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Thu May 25 16:42:33 EST 2000
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Copyright © Monash University 1999 - All Rights Reserved - Caution
The Faculty of Arts teaches programs in some closely interconnected areas concerned with the study of texts, narrative and textuality. The School of Literary, Visual and Cultural Studies offers a major and minor sequence in five disciplines, each with their own particular emphasis:
English literature is taught
in the English section of the school at the Clayton, Caulfield and Berwick
campuses, and by distance education mode. Literature subjects include
Australian, English, American, medieval to modern literature, children's
literature, modern poetry, publishing, women's writing, the study of writing
itself, literary and critical theory, and fiction writing. Some subjects are
taught jointly by the English section and the Centre for Comparative Literature
and Cultural Studies (CCLS).
Subjects offered by the Centre for Drama and Theatre Studies (DTS) are
available at the Clayton campus and include drama and theatre studies and
performing arts subjects. See the entry for DTS for further details.
Visual culture studies are available at the Clayton campus and subjects include
the history and theory of art from the medieval to the modern periods, with a
special focus on Australian art and architecture, new visual media, national
cinemas in Australia, Asia and Europe, alternative film and video, and
documentary and television studies. There is also some scope for students to
engage in video production.
A combination of subjects from each of the three disciplines may be taken: a
major sequence from one and a minor sequence from another, or as double majors.
For further details, see the entries under comparative literature, cultural
studies and critical theory; English; English-in-use; visual culture; and drama
and theatre studies.
The English section has close connections with a number of other teaching programs in the Faculty of Arts, all of which are concerned in one way or another with the study of texts and textuality. These are comparative literature, critical theory, cultural studies, drama and theatre studies, English literature, fiction writing and visual culture.
It is possible to take a
double major in any two of comparative literature and cultural studies, drama
and theatre studies, visual culture and English literature. A major in any one
of these may be combined with a minor sequence in any other or with a minor
sequence in critical theory.
Combined or double honours may also be taken in any two of comparative
literature and cultural studies, drama and theatre studies, visual culture and
English literature.
The
aims of fourth year are to develop further areas of competence outlined above.
Students are required to attend a compulsory four-week introduction to
disciplinary methodology at the beginning of the honours year and to pass its
assessment before proceeding.
The core element in fourth year is a compulsory subject in one of two specified
areas of critical theory. Both encourage students to work towards explicit
discussion of theory and of the nature of knowledge within the discipline.
The thesis is a training in research methodology and practice and should
produce an understanding and a critical awareness of the way in which knowledge
is constructed, spoken and written, within the discipline.
All aspects of the fourth year require the development of spoken and written
skills in communication and a critical understanding of the discipline-specific
skills involved in the writing of the thesis and the successful completion of
core and optional subjects.
Intending fourth-year honours students are encouraged to consult as early as
possible with the fourth-year honours coordinator in planning their major
sequence.
The
English section offers a variety of subjects in the literatures of Britain,
Australia, America and Asia and in a range of related areas.
In first year, students are introduced to the study of English through a choice
of subject sequences. Each sequence has a different focus - the study of
English literature and the study of literary semiotics and comparative
literature. Each aims to introduce students to a variety of modes of reading
and to a number of ways of speaking and writing about what they read. Each
provides an introduction to the historical and contemporary study of literature
and to aspects of critical theory.
The majority of English students follow the literature sequence of ENH subjects
through both semesters. At Clayton, the text and context sequence, provided by
the Centre for Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies, may also lead into
later-year English subjects. Students at Clayton should note that these CLS
subjects are recommended as usefully supplementing English literature subjects
in the first year and that one of these sequences may be taken alongside the
ENH subjects.
Second and third-year subjects in English literature build on this foundation.
There are subjects which introduce students to the literature and culture of
different historical periods. Related subjects are offered in the following
fields: Australian studies, the theory and practice of children's literature,
critical theory, feminist theory and women's writing, postcolonial theory and
literature, the languages of literature, literary and visual semiotics and
performance studies, creative writing and professional writing. Students may
select from these areas to develop their major in English. For the language of
places and performance sequence, see entry for drama and theatre studies.
Students will find the expectations of English outlined in subject handbooks as
they proceed through the degree.
English provides consultation and advice on choice of subjects at first,
second, third and fourth-year levels to ensure that students choose suitable
and coherent subject sequences.
At the graduate level, English offers a research MA and a PhD across a wide range of literary, cultural and theoretical studies. For further information, consult the graduate handbook.
In first year, students may complete the minimum 12 points required to proceed to a minor or major sequence by taking ENH1010 (Reading literature I) and either ENH1220 (Reading literature II: worlds in conflict) or ENH1240 (Effective writing).
A minor sequence consists of two first-year subjects (as stipulated above) and two of the second-year-level subjects listed below.
A major sequence consists of a minor sequence as outlined above followed by three subjects taken at third-year level.
In 2000, the following subjects will be offered in the first semester:
The following subjects will be offered in the second semester:
Other second and third-year subjects are offered on the Clayton campus. Students who intend to complete a major sequence in English by taking subjects on the Clayton campus should read the requirements for choice of second and third-year subjects on that campus (see below).
Students may complete their first year in English by taking one of the following sequences of subjects:
In addition, with the permission of the English
section, students who have completed CLS1010/ENH1111 (Text and context I)
may proceed in second semester to either ENH1220 (Reading literature II:
worlds in conflict) or ENH1230 (Language, style and literature) or ENH1240
(Effective writing).
Students intending to proceed to a minor or major sequence in comparative
literature and cultural studies (CLS) in addition to English literature (ENH)
must complete first-year sequences in both their chosen disciplines.
Up to 12 additional points may be taken at first-year level; the two subject
sequences outlined above are complementary. Such additional points may be taken
in the later years of the degree, provided that the total number of points
gained in first-year-level English subjects does not exceed 24 and that the
total number of points in English at all levels does not exceed 92.
A minor sequence in English consists of at least one first-year combination of subjects as listed above, followed by two second-year subjects.
A
major sequence in English consists of a minor sequence as outlined above
followed by three subjects, ie 24 points of work, at third-year level.
It is expected that students intending to major in English should choose
subjects which will provide them with:
Majoring students must include among the five subjects which they take in second and third years at least one earlier and one later-period subject (designated a and b in the lists below).
Any
subject in English may be taken at either second or third-year level. Students
intending to take subjects in Old or Middle English are reminded that
ENH2020/ENH3020 is the prerequisite or corequisite for both ENH2170/ 3170 and
ENH2190/ENH3190. Students may take only one of ENH2230/ENH3230 and
ENH2630/ENH3630.
In all cases, assignments will be set and assessed at the appropriate year
level.
An information session and consultation with staff will be available before
second/third-year enrolment to help students make their choice of subjects.
The following subjects will be offered in the first semester:
The following subjects will be offered in the second semester:
The following subjects introduce students to the literature and culture of different historical periods: ENH2170/ENH3170 (Old English), ENH2020/ 3020 and ENH2190/ENH3190 (Middle English), ENH2110/ENH3110 (Renaissance), ENH2130/ENH3130 (Eighteenth century), ENH2310/ENH3310 (Romantic), ENH2330/ENH3330 and ENH2030/ENH3030 (Victorian), ENH2470/ENH3470 (Modern and postmodern), ENH2530/ENH3530 (Contemporary)
Any of the subjects in these lists may be taken singly or in other combinations. Some of the above subjects may not be offered in 2000.
See
the entry for Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree for details regarding standard
entry requirements, course structure, combined honours and disciplines.
It is also necessary for students to have fulfilled the requirements of a major
sequence.
Intending honours students should choose subjects providing them with:
In particular, intending honours students
should consider including either, or both, of ENH2060/ENH3060 (Introduction to
critical theory) and ENH2750/ 3750 (Contemporary women's fiction and
theory).
To complete a major in English, students must include among the five subjects
which they take in second and third years at least one earlier and one
later-period subject (designated (a) and (b) in the lists of
second and third-year subjects).
In fourth year (honours), students take ENH4600 (Minor thesis) and
either ENH4620 (Literary theory), 12 points or ENH4640 (The life
of the text: genesis, production, reception), 12 points. Note that in 2000
only, ENH4620 will be offered in semester one and ENH4640 will be offered in
semester two. Students also take two elective subjects: the selection of
subjects must be approved by the fourth-year coordinator. Students will be
required to attend a short methodology course.
The
following elective subjects will be offered subject to sufficient enrolments
and availability of staff to teach these subjects.
First semester:
Second semester:
The
English-in-use (EIU) course is designed for students whose first language is
other than English. As the course is a study of the functional, theoretical and
cultural features of the English language and not a literature-based course, it
is a separate subject to English and may not be taken as part of a sequence in
English. This allows second language students the option of taking EIU as a
separate major or minor sequence and considering English as a possible second
major or minor subject within their degree.
The course provides second language students with an opportunity to further
their knowledge of the English language through the perspective of the second
language speaker. It provides a broad conceptual understanding of the English
language, the cognitive and cultural attitudes it engenders and the
communicative frameworks it supports.
This course is available to international and non-English-speaking-background
students who fulfil the Arts faculty second language entry criteria.
The English-in-use course offers one subject per semester at each year level, except in third year, second semester, when two subjects are required to complete a major sequence. Students interested in taking either a minor or major sequence must complete each subject at the appropriate level. Completion of a first-year sequence plus sixteen points at the second-year level represents a minor sequence in English-in-use. Completion of a further twenty-four points in English-in-use at the third-year level represents a major sequence in English-in-use.
The
Visual Culture section teaches courses in two major areas: the history and
theory of art and architecture, and film and television studies. Minor
sequences, major sequences and honours studies may be undertaken in either of
these broad areas, or a combination of the two. The first-year subject VSA1000
(Introduction to visual culture: back to the future) is designed to provide a
foundation for all subsequent studies in visual culture. Students may choose to
complete a first-year sequence by taking VSA1010 (Contemporary visual culture)
or VSA1050 (Contemporary popular film), or both, in second semester.
In subsequent years, students may decide to specialise in one or more aspects
of visual culture, or to develop a broadly based study of the field. Art
history and theory subjects involve historical and critical interpretation of a
wide range of major phases of Australian, European and American art,
photography and architecture, with special attention to recent and contemporary
visual culture. Film and television studies cover Australian, Asian and
European national cinemas, contemporary popular Hollywood and its institutions,
alternative film and video, and documentary and television studies.
Qualified students may enter a fourth honours year and undertake postgraduate
studies at graduate diploma, MA and PhD level. There is also a specialist MA in
Australian art. For details of postgraduate subjects, refer to the graduate
handbook.
Throughout the course of studies, emphasis will be given to a variety of
critical and theoretical methods of analysis appropriate to the study of visual
culture, including formal, semiotic and psychoanalytic approaches,
consideration of issues to do with the intersection of ideology and culture,
the representation of gender, race and class, and questions concerning the
relations between visual culture and technology.
Students are encouraged to consider combining their visual culture studies with
other relevant and compatible disciplines and subject areas taught in the
Faculty of Arts. Examples are performing arts, comparative literature and
cultural studies, history, women's studies, and a range of relevant Asian and
European languages. Particular attention is drawn to the following subjects:
A first-year sequence in visual culture consists of 12 points (two visual culture subjects) at first-year level.
A minor sequence in visual culture consists of 12 points (two subjects) at first-year level followed by 16 points (two subjects) at second-year level.
The major sequence consists of 12 points at first-year level followed by second-year subjects to the value of 16 points, and third-year subjects to the value of 24 points.
Normally, entry into second and third-year-level visual culture subjects is dependent on completion of appropriate first and/or second-year level subjects. However, in special circumstances, it may be possible for students who have completed appropriate equivalent studies to enter these subjects, with the approval of the head of section.
Students may also take CLS2130 (Culture and society: introduction to cultural theory) or WMN2240 (Introduction to contemporary feminist theory) as part of a minor or major sequence in visual culture. However, where one of these subjects is included as part of a sequence in visual culture, it cannot also comprise part of a sequence in comparative literature and cultural studies or women's studies. Students may not take CLS3130 or WMN3240 as part of a visual culture major.
Honours
coordinator: Deane Williams
See the entry for Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree for details regarding
standard entry requirements, course structure, combined honours and
disciplines. Mid-year entry is offered subject to availability of places and
availability of supervisors.
Fourth-year honours students will be required to write a minor thesis (VSA4002)
worth 12 points, and to take three seminar subjects. Full-time honours students
entering at the beginning of the year are advised to undertake two seminar
subjects in the first semester and one in the second semester. Part-time
honours students normally take two seminar subjects in the first year, and the
third subject plus the thesis in the second year.
Graduate supervision in the MA and PhD is available in most fields of visual culture (art history and criticism, and film and television studies). A postgraduate diploma and a faculty certificate in visual culture are also available, allowing specialisation in art history or film studies, or a combination of both fields. Specialist MA courses in both Australian art, and gallery and museum studies, are also available. For full details of all postgraduate courses offered by the Visual Culture section, refer to the graduate handbook.
Subjects
under this heading are taught by the Centre for Comparative Literature and
Cultural Studies or are taught by other schools or sections and made available
to students under a centre code. The centre is an interdisciplinary teaching
unit within the School of Literary, Visual and Cultural Studies with
responsibility for teaching and research in three main areas of work:
comparative literature, cultural studies and critical theory.
Comparative literature is the study of literature in ways which go
beyond particular national or linguistic boundaries. In practice, comparative
literary studies are of two main kinds: substantive studies of the literature
of two or more languages or literary cultures; and generalising studies of the
literary process itself, for example literary history, the sociology of
literature or psychological approaches to literature. Texts studied in the
centre at undergraduate level are all taught in English or in English
translation, but knowing a language other than English is helpful, and those
students with no exposure to one are strongly encouraged to pick up the study
of a language.
Cultural studies is the study of cultural texts, spaces and practices,
including texts that are not normally included in the canon of high literature
(the texts of popular fiction, television or cinema, for example). These
aspects of culture are studied in relation to the various social, historical
and other contexts within which cultures manifest themselves.
Critical theory is a term which has come to signify a number of
contemporary approaches to textual and cultural criticism, for example
hermeneutics, structuralism, semiotics, poststructuralism, theories of
ideology, psychoanalytic theory, and so on. Such theories have also been
central to, for instance, recent work in anthropology, philosophy, English,
performance studies and film studies.
Students enrolled in sequences offered by the centre may combine courses from
any of these areas.
A first-year sequence in the centre consists of either (a) CLS1010 (or ENH1111) and CLS1020 (or ENH1122), or (b) CLS1040 and CLS1050.
A minor sequence consists of either (a) a first-year sequence as described above or an appropriate first-year sequence in English, French or German studies, followed by two second-year-level eight-point subjects (ie ones with a CLS code); or (b) two second-year-level subjects in the centre followed by third-year-level subjects in the centre totalling at least 12 points.
A major sequence consists of (a) a first-year sequence as described above, or an appropriate first-year sequence in English, French or German studies, plus (b) a minimum of two second-year-level eight-point subjects in the centre (ie ones with a CLS code), plus (c) third-year-level courses in the centre totalling a minimum of 24 points.
Coordinator:
Chris Worth
An honours course in the centre can have an emphasis on comparative literature,
cultural studies or critical theory. The honours sequence consists of CLS4080
and CLS4560, and further fourth-year-level subjects in the centre (ie ones
with a CLS code) with a combined value of 48 points. Mid-year entry is offered
by the centre subject to places being available. Students writing fourth-year
theses in comparative literature are normally required to consider literary
texts in their original languages.
The centre offers an MA program by research and coursework in cultural studies and critical theory. It offers opportunities for doing research for a PhD (or, exceptionally, an MA by research) in many areas of comparative literature, cultural studies and critical theory. For further information, consult the graduate handbook.
Students who wish to make a specialist study of drama and theatre studies as part of their BA or BPA degree may do so within the Centre for Drama and Theatre Studies. The subjects available represent a wide range of approaches to studies in the field but most place a strong emphasis on performance. While the major in drama and theatre studies is not designed specifically as a course in systematic skills training, the element of performance in our program (whether in public production or through 'in-house' experimental work) is regarded as fundamental to the analysis of theatre texts and processes.
The
Centre for Drama and Theatre Studies has close connections with a number of
other teaching programs in the Faculty of Arts, all of which are concerned in
one way or another with the study of texts and textuality. These are
comparative literature, critical theory, cultural studies and English
literature; subjects offered in these areas are listed under each of these
disciplines.
It is possible to take a double major in any two of comparative literature and
cultural studies, drama and theatre studies, and English. A major in any of
these may also be combined with a minor sequence in any other or with a minor
sequence in critical theory.
The
first-year prerequisite for students intending a major or minor sequence in
drama and theatre studies is DTS1060/ (The language of performance) and DTS1160
(The places of performance). A second first-year sequence is available as an
additional option (DTS1320 and DTS1420). In later years, majoring students
should take at least 40 points (16 points at second-year level and 24 points at
third-year level) from DTS subjects offered by the faculty. While some of the
subjects which are not offered solely by the centre have disciplinary
prerequisites, students taking these subjects as DTS studies may, with the
permission of relevant discipline area, be excused of those requirements.
Students who are appropriately qualified may be admitted to the fourth-year
honours program.
The subjects below are offered at the Clayton campus unless otherwise
indicated. None of the subjects listed below may be counted towards more than
one minor or major sequence.
See
the entry for Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree for details regarding standard
entry requirements, course structure, combined honours and disciplines.
The fourth-year course consists of DTS4600 (Thesis), 24 points, and DTS4120
(Performance theory), 12 points, plus one other subject to the value of 12
points. Students may choose from:
The
following sequences form the normal pattern for a major, a minor, or a
first-year sequence in each area. Students should consult the listings under
relevant discipline for information about individual subjects. In particular,
students should be familiar with the core requirements for each sequence listed
below and consult the individual discipline if further information is required.
For the minor in dance studies, students will need to devise an appropriate
sequence of subjects in consultation with the Centre for Drama and Theatre
Studies.
Some variations in the combinations of subjects may be allowed with the
permission of the coordinators of the degree. Students should discuss these
matters in the first instance with Associate Professor P Fitzpatrick and
then with the relevant discipline area.
The primary major for the BPA degree is drama and theatre studies, but, with
approval, majors may also be taken in music and in visual culture.
Choose
52 or 64 points from subjects available from the Centre for Drama and Theatre
Studies.
Core requirements:
Choose
28 points chosen from subjects available from the Centre for Drama and Theatre
Studies.
Core requirements:
Twelve
points as specified by the Centre for Drama and Theatre Studies.
Core requirements:
Choose
52 or 64 points from subjects available from the Music section.
Core requirements for 52-point major:
Core requirements for 64-point major:
Twenty-eight
points as specified by the Music section.
Core requirements:
Twelve
points as specified by the Music section.
Core requirements:
Choose 52 or 64 points from subjects available from the Visual Culture section. Within the discipline of visual culture, students may choose subjects with an emphasis on film and television.
An approved sequence of 28 points from first and second-year subjects chosen from the Visual Culture section.
As specified by the Visual Culture section.
Twenty-eight points chosen in consultation with the Centre for Drama and Theatre Studies.
Twelve points as specified by the Centre for Drama and Theatre Studies.
Students must complete a sequence including six points at first-year level, eight points at second-year level and eight or 16 points at third-year level. The first subject in this sequence is PER1010 (Introduction to cultural studies I) or PER1260 (Production practice). Second-year students will be required to take PER2000 (The aesthetics of performance), and third-year students PER3000 (Contemporary performance culture).
The English section does not require students to take a compulsory core subject or subjects. It does encourage students to include in their degree subjects which will provide:
The English section attempts at all levels to encourage the practices of close reading and critical textual analysis and of carefully produced professional writing. It is expected that students who have completed a minor in English should have a basic understanding of the way English scholars read and of the ways in which they write about what they read. It is expected that students who have completed a major in English will have a more advanced and conscious understanding of these matters, a wider knowledge of a number of historical periods and issues, and a more sophisticated ability to synthesise and coordinate literary, textual and theoretical questions.
wwwdev@monash.edu.au
Thu May 25 16:42:33 EST 2000