a ten-point plan. Then, with a little help from her mum, her dad, her brothers, her colleagues and her neighbour across the hall, she sets out to find Mr Right. Unfortunately for Alice, it's not quite as easy as she imagines.

'Who could not fall in love with our Koori heroine as she dates (among others): Renan, whose career goal is to be the world's best moonwalker and male hula dancer; Tufu the commitment-phobic Samoan football player; scary Simon the one-night stand; and Paul - Mr Dreamboat, but perhaps too good to be true. All the while, Alice skilfully avoids dating Cliff, son of her mum's friend, a confirmed bachelor who isn't likely to settle down with a woman anytime soon.' (Publisher's blurb)
y separately published work icon Collected Poems : Francis Webb Francis Webb , Toby Davidson (editor), Crawley : UWA Publishing , 2011 Z1706175 2011 collected work poetry (taught in 9 units)

'UWA Publishing welcomes the return of Australia's most gifted and prodigious poet, Francis Webb, whose work has been out of print for thirty years in collected form.

'This collection of Francis Webb's poems is the first edition to incorporate Webb's final changes - previously ignored by editors - to several of his poems written in 1969.

'Webb wrote on varied subjects: the sea, postwar Australian cities, mental illness, colonial histories as well as religious and political figures, including St Francis and Hitler.

'His poems are written in a range of styles, from humorous short verse to epics and radio plays.

'The book is introduced by award-winning poet Toby Davidson and accompanied by 100 pages of notes drawing on the latest scholarship and commentaries.'

Source: UWA media release, February 2011, http://www.uwap.uwa.edu.au/
Sighted: 01/03/2011
y separately published work icon Documents That Shaped Australia : Records of a Nation's Heritage John Thompson (editor), Sydney : Murdoch Books , 2010 Z1670283 2010 anthology prose (taught in 3 units) 'Spanning more than 400 years, from the first documented sighting of the Southern Cross in 1516 to the Rudd Government's national apology of 2008, this anthology presents in chronological form a richly varied spectrum of 100 historical documents that contribute to a broad understanding of some of the key moments in Australia's history.' (Trove)
y separately published work icon The Penguin Anthology of Australian Poetry John Kinsella (editor), Camberwell : Penguin , 2009 Z1553543 2009 anthology poetry (taught in 16 units)

'This is a comprehensive survey of Australian poetic achievement, ranging from early colonial and indigenous verse to contemporary work, from the major poets to those who deserve to be better recognised.' (Provided by the publisher).

Degrees

Bachelor of Arts

Description

This unit explores the relation between literature and Australian society in the 20th century. Literature is broadly conceived, as social critique or social settlement, with a focus on the questions asked by Indigenous Australian writing. Readers are introduced to novels, poetry, theatre and film from across the century, including contemporary Australian writing. The representation of relations between place and culture,; the city/bush divide; history; memory and subjectivity; class and social change; gender codes and sexuality; recent challenges to unifying national myths; Indigenous writing; and (post)colonial frames form some of the unit's concerns.

Other Details

Offered in: 2010
Levels: Undergraduate
Coordinator:
Categories:
Homepage
Click to open in new window
X