WSM4940

Lovers and letters: Researching private lives

(ART)

Proposed to be offered next in 2001

Maryanne Dever and Marian Quartly

12 points + Two hours per week + Second semester + Clayton

Synopsis: Who keeps their letters? Who burns them? And why do researchers want to read them? This subject introduces students to a range of scholarly debates concerning research on private lives and personal papers. Utilising the insights of feminist and poststructuralist thinkers, the subject will examine the uses of gossip, letters, diaries, private papers and ephemera in the production of women0s life narratives. It will simultaneously critique the role and motivation of the feminist scholar in locating, reading and interpreting /the intimate archive0. Students will be encouraged to make connections between the material covered and their own practice as scholarly researchers.

Assessment: Seminar presentation: 20% + Bibliographical exercise (3000 words): 30% + Essay (5000 words): 50%