Undergraduate - UnitATS2491 - The poetics of memory

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	South Africa First semester 2012 (Day)
Coordinator(s)	Dr Pier Paolo Frassinelli

Notes

Previously coded ENH2195

Synopsis

The unit explores contemporary literary and cultural texts as sites of reclaimed or reconstructed histories. The texts embody a range of complex negotiations with the past and memory, bringing the discourses of history and imagination into relationship. It examines a range of questions/debates which emerge at the intersection of history, culture and fiction, and the ways in which each text reflects key aspects of its historical and cultural context and the strategies involved in their representation. Students will be able to compare and contrast cultural texts from different socio-political configurations, bringing each text into relationship with other contexts and conditions.

Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this unit, students should:

demonstrate a critical awareness of the ways in which certain literary and other cultural texts encourage us to re-evaluate standardized notions of historical discourse and historical 'truth'
appreciate the uses of literature and other cultural texts in revising and opposing dominant socio-political discourses
be able to interpret a literary text, a movie and other kinds of cultural artifacts, demonstrating a sensitivity to the language and visual and narrative devices and strategies employed
demonstrate an awareness and understanding of the major theoretical approaches which may be brought to bear on literary texts and other cultural artifacts
be able to employ and evaluate such theoretical approaches in an interpretation of a cultural text
handle the critical concepts and language appropriate to discussion of contemporary literature and culture
demonstrate a development of the skills of analytic and critical discussion introduced at first year level.