CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES TO LITERATURE
ENG4CAL
2017
Credit points: 30
Subject outline
In this subject students will read a body of work that traverses five centuries of literature in English, from Shakespeare to the present, and across three or more continents. The distinct approach taken in this subject brings together the close study of individual texts on one hand, and considerations of very contemporary debates, concepts and theoretical approaches on the other. It revisits the traditions that have shaped literary studies, looking at the ways literary texts arise from, depart from and return to orthodoxy; it studies different genres across time and place; it looks at 'time' and 'place' themselves; it looks at contestations over artistic 'centres' and 'margins', and the effects on these of theories and politics of decolonization, sexuality and gender.
School: School of Humanities & Social Sciences
Credit points: 30
Subject Co-ordinator: Sue Thomas
Available to Study Abroad Students: Yes
Subject year level: Year Level 4 - UG/Hons/1st Yr PG
Exchange Students: Yes
Subject particulars
Subject rules
Prerequisites: N/A
Co-requisites: N/A
Incompatible subjects: N/A
Equivalent subjects: N/A
Special conditions: N/A
Learning resources
Readings
| Resource Type | Title | Resource Requirement | Author and Year | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Readings | Cracking the Spine | Prescribed | Chevalier, J (ed.) | Spineless Wonders |
| Readings | Carpentaria | Prescribed | Wright, A. | GIRAMONDO |
| Readings | Loaded | Prescribed | Tsiolkas, C. | RANDOM HOUSE/VINTAGE |
| Readings | March | Prescribed | Brooks, Geraldine | HARPERPERENNIAL |
| Readings | Othello | Prescribed | Shakespeare, W. | PENGUIN |
| Readings | The Road | Prescribed | McCarthy, C. | PICADOR |
| Readings | Bleak House | Prescribed | Dickens, C | NORTON |
| Readings | The Memoirs of Emma Courtrey | Prescribed | Hays, M | BROADVIEW PRESS |
| Readings | Paradise Lost | Prescribed | Milton, John | NORTON |
| Readings | Liar | Prescribed | Larbalestier, J | ALLEN & UNWIN |
Graduate capabilities & intended learning outcomes
01. Knowledge of a range of theoretical and critical texts, studied in this subject
- Activities:
- Written work that demonstrates the relevant critical skills
- Related graduate capabilities and elements:
- Inquiry/ Research(Inquiry/ Research)
- Writing(Writing)
02. Knowledge of academic citation and referencing protocols
- Activities:
- Written work that conforms to the proper academic protocols of citation and reference
- Related graduate capabilities and elements:
- Writing(Writing)
03. Knowledge of concepts central to understanding contemporary approaches to literary studies
- Activities:
- Written work that demonstrates knowledge of the relevant concepts
- Related graduate capabilities and elements:
- Writing(Writing)
- Inquiry/ Research(Inquiry/ Research)
04. The capacity to put this knowledge to effecive use in the development of an argument
- Activities:
- Written work that effectively mobilises relevant critical and/or theoretical material in the course of developing an original argument
- Related graduate capabilities and elements:
- Writing(Writing)
- Inquiry/ Research(Inquiry/ Research)
- Critical Thinking(Critical Thinking)
05. To write cogent and well-structured essays that mobilise students' reading and understanding of the relevant literary and other texts
- Activities:
- Written work with clear argumentation
- Related graduate capabilities and elements:
- Inquiry/ Research(Inquiry/ Research)
- Critical Thinking(Critical Thinking)
- Writing(Writing)
Melbourne, 2017, Semester 1, Day
Overview
Online enrolment: Yes
Maximum enrolment size: N/A
Enrolment information:
Subject Instance Co-ordinator: Sue Thomas
Class requirements
SeminarWeek: 10 - 22
One 3.0 hours seminar per week on weekdays during the day from week 10 to week 22 and delivered via face-to-face.
Directed ReadingWeek: 10 - 22
One 3.0 hours directed reading per week on weekdays during the day from week 10 to week 22 and delivered via online.
Assessments
| Assessment element | Comments | % | ILO* |
|---|---|---|---|
| One 4000-word essay | 50 | 01, 02, 03, 04 | |
| One 4000-word essay | 50 | 01, 03, 04, 05 |