Undergraduate - UnitATS3497 - Popular writing and criticism

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.

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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	Gippsland Second semester 2014 (Off-campus)
Coordinator(s)	Belinda Morrissey

Notes

Previously coded ENH3404

Synopsis

This unit approaches the study of popular narrative afresh by uncovering some ideas about popular culture - genre, mass culture, escapism, representation - that continue to limit and predetermine the analysis of popular texts. By considering how these ideas have come to inform our everyday responses to popular texts, the unit explores strategies for reading such texts in ways that challenge the critical imperative driving many analyses of popular fiction and film. Thus, the unit develops new protocols for thinking and writing about popular texts in academic, journalistic and everyday contexts. Access to on-line facilities is essential for students studying in off-campus mode.

Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit students will have:

an understanding how popular texts mediate cultural understanding and activity
a capacity to recognise how contemporary reviews of popular fiction and film are often limited by a particular history of ideas about popular culture
an ability to appreciate different uses and interpretations of popular texts
an ability to explore innovative ways of engaging with popular culture
skills in deploy such alternative reading protocols within popular sites of cultural criticism, particularly through the popular practices of art criticism and review writing.

Assessment

Written work: 80% (4500 words)
Tutorial participation or Online Forum for OCL students: 20%

Chief examiner(s)

Belinda Morrissey

Workload requirements

2 hours (1 x 1 hour lecture and 1 x 1 hour tutorial) per week

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

Writing
English

Prerequisites

Completion of 36 points in any discipline

Prohibitions

ATS2497, ENH2404, ENH3404, WRT2404, WRT3404