AustLit
Degrees
- Bachelor of Arts in Communication (Journalism)
- Bachelor of Arts in Communication (Information and Media)
- Bachelor of Arts in Communication (Social Inquiry)
- Bachelor of Arts in Communication (Media Arts and Production)
- Bachelor of Arts in Communication (Public Communication)
- Bachelor of Arts in Communication (Writing and Cultural Studies)
Description
Students engage with a critical study of key modern concepts of writing, reading and contemporary culture. Issues central to the subject include the concept of representation, the nature of cultural texts, the theorisation of text and textuality within the post-modern and post-structuralist formation and the emergence of interactive forms of writing and their influence on writing. Critical study in the subject engages with theories of thinking and writing and recent and historical debate to do with what constitutes form, style and structure in both traditional and experimental formats. Students work creatively with a wide range of contemporary texts and explore different ways of writing. They write and read critically within the context of contemporary cultures and come to understand a wide range of traditional and non-traditional forms of writing.
Subject objectives/outcomes
At the completion of this subject, students are expected to be able to:
read diverse cultural texts
create innovative and critical responses to texts
discuss diverse cultural texts with their tutorial peers
identify the characteristics of different intellectual contexts through particular texts
write in a sophisticated style commensurate with the material of this subject
There are two parts to this subject. The first section introduces students to the key concepts of cultural theory and the multiple meanings of reading and writing. The second section further develops the introduced theories through case studies and themes from diverse cultural sites
Assessment
Assessment item 1: Personal Essay Outline
Objective(s):b, c
Weighting:20%
Task:Workshop a 500 wd personal essay outline on a topic related to the first four weeks with peers and incorporate suggested changes by fellow students into their own work. The student then prepares a short reflective statement outlining why and how they have (or have not) incorporated those changes.
Assessment criteria:
Integration of and engagement with, critical, peer, feedback
Level of idea exchange
Critical thinking
Assessment item 2: Personal essay 1
Objective(s):a, b, d
Weighting:30%
Task:Write a 500-800 word personal essay on a topic related to the content of the first four weeks
Assessment criteria:
Style of essay
Organisation of material including well developed relationship between topic and style and quality of presentation
Coherence of argument
Conformity to referencing style
Conformity to chosen essay structure
Knowledge of key intellectual concepts
Assessment item 3: Personal Essay 2
Objective(s):a, b, d, e
Weighting:50%
Task:Write, compose or create a 1500-2000 wd (or equivalent) essay. If composing in a form such as the sonic or photographic the essay should be accompanied by a 500wd exegesis
Assessment criteria:
Analyse source information
Integration of diverse source information
Sophistication of response in chosen mode
Relevance of references
Supplementary Texts
Cultural Theory in Everyday Practice (2008) (Eds) Anderson and Schlunke, Oxford University Press:Melbourne
The Art of the Personal Essay: An anthology from the classical era to the present. (1995) (Ed) Lopate, P, Anchor Books:New York
Alphonso Lingis i(2000) Dangerous Emotions Berkeley: Uni. of California Press,
Ivan Brunetti (ed.) (2006) An Anthology of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons, and True Stories New Haven, Conn: London: Yale University Press
Michel Foucault. (1970) The order of things: an archaeology of the human sciences Translated from the French. Imprint London: Tavistock Publications
Raymond Williams (1976) Keywords: a vocabulary of culture and society, London: Fontana,
Tony Bennett, Lawrence Grossberg, Meaghan Morris (Eds) (2005). New Keywords: a revised vocabulary of culture and society, Malden, MA: Blackwell
Tony Thwaites, Lloyd Davis, Warwick Mules (1994) (eds)Tools For Cultural Studies: An Introduction bySouth Melbourne: Macmillan Education,
Lorraine Daston(2004) Thing That Talk edited by, New York: Zone Books
Maja Mikula(2008) Key Concepts in Cultural Studies by, London: Palgrave Macmillan
Roland Barthes (c1972) Mythologies, London: Vintage
Roland Barthes (c1977) Image, Music, Text, London: Fonatana
Terry Eagleton(1997) Literary Theory: An Introduction (2nd ed.) Cambridge, Mass.: Blackwell
Gloria Anzaldua (1999) Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza. (2nd ed.) San Francisco: Aunt Louke Books
Erica Rand (1995) Barbie's queer accessories Durham: Duke University Press
Morag Shiach (ed) Feminism and Cultural Studies Oxford University Press: Oxford
David Howes (2005) Empire of the Senses: The Sensual Culture Reader, Berg: New York
Constance Classen(2005) The Book of Touch Oxford; New York: Berg
Delia Falconer (2008) The Penguin Book of the Road, Camberwell, Vic.: Viking
Paul Lauter and Ann Fitzgerald (2001) (eds) Literature Class and Culture, Addison Wesley Longman: NY
Martin Harrison (2008) Wild Bees: New and Selected Poems, Perth, UWA Press
Stuart Hall (2000) Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices, London: Sage
Other Details
Levels:
Undergraduate
