AJ18086 Poetics of the Nation: Australia’s Postcolonial Voice

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2017
Extent and Intensity
0/20/0. 2 credit(s) (plus 2 credits for an exam). Recommended Type of Completion: zk (examination). Other types of completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Matthew Hall (lecturer), Mgr. Martina Horáková, Ph.D. (deputy)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. Jana Chamonikolasová, Ph.D.
Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Tomáš Hanzálek
Supplier department: Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Prerequisites (in Czech)
( AJ09999 Qualifying Examination || AJ01002 Practical English II ) && SOUHLAS
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 15 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/15, only registered: 0/15
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 8 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
The Poetics of the Nation will explore the representation of the nation and the manner in which the relationship between literature and national history and voice was tested, developed and understood.
The point I want students to take away is that the concept of ‘Nation’, the concept of Australia, is fluid and continuously shifts to reflect a changing relation to stories of foundation, as well as the incorporation of multiple voices, geopolitics, generational change and which is inordinately shaped by the literatures of the country.
We’ll read from the Bulletin to Bennelong’s letters through The Malley Affair, Judith Wright and Oodgeroo up to the 20th Century explorations of voice and the politics of representation in Australian fictocriticism, and begin to unpack the contingencies of voice surrounding the immigration policies of the 1980s and the development of a multicultural Australia (Ouyang Yu, Ania Walwicz, Ali Alizadeh), of diverse ends (Michael Farrell, Jill Jones) and which also accurately reflects on its Indigenous heritage concluding with readings from Lionel Fogarty, Ali Cobby Eckermann and Natalie Harkin).
An example of an assignment, as necessary: I will have the students examine the role of the nation’s official poetic voice through a close reading of Les Murray, in comparison with John Forbes’ ‘On the Beach, a Bicentennial Poem’ to think about the shifting role of literature in establishing, critiquing and exploring the history and ethos of the nation.
In exposing the students to a diverse range of poetic voices complicates ideas of the Nation with those of Country, students will gain a foundation in modern and contemporary Australian poetry and an ability to critique the manner in which politics and history is structured around the literature of Australia.
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught only once.
The course is taught: in blocks.
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