Authority and identity in Australian literature
M Ackland
8 points * 2 hours per week * First semester * Clayton
This subject is concerned with the struggle to form a national identity, and with recurring patterns of repression and domination. Texts range from the colonial period to the present day. They focus on racial issues, seen from white and black perspectives, on gender codes and sexual conflicts, on the historical record as a site of contention, and on shifting Australian attitudes to its place in the Asia-Pacific region. They also represent local responses to landscape and conventions of realism; contemporary experimentation; and the critical perspectives offered by women's writing.
Assessment
Essay (3000 words): 50% * Essay (1500 words): 30% * Class paper and participation: 20% * Students whose written work and participation are satisfactory will be excused an examination
Prescribed texts
Ackland (ed.) The Penguin book of nineteenth century Australian literature Penguin
Jolley The Well Penguin
Malouf Harland's half acre Penguin
Narogin Doctor Wooreddy's prescription for enduring the ending of the world Hyland House
Nowra The Golden Age Currency
Prichard Coonardoo Angus and Robertson
White The solid mandala Penguin
Wright A human pattern: selected poems Angus and Robertson