VSA2800

Colonial/Postcolonial: Australian Art and Film (6 points)

(ARTS)

Leader: Leigh Astbury and Deane Williams

Offered:
Clayton First semester 2003 (Day)

Synopsis: This unit explores major issues in Australian visual culture since white settlement from a postcolonial perspective. Areas for study will include the imaging of settlement from the colonial era to the present; the changing conception of Australia's cultural relationship with the South Pacific and its inhabitants; the apparent need to create popular heroes such as the bushranger and explorer; the meaning of the war experience for the Australian populace; the issue of race relations in both colonial and postcolonial contexts; and, inevitably, the perennial appeal of the landscape in Australian visual culture.

Assessment: Essay (3500 words): 60% + Visual test (2 hours): 40%

Contact Hours: 4 hours per week (1 x 2-hour screening; 1 x 1-hour lecture; 1 x 1-hour tutorial)