ATS3040 - Cultures of remembrance - 2018

This unit will examine literary texts as well as theoretical and historical writings of the European, Asian and Australian tradition. It will focus on the processes of constructing history and memory, with a particular emphasis on the memorialisation of defining events of the 20th century, i.e. the two World Wars, the Holocaust, and/or the Spanish Civil War. The unit will also explore the theoretical debates on memory (by authors such as Walter Benjamin, Maurice Halbwachs, Pierre Nora, Aleida and Jan Assmann, Marianne Hirsch, and/or Giorgio Agamben), and the role of literature in constructing collective memory. In examining the literary, historiographical and philosophical concepts students will become acquainted with a broad range of texts on this topic.

Upon successful completion of the unit students should have acquired:

1. detailed knowledge of the main features of European tradition regarding the concepts of history, memory and the memorialisation of the past, and literature as a medium for constructing collective memory;
2. students should have acquired a good grasp of key texts reflecting the intellectual debates on this topic;
3. students should have developed an awareness of the processes which will result in particular forms of memorialisation;
4. students should have improved their ability to analyse and interpret key concepts of memory in light of the literary, philosophical and historical developments since the beginning of the 20th century;
5. students should have gained experience in relating isolated historical and literary phenomena to a broader historical and theoretical framework;
6. students should be capable of informed discussion of the different conceptualizations of history, memory and memorialisation;
7. students should be capable of presenting the results of their own research in form of a tutorial paper and, in more detail, in an essay.

Within semester assessment: 80% + Exam: 20%

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. A unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

See also Unit timetable information

Bachelor of Global StudiesBachelor of Global Studies (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2018handbooks/courses/A2001.html)

Literary studies

Spanish and Latin American studies