Authorised by Academic Registrar, April 1996
Synopsis Many of the major achievements in Australian literature since the 1950s have been autobiographies, but only within the last decade has much critical attention been given to the form. As a literary form, autobiography is rich and varied; it is also culturally revealing. Like its counterpart in the United States, the Australian autobiography is much concerned with ideas about national identity; it frequently presupposes a national type or a typical environment against which the narrator attempts self-definition. The study of Australian autobiography will raise questions about the distinctive concerns and structures of the genre. It will examine recurring myths of `growing up Australian' and consider ways in which such myths may be seen to be endorsed or subverted.
Assessment Two seminar papers (2000 words): 25% each + Essay (3500 to 4000 words): 50% + The essay may take the form of an autobiographical `chapter' in which the student constructs an episode from her/his own life. If this option is chosen, the essay must be accompanied by a short (c. 500-word) commentary on the process and the problems encountered in the recalling/shaping of memories for this text.