ENGLISH 3161 – Australian Literature
WINTER 2014
Classes: Tuesday and Thursday 2.00-3.15
G.A. Hickman Building 2003
Instructor: Dr. Fiona Polack
Office location: A3006
Phone: 864 8055
Email:
Office hours: Thursdays 10.30-12.30,
or by appointment
Course Description
Australia was first settled by the British in 1788 and became a nation in 1901. From the time of colonization, the country’s writers have grappled with issues that recur in settler cultures. Preoccupations have included the fraught nature of relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people, questions of place and displacement, and the urge to forge a new and distinct post-colonial culture. This course will examine the after effects of colonialism and the ways national identity is formulated in significant works by established Australian authors.
Required Reading
Peter Carey, True History of the Kelly Gang
Nicholas Jose (ed.) The Literature of Australia
Amanda Lohrey, Vertigo
David Malouf, Remembering Babylon
Sally Morgan, My Place
Christos Tsiolkas, The Slap
Assessment
In class essay –30 January - 20%
Research essay 1 - 1500 words - Due 27 February - 20%
Research essay 2 - 2000 words - Due 1 April - 25%
Class participation - 10%
Final exam - 25%
We will discuss the requirements of each piece of coursework in detail during the semester. Here are some points to keep in mind:
1) In class essay
In answering the previously unseen question, you will be able to consult the set text but not your class notes or other secondary material. The focus here is on strengthening your abilities to think quickly and write well within a set time period.
2) Research essays
The research essays give you an opportunity to explore the texts in more detail. You will be able to choose between several set questions, but feel free to speak to me about constructing your own topic. For each essay you must refer to appropriate secondary sources, and format your paper according to MLA guidelines.
3) Participation
You are strongly encouraged to contribute your ideas in class, and it is crucial that you complete each text on time in order to fully do so. Participation marks will be awarded on the basis of your level of engagement in class conversation, completion of free writing exercises, and/or effectiveness in presenting brief prepared comments on specific texts.
4) Final exam
There will be a two and a half hour exam at the end of the course. It will require you to make connections between the different texts we are addressing.
Expectations
1. Reading
Please complete any required readings before the dates indicated on the schedule below.
2. Submission of written work
i) Please submit hard copies of assignments directly to me on the above dates. Emailed documents will not be accepted. Always keep a copy of your paper.
ii) In cases of illness or other unavoidable crisis, you must submit documentary evidence as soon as possible to receive an assignment extension, or a deferred exam. Students who request permission to obtain waivers of regulations based on medical grounds are required by the University to produce a note from a physician in support of their request. Such notes must be sufficiently specific to allow a proper consideration of the student’s case. The University requires that all medical notes must be on letterhead, must be signed by the physician, must confirm the specific dates on which the student visited the physician and should include details on the following:
- the degree to which the illness (or treatment, in the case of medication, for example) is likely to have affected the student’s ability to study, attend classes, or sit examinations
- the length of time over which the student’s abilities were likely hampered by the medical condition
-the fitness of the student to resume studies (it is in the student’s best interest not to return to studies prematurely).
In the absence of documentary evidence, assignments may be penalised at 5% per day each day after the due date. Assignments will not be accepted after the rest of the class’s work has been marked and returned.
iii) Rewrites will not be permitted on coursework. You are encouraged, though, to consult me when preparing for the in-class exercise, and to submit drafts of assignments for comment before the due dates.
iv) Plagiarism of any kind will not be tolerated and will result in disciplinary measures. Memorial University of Newfoundland values academic integrity. Please consult the statement of academic offences printed in the University Calendar.
v) To ensure privacy, student papers may be obtained, by the student personally, when papers are returned in class or picked up, by the student personally, in my office. Papers will not be available otherwise, and grades will not be posted either on paper or on-line.
3. Classroom etiquette
You are encouraged to participate fully in class discussions, and feel free to ask questions.
Cell phones must be turned off before coming to class.
Research Resources
Research for your essays should range far and wide. Here is a sampling of material to get your started.
1. The following books are held in the QE2 Library, and/or are available electronically:
Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin:
- The Empire Writes Back
- Post-Colonial Studies: The Key Concepts
Ken Gelder and Paul Salzman, After the Celebration: Australian Fiction 1989-2007
Graham Huggan, Australian Literature: Postcolonialism, Racism, Transnationalism
Peter Pierce (ed.) The Cambridge History of Australian Literature
2. Journals devoted to Australian literary and/or cultural studies that our library subscribes to:
Antipodes
Australian Book Review
Australian Humanities Review (open access)
Journal of the Association for the Study of Australian Literature
Meanjin
Overland
3. Useful article indexes pertaining to Australian literature
accessible through the Library’s website:
AustLit: The Australian Literature Resource
Literature Online (LION)
Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature (ABELL)
MLA International Bibliography
4. Useful Internet sites:
National Library of Australia: Australian Literature Websites list:
http://www.nla.gov.au/oz/litsites.html#fulltext
Invaluable list of links to a multitude of key sites.
AustLit Anthology of Criticism:
http://www.austlit.edu.au/anthology
This provides a selection of open access articles on several of the authors we are studying.
Australian Dictionary of Biography:
http://adb.anu.edu.au/
As the website introduction says: ‘concise, informative and fascinating descriptions of the lives of significant and representative persons in Australian history’
SETIS:
http://setis.library.usyd.edu.au/oztexts/index.html
The Library at the University of Sydney’s Australian Studies Resources page. Mainly historical materials.
To follow Australian current and cultural affairs try:
Australian Broadcasting Commission:
http://www.abc.net.au/
The Australian newspaper:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/
The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper:
http://www.smh.com.au/
The Monthly
http://www.themonthly.com.au/
5. MLA guides:
MUN Library Website
http://www.library.mun.ca/guides/howto/mla.php
The OWL at Purdue:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
Schedule
9 January Introduction to the course
14 January Australian histories
Reading: “Foreword” and “Introduction” to The Literature of Australia
16 January Theoretical grounds
21-28 January Poetry
Reading: Selections (specified in class) from The Literature of Australia
30 January IN CLASS WRITING
4-11 February Peter Carey, True History of the Kelly Gang
13-25 February Sally Morgan, My Place
(No class 18 February because of mid-semester break)
27 February FIRST RESEARCH ESSAY DUE
27 February-6 March David Malouf, Remembering Babylon
11-18 March Christos Tsiolkas, The Slap
20-27 March Amanda Lohrey, Vertigo
1 April SECOND RESEARCH ESSAY DUE
1-3 April Conclusions
1