AJ18083 Contemporary Australian Literature

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2015
Extent and Intensity
0/2. 2 credit(s) (plus 2 credits for an exam). Recommended Type of Completion: zk (examination). Other types of completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Martina Horáková, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Jeffrey Alan Vanderziel, B.A.
Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Tomáš Hanzálek
Supplier department: Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Wed 12:30–14:05 J21
Prerequisites (in Czech)
AJ09999 Qualifying Examination || AJ01002 Practical English II
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 25 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/25, only registered: 0/25
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 7 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
This course focuses on recent Australian fiction/non-fiction/film and foregrounds the diversity of themes which present Australia as increasingly contested space of diverse histories, knowledges, ethnicities and cultural practices. In several units dedicated to multicultural and immigrant writing, Aboriginal counter-narratives, portraits of mythologized landscapes, history of colonization and nation-building, students will analyze narratives that critically explore Australian identities, and challenge the myth of a homogenous, white, gendered, Anglo-Saxon settler nation. Classes include mini-lectures, film clips, primary and secondary text analyses, and group and class discussions. Students will be expected to read assigned texts, contribute to seminar discussions, write regular response papers and a final essay, incorporating key theoretical concepts framing the course and critical analyses into their work.
Syllabus
  • Week 1: Introduction to course policies, assignments and readings; Defining Australia in Writing: National Identity and “Australiannes”
  • Week 2: Defining Australia in Writing: History and Place; Kate Grenville, The Secret River (2005).
  • Week 3: Aboriginal Voices: The Stolen Generations; Doris Pilkington, Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence (1996).
  • Week 4: Aboriginal Voices: Contemporary Urban Experience; Alf Taylor, “The Last Drop” and “Charlie” from Long Time Now (2001).
  • Week 5: Australian Myths: Bush and Outback; extracts from Robyn Davidson’s Tracks and films Walkabout (1971), Japanese Story (2003) and Film Australia’s Outback (2002).
  • Week 6: Australian Myths: Ned Kelly – Outlaw or Hero?; Peter Carey, True History of the Kelly Gang (2001).
  • Week 7: Postcolonial Australia: Resistance and Complicity; screening of The Tracker, dir. Rolf de Heer (2002).
  • Week 8: Postcolonial Australia: Resistance and Complicity; The Tracker, dir. Rolf de Heer (2002).
  • Week 9: Gendered Australia: Women and the Bush; “Drover’s Wife” short story cycle (Henry Lawson’s “The Drover’s Wife”, Barbara Bayton’s “The Chosen Vessel”, Murray Bail’s “The Drover’s Wife”, Barbara Jefferis’ “The Drover’s Wife”, Anne Gambling’s “The Drover’s De Facto”, Mandy Sayers “The Drover’s Wife”).
  • Week 10: Gendered Australia: Women and Space/Place; Gail Jones, Sixty Lights (2004).
  • Week 11: The Other Australia: Australian-Chinese Heritage; Brian Castro, Birds of Passage (1982).
  • Week 12: The Other Australia: Writing Multiculturalism; Merlinda Bobis, “White Turtle”; Ania Walwicz, “Wogs” and “New World”;
  • Week 13: Conclusion and Evaluation of the course
Literature
  • Castro, Brian. Birds of Passage (1982)
  • GRENVILLE, Kate. The secret river. 1st pub. Edinburgh: Canongate, 2006, 366 s. ISBN 9781841958286. info
  • JONES, Gail. Sixty lights. London: Vintage, 2004, 249 s. ISBN 0099472031. info
  • PILKINGTON, Doris and Nugi GARIMARA. Rabbit-proof fence. New York: Hyperion, 2002, xiv, 136. ISBN 0786887842. info
  • CAREY, Peter. True history of the Kelly gang. Pbk. ed. London: Faber and Faber, 2002, 424 s. ISBN 0571209874. info
  • GOODWIN, K. L. The Macmillan anthology of Australian literature. Melbourne: Macmillan Company of Australia, 1990, xxii, 629. ISBN 0333501594. info
  • SCHAFFER, Kay. Women and the bush : forces of desire in the Australian cultural tradition. Repr. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990, xv, 229. ISBN 0521368162. info
  • CARTER, Paul. The road to Botany Bay : an essay in spatial history. 1st publ. London: Faber and Faber, 1987, xxv, 384. ISBN 0571145515. info
Teaching methods
mini-lectures and powerpoint presentations; students presentations; group and class discussions - textual analyses;
Assessment methods
assignments guidelines and evaluation:
readings and discussion: students must read the assigned texts before the class and be prepared to discuss them in class;
response papers/oral presentations: see guidelines in the ELF;
final essay: see detailed guidelines in the ELF (follow MLA in citation norms and the formatting of the paper; work with reliable and scholarly sources only; plagiarim in any form will result in failing the course;
evaluation: attendance and contribution to group and class discussions 20%; response papers/oral presentation 30%; final essays 50%; Important Note: to pass the course, students MUST pass ALL of the assignments in the course (i.e. have more than 60% score in response papers, presentation, final essay, etc.)
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2006, Autumn 2007, Spring 2009, Autumn 2010, Autumn 2011, Autumn 2012, Autumn 2014, Autumn 2018, Autumn 2020.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2015, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/autumn2015/AJ18083