Master of Biography and Life Writing

Course code: 3075 + Course abbreviation: MBiog&LifeWrit + Total credit points required: 72 + 1.5 years full-time, 3 years part-time

Study mode and course location

On-campus (Clayton)

Course description

This course will explore many of the theoretical and practical issues involved in reading and writing biographies and life stories. It will include practical questions about accessing resources and the ways to utilise and design interviews, and will address many of the ethical, moral and legal questions involved in writing biography and life stories. The course will also offer students an understanding of some of the ways in which psychoanalysis, feminist theory and postcolonial studies have affected the understanding of biography and life writing. Students will explore the history of biography and autobiography and some of the different ways in which biographies have been constructed and written. The use of life stories in history and sociology will also be discussed. The course will involve research and writing a biography or a life story.

Minimum pass grade

To graduate with the Masters, students must gain a credit (60 C) or above in core units and a minimum credit average overall.

Course structure

Students complete 72 points, including three level 4 elective units, a core unit at level 4 or five and a 24-point research project. Note, not all units are available each year. Unless otherwise indicated, all units are taught at Clayton.

Level 4 electives

HYM4280 Reading and writing biography and life stories
HYM4200 History and memory: oral history, life stories and commemoration
HYM4560 The past around us (online)
HYM4620 Family history and genealogy (online and face-to-face at Caulfield)
HYM4820 Local and community history (online and face-to-face at Caulfield)
HYM4900 History, biography and autobiography
HYM4120 Reading and writing Australian history
HYM4950 Hidden transcripts: cultural approaches to the past
HYM4960 Gender and history
One other approved 12-point unit

Core units

HYM4270/5270 Research methods in biography and life writing
HYM5480 Research project (24 points)

Exit points

Students may be offered an exit award of a Graduate Certificate of Arts after successful completion of 24 points, or a Graduate Diploma in Biography and Life Writing after successful completion of 48 points.

Course coordinator

Professor Barbara Caine

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