Worlds in conflict: literary readings
I Breuer and G Hiller
6 points
* 2.5 hours per week
* Second semester
* Peninsula
* Prerequisites: ENH1012
Objectives Students successfully completing this subject should have developed a sense of how literary texts relate to the periods in which they are written, particularly in relation to the concepts of `primitive' and `civilised'; they should recognise the qualities of the genres fiction, drama and poetry, and be familiar with the appropriate theoretical and critical concepts employed in the discussion of literary texts.
Synopsis The aim of this subject is to explore the perennial concepts of the `primitive' and the `civilised' and the relationships between them as depicted in literary texts from different periods from the Renaissance to the present. It examines the many different ways in which both the `primitive' and the `civilised' are portrayed and questioned. The `worlds' of the subject's title include individuals (eg the country-dweller and the city-dweller) and national cultures (eg aboriginals and white settlers); in the latter particularly, the conflict between the two is examined in the context of post-colonialism. Attention will be paid to the ways in which each text reflects certain key aspects of its historical and cultural context, to the literary modes and strategies involved in each, to intertextuality, and to the different theoretical approaches, including the feminist, which may be employed in interpretation.
Assessment Exercise (1000 words): 20%
* Essay (1500 words): 30%
* Examination (2 hours): 40%
* Class work and participation: 10%
Prescribed texts
Astley A kindness cup Penguin
Brontë Wuthering Heights Penguin
Cather The professor's house Virago
Coetzee Foe Penguin
Defoe Robinson Crusoe Penguin
Malouf An imaginary life Pan
Shakespeare The Tempest Penguin
Extracts from the poetry of Marvell, Gray, Goldsmith, Crabbe, Wordsworth, available in the course booklet.
Recommended texts
Abrams M H A glossary of literary terms 6th edn, Holt Rinehart, 1993
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