units

ATS2427

Faculty of Arts

18 September 2017 26 April 2024
Monash University

Undergraduate - Unit

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2014 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.

print version

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.

LevelUndergraduate
FacultyFaculty of Arts
OfferedNot offered in 2014
Coordinator(s)Professor Kate Rigby

Notes

Previously coded CLS2820

Synopsis

This unit will introduce students to the new field of ecologically oriented literary and cultural studies, or 'ecocriticism'. It will critically examine various cultural constructions of 'nature' and 'the body' in a range of texts exemplifying different discourses of nature (e.g. mythological, philosophical, scientific) and literary genres (e.g. drama, narrative, poetry) from a range of different geographical and historical contexts. In addition, consideration will be given to the development of a number of distinct approaches within the field of current environmental literary and cultural studies.

Outcomes

Students who successfully complete this unit will have:

  1. Developed an understanding of some of the implications of ecological thinking with regard to literary and cultural studies;
  2. Enhanced their ability to recognise and discuss critically the cultural assumptions about 'nature' and 'the body' informing a variety of significant (religious, philosophical and creative) texts in different genres from a range of geographical and historical contexts;
  3. Familiarised themselves with a number of distinct theoretical approaches within ecocritical literary and cultural studies and learnt to apply at least one of these;
  4. Continued the development of their skills in the areas of research, textual analysis and interpretation in the field of environmental literary and cultural studies;
  5. Demonstrated their ability to apply ecocritical perspectives to the analysis and interpretation of one or more texts in the form of a logically ordered written argument.

Assessment

Written work) (2700 words): 60%
Exam (2 hours): 40%

Chief examiner(s)

Professor Kate Rigby

Workload requirements

2 hours per week or 22 hours per semester

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

Literary studies

Prerequisites

A gateway unit in Literary Studies