WRITING AUTOBIOGRAPHY
ENG3WAB
2016
Credit points: 15
Subject outline
In Writing Autobiography, we conduct interlinked experiments in writing and, importantly, reading memoir. 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 ideas about autobiography, including: the author's relationship to the autobiographical narrative and narrator; ideas about authenticity and the rhetoric of authenticity; ideas about the relationships between gender, voice, bodies, places and identity; forms and genres; self and memory; pasts and presents. Students will write both creative pieces of memoir and reflections on the nature of memoir and personal narrative arising from readings in theoretical and creative texts.
School: School of Humanities & Social Sciences
Credit points: 15
Subject Co-ordinator: Kelly Gardiner
Available to Study Abroad Students: Yes
Subject year level: Year Level 3 - UG
Exchange Students: Yes
Subject particulars
Subject rules
Prerequisites: 15 credit points of first-year English or HUS1PWR
Co-requisites: N/A
Incompatible subjects: ENG2WAB
Equivalent subjects: N/A
Special conditions: N/A
Learning resources
Readings
| Resource Type | Title | Resource Requirement | Author and Year | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Readings | Running in the Family | Prescribed | Michael Ondaatje | Bloomsbury |
| Readings | Boy, Lost | Prescribed | Kristina Olsson | University of Queensland Press |
| Readings | Bad Behaviour | Prescribed | Rebecca Starford | Allen & Unwin |
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, and critiquing other students' texts
- 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)
Melbourne, 2016, Semester 1, Day
Overview
Online enrolment: Yes
Maximum enrolment size: N/A
Enrolment information:
Subject Instance Co-ordinator: Kelly Gardiner
Class requirements
WorkShopWeek: 10 - 22
One 1.0 hours workshop per week on weekdays during the day from week 10 to week 22 and delivered via online.
LectureWeek: 10 - 22
One 1.0 hours lecture per week on weekdays during the day from week 10 to week 22 and delivered via blended.
SeminarWeek: 10 - 22
One 1.0 hours seminar per week on weekdays during the day from week 10 to week 22 and delivered via blended.
Assessments
| Assessment element | Comments | % | ILO* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assignment 1: 1500 words | 40 | 01, 02, 03, 04 | |
| Assignment 2: 2000 words | 40 | 01, 02, 03, 04 | |
| In-class workshop (equivalent to 500 words) | 20 | 01, 02, 03, 04 |