| FACULTY OF ARTS, EDUCATION & HUMAN DEVELOPMENT SCHOOL OF CATA |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ACL 1001 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Unit Co-ordinator/Lecturer We acknowledge the Elders, families and forebears of the Wurundjeri and Boonwurrung tribes of the Kulin Nation who were the custodians of University land for many centuries. We acknowledge that the land on which we meet was the place of age old ceremonies of celebration, initiation and renewal and that the Kulin Nation people's living culture had and has a unique role in the life of this region.
UNIT CALENDAR
GENERAL INFORMATION
Handing in assignments Assignments are to be submitted in the tutor's pigeon hole. Penalties for late assignments Late assignments (without an extension) will be graded at a reduction of 20 per cent per week late. Special consideration If you feel that illness or personal difficulties have impaired your performance you may ask for Special Consideration which can facilitate late submission, and alternative arrangements for assignments. This can cover both emotional and physical difficulties. You need to contact a student counsellor to arrange this. Arrangements for disabled students Students with disabilities need to register with Equity and Social Justice. In the past thirty years, the way we read and write literature � and definitions of the �literary' itself � have increasingly been the focus of intensive debates. These debates have altered the ways we think about literary texts. Terms like �literature' and �fiction' have become difficult to use without careful thought and qualification. Another result has been the challenging of the notions of �national literatures' and the �literary canon' that have dominated the institutionalised study of literature in the West since the 18 th century. This Unit examines a number of contemporary fictional texts in order to introduce students to a number of the recent developments and debates in literary studies. The Unit pays particular attention to issues like class, gender, place, race, and ethnicity. Format: The Unit is designed so that each student attends one 1-hour lecture and one 1.5-hour tutorial per week for twelve weeks. The lectures aim to be broad coverages of themes and debates while the tutorials are sessions for closer discussion and argument about literary texts and issues. Each week's tutorial will focus on key texts, which all students are expected to have read; and key terms, which all students are expected to have researched. Each tutorial will revolve around one or more student presentations. The presentations will be based on the tutorial topic Footscray Park Lecture Wed 9:00 10:00 D232 Tutes
St Albans Lecture Thu 13:00 14:00 4C404 Tutes
Class Materials: Set Texts
Critical Reading and short stories
Staff:
Learning Outcomes:
Week 1 (starting 1 March) Topic: Outline of the Unit Lecture: Students will be introduced to the topics and novels covered in ACL1001 Reading Contemporary Fiction as well as the assessment requirements for the Unit. Tutoria: Introduction of students to each other and to the tutor; discussion of student and lecturer/tutor expectations for the Unit; review of reading and assessment requirements . Essential Reading: No Readings Week 2 (8 March) Topic: Reading Contemporary Fiction Lecture: This lecture will trace the rise of the study of Literature in Britain and beyond, paying particular attention to the work of F.R. Leavis. It will also focus on ways of defining and reading contemporary fiction. Tutorial Question: What is Literature, and why? Essential Reading: Terry Eagleton, 'Introduction: What is Literature?', Literary Theory: An Introduction, Second Edition, Oxford, Blackwell, 2003 (1983). Suzanne Scafe, Teaching Black Literature, London, Virago, 1989. Chapter 6: �Beyond Theories of Exclusion' Week 3 (15 March) Topic: The Short Story Lecture: This lecture will look at the form of the short story, comparing it to that of the novel. It will discuss the techniques of short story writing using examples from the short stories in the Unit reader. Tutorial Question: What are the main differences between the short story and the novel? Discuss with reference to at least two of the short stories in the Unit Reader. Diagnostic Test: Students will be given a diagnostic test during this tutorial. Essential Reading: Michael Wilding, �Introduction' to The Oxford Book of Australian Short Stories . Oxford, 1994. Peter Carey, �War Crimes', in Dean Baldwin & Patrick J. Quinn (eds) An Anthology of Colonial and Postcolonial Short Fiction, Boston & New York, Houghton Mifflin, 2007 Ama Ata Aidoo, �Two Sisters' in Dean Baldwin & Patrick J. Quinn (eds) An Anthology of Colonial and Postcolonial Short Fiction, Boston & New York, Houghton Mifflin, 2007 Margaret Atwood, �The Age of Leads' in Dean Baldwin & Patrick J. Quinn (eds) An Anthology of Colonial and Postcolonial Short Fiction, Boston & New York, Houghton Mifflin, 2007. Donald Barthelme, �The Balloon' Peter Childs, �Chapter 12: Short Story: Barthelme's Balloon and the Rhizome' in Contemporary Cultural Texts and Critical Approaches, Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 2006. Week 4 (22 March) Topic: Grunge Writing: Before and After Lecture: This lecture will focus on the rise and fall of �grunge' literature and the debates surrounding its reception and marketability. Tutorial: Is grunge fiction �anti-literary'? Discuss with reference to Kalinda Ashton's The Danger Game. Essential Reading: Paul Dawson, �Grunge Lit: Marketing Generation x', Meanjin, 56, 1 (1997): 119-125. Ian Syson, �Smells Like Market Spirit: Grunge, Literature, Australia ' Overland 142, 1996. Kirsty Leishman, �Australian grunge literature and the conflict between literary generations' JAS, Australia 's Public Intellectual Forum, 63, (1999): (94)-102,193-195. Week 5 (29 March) Topic: Identity and Place in Literature: Kalinda Ashton's The Danger Game Lecture: Constructions of the self and the importance of place in Kalinda Ashton's The Danger Game will be discussed. Close attention will be paid to the ways in which Ashton's novel relates to the Grunge genre. Tutorial: Is Kalinda Ashton's The Danger Game an example of post-Grunge? Essential Reading: Georgia Arnott, review of The Danger Game, ABR, Dec 2009, p.65. Melbarts (blog) review of The Danger Game. Hear Ashton interviewed by Ramona Koval on ABC Radio National Karen Brooks, �Shit Creek: Suburbia, Abjection and Subjectivity in Australian �Grunge' Fiction', Australian Literary Studies, 18. 4 (October 1998): 87-96. Vivienne Muller, �Waiting for Gordon � Grunge Realism and Andrew McGahan's Praise ', in Lynette Finch & Chris McConville (eds), Images of the Urban: Conference Proceedings, Sunshine Coast University, 17-19 July, 1997. Pp. 152-156. MID-SEMESTER BREAK 2 APRIL - 9 APRIL
Week 6 (12 April) Topic: New Zealand Writing Lecture: This lecture will trace the changes in New Zealand 's literary culture since the beginning of the 20 th century. It will pay particular attention to postcolonial literature, particular that which emerged in the 1970s and 1980s. Tutorial: What is the importance of a postcolonial approach to writing about New Zealand? Reference must be made to Witi Ihimaera's The Uncle's Story . Essential Reading: Chris Prentice, �Critical Transformations: New Zealand Literary and Cultural Studies', AUMLA, 100 (November 2003). Sandra Tawake, �Transforming the Insider-Outsider Perspective: Postcolonial Fiction from the Pacific', The Contemporary Pacific, 12, 1 (Spring 2000): 155-175. Week 7 (19 April) Topic: Witi Ihimaera's The Uncle's Story Lecture: This lecture will discuss the twin narratives in Witi Ihimaera's The Uncle's Story: the coming-out narrative and the narrative of Maori cultural identity. It will provide a postcolonial reading of Witi Ihimaera's novel. Tutorial: Does Witi Ihimaera articulate �multiple views of cultural and sexual identity' (Tawake, p. 376) in The Uncle's Story ? Essential Reading: Margaret Meklin and Andrew Meklin, �This Magnificent Accident: An Interview with Witi Ihimaera', The Contemporary Pacific, 16, 2 (Fall 2004): 358-366. Sandra Tawake, �Cultural rhetoric in coming-out narratives: Witi Ihimaera's The Uncle's Story ', World Englishes 25, ¾ (2006): 373-380. Week 8 (26 April) Topic: Feminism and the Novel Lecture: This lecture will look at feminist approaches to reading and writing literature. It will focus on the incursions feminist critics have made in challenging the biases of the literary canon. Tutorial: Have feminist literary critics and writers effectively challenged the authority of the canon of �great' literary texts? Essential Reading: Pam Morris, �Challenging the Canon and the Literary Establishment', in Literature and Feminism, Oxford, Blackwell, 1993. Patricia Waugh, �Chapter 9: The Woman Writer and the Continuities of Feminism' in James English (ed), Concise Companion to Contemporary British Fiction, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, 2007. Week 9 (3 May) Topic: Portrait of the Artist as a Young Woman Lecture: This lecture will pay close attention to Margaret Atwood's Cat's Eye . It will analyse the construction of gender in Cat's Eye, with particular attention to the role of the female artist as the novel's protagonist. Tutorial: Does trauma play a central role in shaping the artistic development of Margaret Atwood's protagonist, Elaine Risley, in Cat's Eye ? Essential Reading: Laurie Vickroy, Seeking Symbolic Immortality: Visualizing Trauma in Cat's Eye ' Mosaic, 38.2, 2005. Amy Mullins, �Feminist Art and the Political Imagination', Hypatia, 18, 4 (Fall/Winter 2003), 189-213 Week 10 (10 May) Topic: Toni Morrison and Black Writing Lecture: This lecture will look at the concerns of African-American literature, particularly the novels of Toni Morrison. It will contextualise Black writing in terms of the United States ' history of slavery, emancipation and the civil rights movement. Tutorial: Why do many African-American writers use the novel form to re-write the official history of the United States ? Discuss with reference to Toni Morrison's Tar Baby . Essential Reading: Jago Morrison, �Chapter 8: Toni Morrison: blackness and the historical imagination', Contemporary Fiction, London, Routledge, 2003. Week 11 (17 May) Topic: Reading Race, Class and Gender in Toni Morrison's Tar Baby Lecture: This lecture will focus on issues of gender, race, and class in Toni Morrison's Tar baby. Tutorial: Who is the hunter; who is the hunted in Tar Baby? Discuss with reference to gender, race, and class. Essential Reading: Emma Parker, ��Apple Pie� Ideology and the Politics of Appetite in the Novels of Toni Morrison', Contemporary Literature, 39, 4 (Winter 1998). Linda Krumholz, 'Blackness and Art in Toni Morrison's Tar Baby', Contemporary Literature 49, 2 (2008): 263-92. John N. Duval, 'Descent in the "House of Chloe": Race, Rape and Identity in Toni Morrison's Tar Baby', Contemporary Literature 38, 2 (1997): 225-49. Week 12 (24 May) Topic: Unit Summary Lecture: This lecture will highlight the key terms and concepts covered in the Unit. Tutorial: Students will be given an opportunity to ask questions about any of the topics covered in the Unit. Essential Reading: No Readings The assessment for this unit is as follows: 1. Tutorial Presentation 20% 2. Short Essay 30% 3. Long Essay 50 % 100% Tutorial Presentation You are required to give a tutorial presentation on one of the week's topics. Which week you are to focus on will be decided in your first tutorial with your tutor. In this presentation, you MUST NOT only summarise the week's tutorial readings, you should also present new material, raise issues which enhance your tutorial group's understanding of the week's topic, and have at least three questions to ask the tutorial group at the end of your presentation. You should ensure you fully cover the tutorial topic, answering the question for that week in this outline. The tutorial presentation should be 10-15 minutes in length. Students are encouraged to use visual aids (i.e overhead transparencies, powerpoint slides etc) when it is practical and appropriate to do so. Students who fail to attend class on the day of their presentation will be given a mark of 0 unless they have medical certification. Assessment Criteria: A satisfactory completion of assignment requires: CONTENT
PRESENTATION
Due Date: The tutorial that corresponds with the chosen topic. Weighting: 20% Short Essay The short essay is a written response to the tutorial question you presented on in class. It must be written in essay format and be properly referenced using the Harvard System. The theoretical material provided in the Unit reader must be referred to in your response. The short essay must be handed to your tutor in hard copy during class time. It must also be submitted electronically as an attachment to your tutor's email account. A hard copy and an electronic copy MUST be submitted. Assessment Criteria: A satisfactory completion of assignment requires:
Due Date: One week after the presentation Word Length: 1000 words Weighting: 30% Long Essay Choose one of the following topics:
It is essential that you draw upon the theoretical material provided in the Unit reader when responding to the essay question and also demonstrate that you have done further research. The long essay MUST include at least three references from academic texts found in the library (not internet sites). All texts consulted must be properly referenced using the Harvard System. The long essay must be placed in your tutor's pigeonhole on the due date. It must also be submitted electronically as an attachment to your tutor's email account. A hard copy and an electronic copy MUST be submitted. Assessment Criteria: A satisfactory completion of assignment requires:
Due Date: Week 12 tutorial Word Length: 2000 words Weighting: 50% Guidelines for Assessment Criteria: Pass (50-59) Basic understanding of the topic, reference to theory, fulfilment of criteria, presentation of supporting evidence for argument, may have some problems with expression Credit (60-69) Draws confidently upon a number of sources, contains a clear argument supported by evidence, goes well beyond basic understanding of the topic, clear expression Distinction (70-79 ) Sophisticated and coherent structure, well developed argument, use of a theoretical framework for discussion High Distinction (80-100) Shows originality and an ability to assess and consistently apply a theoretical framework. Sophisticated expression and structure. Supplementary Assessment: Students who achieve a final result between 45 and 49% will be given the opportunity to complete a supplementary assessment. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||