eng3wab writing autobiography
WRITING AUTOBIOGRAPHY
ENG3WAB
2015
Credit points: 15
Subject outline
In Writing Autobiography, we conduct interlinked experiments in writing and, importantly, reading autobiography. Students read and interrogate a range of texts (some explicitly autobiographical and others testing the genre's boundaries). They are encouraged to engage critically with taken-for-granted ideas about autobiography, including: the idea of the author's clear-cut relationship to the autobiographical narrative; ideas about authenticity and the rhetoric of authenticity; ideas about the relationship between bodies, gender, places and identity; forms and genre in memoir and autobiographical writing; humanness and memory; pasts and presents. Students will attempt writing beyond the constraints of common assumptions about both writing and being, and they will consider new possibilities for writing about the self, or even against the idea of the self.
SchoolSchool of Humanities & Social Sciences
Credit points15
Subject Co-ordinatorKelly Gardiner
Available to Study Abroad StudentsYes
Subject year levelYear Level 3 - UG
Exchange StudentsYes
Subject particulars
Subject rules
Prerequisites 15 credit points of first-year English or HUS1PWR
Co-requisitesN/A
Incompatible subjects ENG2WAB
Equivalent subjectsN/A
Special conditionsN/A
Learning resources
Readings
| Resource Type | Title | Resource Requirement | Author and Year | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Readings | Running in the Family | Prescribed | Michael Ondaatje | BLOOMSBURY OR OTHER |
| Readings | Toast | Prescribed | Nigel Slater | HARPER COLLINS |
| Readings | An Angel At My Table | Prescribed | Frame, Janet | Random House |
Graduate capabilities & intended learning outcomes
01. Attempt writing that uses form and structure to convey meaning
- Activities:
- Lectures and classroom discussions include analysis of how set texts (and students' texts) do this; students practice this in class, and submit assignments that do it.
- Related graduate capabilities and elements:
- Writing(Writing)
- Inquiry/ Research(Inquiry/ Research)
- Critical Thinking(Critical Thinking)
- Creative Problem-solving(Creative Problem-solving)
02. Discuss an array of ideas related to autobiographical theory
- Activities:
- Readings and lectures and classroom discussions introduce these; students' assignments include discussion of ideas relating to autobiographical theory.
- Related graduate capabilities and elements:
- Writing(Writing)
- Critical Thinking(Critical Thinking)
- Inquiry/ Research(Inquiry/ Research)
- Creative Problem-solving(Creative Problem-solving)
03. Engage critically with texts about the self
- Activities:
- Lecturers model this; classroom discussion actively cultivates this skill; students' assignments include writing texts about the self and texts about texts about the self
- Related graduate capabilities and elements:
- Inquiry/ Research(Inquiry/ Research)
- Writing(Writing)
- Creative Problem-solving(Creative Problem-solving)
- Critical Thinking(Critical Thinking)
04. Practice forms of autobiographical writing
- Activities:
- Set texts model this; classroom discussions suggest the limitations of what set texts model; students' assignments include practicing forms of autobiographical writing
- Related graduate capabilities and elements:
- Creative Problem-solving(Creative Problem-solving)
- Critical Thinking(Critical Thinking)
- Inquiry/ Research(Inquiry/ Research)
- Writing(Writing)
Subject options
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Melbourne, 2015, Semester 2, Day
Overview
Online enrolmentYes
Maximum enrolment sizeN/A
Enrolment information
Subject Instance Co-ordinatorKelly Gardiner
Class requirements
WorkShopWeek: 31 - 43
One 1.0 hours workshop per week on weekdays during the day from week 31 to week 43 and delivered via online.
LectureWeek: 31 - 43
One 1.0 hours lecture per week on weekdays during the day from week 31 to week 43 and delivered via blended.
SeminarWeek: 31 - 43
One 1.0 hours seminar per week on weekdays during the day from week 31 to week 43 and delivered via blended.
Assessments
| Assessment element | Comments | % | ILO* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assignment 1: 2000 words | 50 | 01, 02, 03, 04 | |
| Assignment 2: 2000 words | 50 | 01, 02, 03, 04 |