Undergraduate - UnitATS2412 - Popular fiction and popular culture

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2012 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered, or view unit timetables.

Level	Undergraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Arts
Offered	Not offered in 2012
Coordinator(s)	Dr Sarah McDonald

Notes

Previously coded CLS2075

Synopsis

This unit will investigate popular fiction in culture and popular culture. What fiction is widely read and seen in our society? What functions do popular texts serve? In what ways do gender and ideology intersect with the genres of popular narratives in books and films? How are national myths produced and circulated? What are the interactions between written fictional narratives and narratives in other media?

Outcomes

At the conclusion of the unit, students should be able:

To discuss and analyse popular fiction critically, using contemporary methodologies.
To explain the relations between culture and the fictions which circulate in it.
To understand, feel comfortable with and be able to articulate the analytical skills, theoretical vocabularies and conceptual apparatuses studied.
To demonstrate a sense of their own personal and cultural reflexivity as they observe and interpret the theories, concepts and texts analysed in the unit.
To write clear, grammatically and syntactically appropriate, independent essays on topics provided or chosen for assessment.

Assessment

One essay (2250 words): 50%
One class project (2250 words equivalent): 50%

Contact hours

2 hours (1 x 2 hour seminar) per week

This unit applies to the following area(s) of study

Comparative literature and cultural studies
Literary studies (International literatures)