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FLINDERS UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH AND
CREATIVE WRITING
TOPICS
2012
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Welcome to the English and Creative Writing program. We have a range of rich
offerings for you to choose from and we look forward to meeting many of you throughout the year.
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ENGLISH LITERATURE MAJOR
2012 SEMESTER ONE SEMESTER TWO
Year One
ENGL1001 Professional English ENGL 1101: Approaches to Literature (core topic English Lit)
ENGL1001 Professional English ENGL 1102: Reading & Writing Short Stories
Year Two
ENGL 2140: Epochs of English (core topic English Lit) ENGL 2120: Shakespeare ENGL 2141 Life Writing SCME 2106: Narrative and Storytelling PHIL 2609 Philosophy and Literature
ENGL 2121: Adaptations: Reading Texts and Film ENGL 2142: Fiction for Young Readers
Year Three
ENGL 3110: The Big Books 1 (core topic English Lit)
ENGL 3111: The Big Books 2 (core topic English Lit)
CREATIVE WRITING MAJOR
2012 SEMESTER ONE SEMESTER TWO
Year One
ENGL 1001 Professional English ENGL 1101: Approaches to Literature (core topic)
ENGL 1001 Professional English ENGL 1102: Reading & Writing Short Stories
Year Two
ENGL 2143 Approaches to Creative Writing (core topic CW) ENGL 2141: Life Writing SCME 2106 Narrative and Storytelling
ENGL 2145 Creative Writing Workshop (core topic CW) ENGL 2122: Reading & Writing Poetry
Year Three
ENGL 3210 Prose Fiction Writing (core topic CW)
ENGL 3211 Exploring Genres in Creative Writing (core topic CW)
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The Majors Each English Major (Literature or Creative Writing) consists of 36 units of English, comprising two 4.5-unit topics at first level and 27 units of upper level topics. Please note that some of these upper level topics are core or compulsory topics for the individual majors.
Prerequisites for English 2/3 Topics
Admission to English major upper-level topics is open to students who have successfully completed nine units of approved first-year English topics. This means two of the following 4.5-unit topics: ENGL1101 Approaches to Literature (core topic for both majors) plus one of: ENGL 1001 Professional English ENGL 1011 Professional English in Law ENGL 1013 Professional English for Teachers ENGL 1014 Communication Skills for the Workplace ENGL 1102 Reading and Writing Short Stories
Notes ENGL1101 was previously ENGL 1003 and ENGL1102 was previously ENGL 1007. These earlier versions also qualify as approved topics. The older ENGL 1004, ENGL 1008 topics may be counted for the core Literature topic. If in doubt, please consult the department Head (see contact details below).
Consult us before you enrol
Some English staff are designated programme approvers who will also give advice on enrolment. If in doubt, please ask at the Undergraduate Office (HUMN252).
Pre-reading
It should be clearly understood that most ENGL topics require you to complete a considerable amount of reading before you attend any given class; in some topics, it may be assumed that you will read one novel each week. In many topics you may be tested on whether you have completed the reading for the week in question. You are advised to read in advance of the topic commencing.
Attendance Students must attend at least 75% of timetabled tutorials / workshops. Topics are structured on the assumption that students will participate in learning opportunities at such classes and will have completed the reading tasks set for the week. Where students are unable to attend 75% or more, they should contact their tutor using e-mail and make arrangements to present the relevant medical certificates; more written work may be required to make up for the absences. Notwithstanding this, students who miss more than 50% of the tutorials will normally be failed in the topic. The best practice is to discuss absences with your tutor in an e-mail message.
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Lectures Attendance at lectures is advised, as lecture-content is usually tested by assessment, including examination, and in many topics, attendance records are kept for lectures. Lectures are recorded in some topics. Topic coordinators may also post notes and supplementary material on line. Evening tutorials may be scheduled in some topics if required. Further Information For further general information on the English Literature and Creative Writing majors please see the staff in the Undergraduate Office (HUMN252) in the first place. If you would like to speak to a topic coordinator, you will find their details at the bottom of the following pages. Please also feel free to contact me at any time. Dr Dymphna Lonergan Department Head Humanities room 282 Ph: 8201 2079 Email: [email protected]
‘Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill.’
Barbara W. Tuchman. ‘Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become.’ C.S. Lewis ‘Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.’ Anton Chekhov
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2012 TOPICS SEMESTER 1
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ENGL 1001
PROFESSIONAL ENGLISH
Units: 4.5 units Semester: 1 or 2 Prerequisites: must not have completed ENGL1012 or ENGL1013 Professional English is an ideal first year topic but can be taken at any level where you have room for a first year elective. You can take it as part of the English Literature or Creative Writing Majors or as an elective in your degree. It will bring you up to date with how to write effectively in an academic and professional environment. You will develop skills in reading, summarising, and critical response. A special focus on grammar will ensure you develop good writing skills. These skills will automatically transfer to your other topics where writing effectively is a key element to achieving good grades. The topic is taught over twelve weeks of one-hour tutorials and supporting fortnightly lectures. The lectures focus on assignments and grammar and the tutorials will provide opportunities to apply new skills in writing effectively and persuasively. Our tutors are experienced in delivering the topic to a range of students from a variety of backgrounds. They make sure that students are comfortable in their learning, supportive of each other, and stimulated by the topic content. Set Texts: The only set text is the Professional English Reader, available in Unibooks. The Course Guide will be distributed in the first lecture. Assessment: written assignments, quizzes, and an exam . Coordinators: Dr Danielle Clode, Humanities Rm 219, Ph: 8201247
Email: [email protected] and Dr Dymphna Lonergan, Humanities Rm 282, Ph: 8201 2079 Email: [email protected]
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ENGL 1101
APPROACHES TO LITERATURE
Units: 4.5 Semester: 1 Prerequisites: Enrolment not permitted if 1 of ENGL1007, ENGL1007A has been
successfully completed Approaches to Literature is the first topic in the English and Creative Writing offerings, and introduces the study of literature at university level. It aims to enrich this through encouraging students to develop thoughtful interpretative skills about a range of literary works from across the ages. Students will examine the ‘seven basic plots’ of literature, and explore the relation between literature and its historical and cultural contexts. Approaches to Literature is, therefore, an excellent launching pad for both the Literature and Creative Writing majors. Class Contact: Lectures and one 1-hour tutorial per week. Set Texts: ENGL 1101 Course Reader: The reader, like all of the set texts, will be
available from Unibooks. It will include a selection of poetry for the relevant weeks’ readings, and supplementary course materials.
You will also read the following:
Ross Murfin & Supryia M. Ray: The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms (3rd edition) Lester Faigley: The Little Penguin Handbook (2011) Charlotte Brontë: Jane Eyre Oscar Wilde: The Importance of Being Earnest Bram Stoker: Dracula Virginia Woolf: Mrs Dalloway Michael Cunningham: The Hours William Shakespeare: Macbeth
Assessment: Assignments; Tests. Coordinators: Dr Steve Evans, Humanities Rm 238, Ph. 8201 3166
Email: [email protected] Prof. Graham Tulloch, Humanities Rm 250, Ph. 8201 2025 Email: [email protected]
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SCME 2106
NARRATIVE AND STORYTELLING
Units: 4.5 units Semester: 1 Prerequisites: None Narrative is one of the most widespread and powerful forms for organising discourse in a diverse range of art forms, from literature to film to computer games. This topic provides an introduction to narratology, the study of stories and storytelling. Questions we will address include: What constitutes a story? What are the appeals of stories? How are stories typically constructed? What models and analogies have been proposed for the study of narrative so that we can understand its effectiveness? We will read Aristotle, Russian Formalists, French Structuralists, and a range of other theorists who will help us with these questions. We will draw on writings about fairy tales, myths, dreams, novels, films and other narrative forms in the course of the semester. Set Texts: The only set text is the Reader, available in Unibooks. Assessment: Written assignments and reading reports spread throughout the semester.
Coordinators: Dr John McConchie, Humanities Rm 271, Ph: 8201 2313
Email: [email protected] Dr Steve Evans, Humanities Rm 238, Ph: 8201 3166 Email: [email protected]
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ENGL 2140
EPOCHS OF ENGLISH
(CORE TOPIC IN ENGLISH LITERATURE MAJOR)
Units: 4.5 Semester: 1 Class Contact: 11-hour lecture and one 1-hour tutorial weekly
There will also be a weekly screening. Prerequisites: 2 of ENGL1101, ENGL1102, ENGL1001 OR ENGL1013/A,
ENGL1001 OR ENGL1013A, ENGL1003, ENGL1003A, ENGL1004, ENGL1004A, ENGL1007, ENGL1007A, ENGL1008, ENGL1008A
This topic aims to give students a firm grasp of the story of English literature in the period between the Renaissance and Modernism. As such, it provides a crucial background for the study of literature in English and for students' wider cultural literacy. We will, moreover, focus on getting a high level grasp of the theory and practice of the central skill of literary study, close reading.
There is a core body of literary-historical knowledge that we will gain through study of a textbook The practice of close reading will be pursued through attention to some of the most famous poems in the language, available in a course booklet.
In undertaking this topic students will:
• attain a survey knowledge of cultural history as it impinges on classic English literature in the periods between the Renaissance and Modernism;
• attain a practical and theoretical grasp of the technique of close reading; • be able to demonstrate an understanding of a number canonical poems in the English
tradition.
Set Text: Paul Poplawski, ed. English Literature in Context (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008). Recommended Text: Ross C. Murfin and Supryia M. Ray, Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms (Boston: Bedford/St Martins, 2009) Assessment:
• 3 tests on the literary historical material covered in lectures - 30% • 1 close reading exercise, due mid-semester, on a single poem - 1000 words, 25% • 1 final essay focusing on a single period and 1 or 2 authors - 2000 words, 45%
Coordinator: Dr Giselle Bastin, Humanities Rm 233, Ph. 8201 2611 Email: [email protected]
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ENGL 2120
SHAKESPEARE Coordinator: Associate Professor Robert Phiddian Units: 4.5 Semester: One Prerequisites: 2 of ENGL1101, ENGL1102, ENGL1001 OR ENGL1013/A,
ENGL1001 OR ENGL1013A, ENGL1003, ENGL1003A, ENGL1004, ENGL1004A, ENGL1007, ENGL1007A, ENGL1008, ENGL1008A Enrolment not permitted if ENGL2104 has been successfully completed
This topic will focus on the plays of William Shakespeare both as a window onto the richness of Renaissance culture and as works of current timeliness. We will include Christopher Marlowe's Dr Faustus by way of comparison. Students will be encouraged to imagine the plays both in their historical context and in the context of their own lives and concerns. We will study plays from all the major genres (comedy, history, tragedy, and romance), and students will be encouraged to explore the ways character, spectacle, poetry, and genre shape the experience of Shakespearean drama. Special attention will be paid to the 'hot' issues in recent debates about Shakespeare, and students will be encouraged to become acquainted with some of the scholarship surrounding this most famous of English writers. Set Text: The Norton Shakespeare, eds Greenblatt, Cohen, Howard, and Maus. While the Norton Anthology permits us some freedom to roam, plays that we will definitely cover include:
Richard III Much Ado About Nothing Measure for Measure King Lear The Tempest
Class Contact: One lecture, and one tutorial per week. Assessment: 1 open book test on basic information in week 4 (15%) 1 essay on a single text (1000-1500 words, 35%) 1 essay on two or more texts (2000-2500 words, 50%) Contact: Associate Professor Robert Phiddian, Humanities Rm. 249, Ph. 82013717. Email: [email protected]
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PHIL2609
PHILOSOPHY AND LITERATURE Units: 4.5 Semester: 1 Class Contact: One 1-hour lecture and one 1-hour tutorial weekly
Prerequisites: At least nine units of any first year subject This topic is both a philosophical examination of literature and an examination of how literature may contribute to philosophy. The topic will introduce students to some of the most important questions in literary/philosophical aesthetics and to the most influential critical theories of literature. Specific issues and questions to be discussed will include: What makes a work of literature a work of art?; What makes something a work of literature?; How can readers respond emotionally to fictional characters?; Is one of the central values of literature to impart truths?; In what ways might literature as literature contribute to moral understanding?
On completing this topic students will be able to:
• Explain the central philosophical issues and problems concerning literature discussed in the topic
• Be able to critically assess the philosophical responses to the above problems • Write clearly in dealing with the questions in literary/philosophical aesthetics discussed in
this topic Set Text: Topic Reader Assessment • Short Assignment (10%) • Tutorial Presentation and response (15%) • 2 Essays (35% and 40%)) Coordinator: Dr Craig Taylor, Humanities Rm. 223, Ph. 82013962 Email: [email protected]
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ENGL3110
THE BIG BOOKS 1
(core topic literature major) Units: 4.5 Semester: 1 Class Contact: 1 2-hour seminar weekly Prerequisites: 9 units first year topics; 18 units upper level topics. Students in both the Literature and Creative Writing majors will study a selection of significant literary texts (‘Big Books’) drawn from English and other languages in translation. Significant texts will be studied across multiple weeks. We will make reference to the primary text and a collection of secondary readings which explore the significance of the text to critical and creative literary cultures. The topic provides a context for the application, extension, and communication of the knowledge and skills students have developed in previous years. Students will have the opportunity to communicate an understanding of the interpretation of literary texts through the production of analytical and argumentative writing.
On completing this topic students will:
• have the capacity to apply the skill of close reading to selected literary texts and secondary texts.
• have developed and extended their knowledge of selected significant literary texts and their place in literary history.
• be able to demonstrate an ability to work collaboratively and cooperatively.
Set Texts:
Jane Austen Northanger Abbey (1818)
Anne Brontë The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848)
Gustave Flaubert Madame Bovary (1857)
Thomas Hardy Tess of the D’Urbervilles (1891) Recommended Text: Ross Murfin & Supryia M. Ray: The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms (3rd edition) Assessment: Seminar papers (4 x 400 words) 30%; Mid-term in-class test: (approx. 1000 words) 25%; Major Essay (2000 words) 45%
Coordinator: Associate Professor Kate Douglas, Humanities Rm 246, Ph. 82012292 Email: [email protected]
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ENGL2143
APPROACHES TO CREATIVE WRITING
(core topic Creative Writing major) Units: 4.5 Semester: 1 Class Contact: One1-hour lecture fortnightly and One 1-hour seminar fortnightly Prerequisites: 2 of ENGL1101, ENGL1102, ENGL1001 OR ENGL1013/A,
ENGL1001 OR ENGL1013A, ENGL1003, ENGL1003A, ENGL1004, ENGL1004A, ENGL1007, ENGL1007A, ENGL1008, ENGL1008A Enrolment not permitted if ENGL2503 has been successfully completed
This topic is designed around a weekly lecture and tutorial in which students will read and respond to a variety of creative writing. The emphasis in this topic is on reading and responding to published creative writing and for thinking about the critical concepts related to creative writing theory and to the discipline of creative writing.
On completion of this topic students will have developed:
• the ability to respond critically to published creative writing and to identify techniques of the craft
• a broad understanding of issues of significance to creative writing as a discipline • the ability to apply critical debates about writing to their own work and to think
analytically and critically about their writing and about the discipline of creative writing
Set Text: Topic Reader Mark Tredinnick, The Little Red Writing Book Recommended Text: Ross Murfin & Supryia M. Ray: The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms (3rd edition) Assessment: Essay (40%) Writing Portfolio (60%) Coordinator: Dr Gay Lynch, Humanities Room 219, Phone 8201 3259 Email: [email protected]
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ENGL 2141
LIFE WRITING
Units: 4.5 Semester: 1 Class Contact: One 2-hour seminar fortnightly Prerequisites: 2 of ENGL1101, ENGL1102, ENGL1001 OR ENGL1013/A,
ENGL1001 OR ENGL1013A, ENGL1003, ENGL1003A, ENGL1004, ENGL1004A, ENGL1007, ENGL1007A, ENGL1008, ENGL1008A Enrolment not permitted if ENGL2410 has been successfully completed
The topic will review the history and genres of life writing—from ‘lives’, confessions, poetry, letters and diaries, through to biography, autobiography, memoir, essays, testimony, art work, photography, websites and social networking. The themes we will cover include: truth, subjectivity, self, identity, privacy/disclosure, memory, trauma, and the ethical, moral and legal issues surrounding the representation of the self and others in life writing modes. We will explore ways of researching and resourcing life writing projects. Students will explore both the theories and practice of life writing genres, and will be give the option of critical and/or creative life writing pieces for their assessment. Set Texts: Reader
Helen Garner Joe Cinque’s Consolation Art Spiegelman Maus
Darin Strauss Half a Life Jeanette Winterson Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit
Forbidden Lies [film] dir. Anna Broinowski Recommended Text: Ross Murfin & Supryia M. Ray: The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms (3rd edition) Assessment: Tutorial activities (15%) Reading Journal (30%) Life Writing Piece (15%) Major Assignment: (40%) Coordinator: Dr Kylie Cardell, Humanities Room 237, Phone 8201 2836 Email: [email protected]
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ENGL 3210
PROSE FICTION WRITING Units: 4.5 Semester: 1 Class Contact: 6 1-hour lectures per semester 6 1 hour seminars per semester 6 2-hour workshops per semester Prerequisites: 2 of ENGL1101, ENGL1102, ENGL1001 OR ENGL1013/A,
ENGL1001 OR ENGL1013A, ENGL1003, ENGL1003A, ENGL1004, ENGL1004A, ENGL1007, ENGL1007A, ENGL1008, ENGL1008A
Enrolment not permitted if CREA3101 or ENGL2144 has been successfully completed
Students will work toward the creation of a single piece of prose fiction which engages with a contemporary issue of public interest. Through research and reading selected fiction and non-fiction students will 'listen' to the world around them, and draw on this as inspiration for their own fiction. We explore the development of thematic ideas about 'the real world'. Lectures will present a perspective on the readings, drawing links between the themes and recent debates in history, science, politics, society and economics, and the way fiction writers respond to these. Seminars will provide students with the opportunity to present discussion papers on a selected contemporary issue of their choosing according to the broad theme of that week and reflect on how they might engage with this theme through a work of fiction. We then focus on developing a relevant work of fiction in a workshop environment.On completing this topic students will have developed the ability to:
• recognise how others writers have engaged with issues of public debate • locate their own and others' work in a generic context write fiction which engages with
issues of public debate • develop the quality of their own writing through the critical skills developed in the
workshop environment
Set Texts:
Topic Reader\Christos Tsiolkas The Slap; Jennifer Egan, A Visit From the Goon Squad; Thomas More Utopia; Steven Amsterdam Things We Didn’t See Coming; Margaret Atwood Oryx and Crake
Recommended Text: Ross Murfin & Supryia M. Ray: The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms (3rd edition) Assessment: Class presentation and online discussion (1000 words) 20% Essay (1500 words) 35% Short story and statement (2000 words) 45% Coordinator: Dr Kalinda Ashton, Humanities Rm 248, Ph. 8201 2947 E-mail: [email protected]
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2012 TOPICS SEMESTER 2
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ENGL 1001
PROFESSIONAL ENGLISH
Units: 4.5 units Semester: 1 or 2 Prerequisites: must not have completed ENGL1012 or ENGL1013 Professional English is an ideal first year topic but can be taken at any level where you have room for a first year elective. You can take it as part of the English Literature or Creative Writing Majors or as an elective in your degree. It will bring you up to date with how to write effectively in an academic and professional environment. You will develop skills in reading, summarising, and critical response. A special focus on grammar will ensure you develop good writing skills. These skills will automatically transfer to your other topics where writing effectively is a key element to achieving good grades. The topic is taught over twelve weeks of one-hour tutorials and supporting fortnightly lectures. The lectures focus on assignments and grammar and the tutorials will provide opportunities to apply new skills in writing effectively and persuasively. Our tutors are experienced in delivering the topic to a range of students from a variety of backgrounds. They make sure that students are comfortable in their learning, supportive of each other, and stimulated by the topic content. Set Texts: The only set text is the Professional English Reader, available in Unibooks. The Course Guide will be distributed in the first lecture. Assessment: written assignments, quizzes, and an exam . Coordinator: Dr Danielle Clode, Humanities Rm 219, Ph: 8201247
Email: [email protected]
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ENGL 1102
READING AND WRITING SHORT STORIES
Units: 4.5 units
Semester: 1
Class Contact: One 1-hour workshop per week supported by online lectures
Prerequisites: Successful completion of ENGL1101 Approaches to Literature
Enrolment not permitted if 1 of ENGL1003, ENGL1003A has been successfully completed
This topic is designed as an introduction to the craft of writing short stories and also introduces students to the Creative Writing stream. Students will read a diverse range of short texts from both Australia and overseas and will be encouraged to use those as models for their own creative writing. An anthology of short stories has been prepared and will be available for purchase. The topic aims to encourage students to read and appreciate short fiction and to help them understand the cultural and literary contexts in which such fictions are produced. The short story is particularly appropriate for encouraging comparative analysis between national cultures and periods of literary development as well as for the examination of technique and craft. Set Texts: A class anthology will be available from Unibooks before semester two begins.
Ross Murfin & Supryia M. Ray: The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms (3rd edition)
Assessment: Various assignments (70% in total); Examination (30%) Coordinators: Dr Steve Evans Humanities Rm 240 Ph: 82013166. Email: [email protected] Dr Nick Prescott Humanities Rm 259 Ph: 82012635. Email: [email protected]
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ENGL 2121
ADAPTATIONS: READING TEXTS AND FILM
Units: 4.5 Semester: 2 Class Contact: 4-5 hours per week Lectures: weekly (1 hour) plus 2 hour film viewings most weeks Tutorial: weekly (1 hour) Prerequisites: 2 of ENGL1101, ENGL1102, ENGL1001 OR ENGL1013/A,
ENGL1001 OR ENGL1013A, ENGL1003, ENGL1003A, ENGL1004, ENGL1004A, ENGL1007, ENGL1007A, ENGL1008, ENGL1008A
Enrolment not permitted if ENG2111 has been successfully completed. Popular film has long drawn on published stories and literary ‘greats’ for its subject matter. ‘Adaptations: Reading Texts and Film’ will consider film and literature in equal measure, looking at the formal qualities and production determinants that shape and inform each medium. We will look at different types of adaptation, as well as consider the various debates that surround the process of transmitting texts to the screen. The topic complements the current Year 12 English curriculum, with its growing emphasis on the pairing of texts and film. As such, it should prove appealing to both Education students interested in teaching English studies, as well as BA/BCA students. Recommended Text: Ross Murfin & Supryia M. Ray: The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms (3rd edition) The Set Texts we will consider (in no particular order) are: Texts Films Kazuo Ishiguro The Remains of the Day (1989)
The Remains of the Day (1993; dir. James Ivory)
George Orwell 1984 (1949)
1984 (1984; dir. Michael Radford)
Miles Franklin My Brilliant Career (1901) My Brilliant Career (1979; dir. Gillian Armstrong)
James Ellroy L.A. Confidential (1990)
L.A. Confidential (1997; dir. Curtis Hanson)
Laurence Sterne The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (1759)
Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story (2006; dir. Michael Winterbottom)
Daphne du Maurier Rebecca (1938) Rebecca (1940; dir. Alfred Hitchcock) Rebecca (1997; dir. Jim O’Brien)
Truman Capote In Cold Blood (1966) Capote (2005; dir. Bennett Miller)
Assessment: Comparative Essays. Coordinator: Dr Giselle Bastin, Humanities Rm 233, ph: 8201 2611 Email: [email protected]
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ENGL2122
READING & WRITING POETRY
Units: 4.5 Semester: 2 Class Contact: One two-hour weekly workshop Prerequisites: 2 of ENGL1101, ENGL1102, ENGL1001 OR ENGL1013/A, ENGL1001
OR ENGL1013A, ENGL1003, ENGL1003A, ENGL1004, ENGL1004A, ENGL1007, ENGL1007A, ENGL1008, ENGL1008A
The topic is presented through workshops in which students discuss the critical reading of poetry and techniques involved in its writing. It is essentially based around:
• what poetry offers that is different from other writing; • the initial stages of poetry’s creation and its subsequent editing; • significant aspects of poetic form, metre and technique; and • how we can apply close reading to poetry and discuss it in a meaningful manner.
Technical aspects include the use of figurative language (metaphor, simile, metonymy, synecdoche, etc.), as well as tone, line breaks, and more. These cross over into a consideration of poetry as performance, such as its use of sound and rhythm, which is not unusual given that poetry has its roots in an oral tradition of delivery. Students will also discuss various significant aspects of form, such as open and closed poetry, haiku, ghazal, sonnet, sestina, and free verse. Students will undertake exercises, including drafting and revising their own poetry and editing the work of their peers, in order to both apply the knowledge gained in the topic and develop their creative writing skills. The workshop activities, set readings, and writing exercises will help students to appreciate the place of craft in creating poetry. A poetry reading of students’ work is planned for the end of the semester. Set Texts: Topic readings are contained in the Reader (available from Unibooks). Recommended Text: Ross Murfin & Supryia M. Ray: The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms (3rd edition) A list of other recommended books will also be available. Assessment: Essay/Book Review (25%); Creative Project (50%); Writing Portfolio (25%). Coordinator: Dr Steve Evans, Humanities Rm 238, Ph. 8201 3166 Email: [email protected]
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ENGL 2142
FICTION FOR YOUNG READERS
Units: 4.5 Semester: 2 Class contact: One lecture and 1 one-hour tutorial Prerequisites: 9 units of first year topics This topic allows students to approach children’s literature critically. Students investigate picture books, junior novels and books for older readers in order to appreciate recent developments in the field. They study a range of genres: adventure; fantasy; science fiction; and adolescent fiction. The topic focuses on contemporary Australian writing, but includes outstanding work from overseas where appropriate. Students approach texts as literature, using a variety of critical perspectives. In addition, the topic considers cultural issues that affect the writing and reception of children’s literature, such as censorship, ethnicity and gender. How children learn to read will also be considered. Fiction for Young Readers will be particularly beneficial for Bachelor of Education students who will be introducing their own students to literature in the classroom. The topic adopts a flexible lecture and tutorial format. Lectures will provide an overview of a particular topic or genre, such as picture books, science fiction and fantasy. Students will then examine particular works in tutorials. Videos about contemporary writers, where available, will be incorporated into lectures. This topic, then, aims to introduce students to contemporary Australian and overseas children’s literature and to examine the crucial issues affecting children’s writers and publishers. It develops students’ understanding of the relationship between verbal and visual narratives while also sharpening their writing and critical skills. Set Texts: A list of set books (available in Unibooks and in the library) will be
provided, together with details of primary and secondary texts. The topic handbook contains other selected readings.
Recommended Text: Ross Murfin & Supryia M. Ray: The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms (3rd edition) Assessment: Book Review or similar activity: (25%) Essay: (40%) Exam: (25%) In-class and/or FLO activities: (10%) Coordinator: Dr Gay Lynch, Humanities Rm 219, E-mail:
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ENGL 2145
CREATIVE WRITING WORKSHOP
(core topic Creative Writing major) Coordinator: Dr Gay Lynch Units: 4.5 Semester: 2 Class contact: 1 2-hour weekly workshop Prerequisites: a) 2 of ENGL1101, ENGL1102, ENGL1001 OR ENGL1013/A, R
ENGL1013A, ENGL1003, ENGL1003A, ENGL1004, ENGL1004A, ENGL1007, ENGL1007A, ENGL1008, ENGL1008
b) ENGL2143. Must satisfy a) and b) Enrolment not permitted if ENGL2503 has been successfully
completed
This topic is designed around a series of two-hour workshops in which students will read and respond to their peers' creative writing. In the weekly workshops, students are expected to respond to other students' work both in writing and through discussion, making editorial suggestions. The emphasis in this topic is on writing and responding to draft creative writing and for thinking about the practice of creative writing as a craft.
There will also be opportunities for students to develop their editing and desktop publishing skills, and listen to published writers talking about the crafting of writing and about related matters to do with the publishing industry.
On completion of this topic students will have:
1. the ability to produce a piece of creative writing and exposure to the process of writing through draft to completion
2. developed skills in reading and editing creative work, particularly in reading and editing work that is at draft stage
3. the ability to apply critical debates about writing to their own work and to think analytically and critically about their writing and about the discipline of creative writing
Set Texts: Topic Reader Recommended Text: Ross Murfin & Supryia M. Ray: The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms (3rd edition)
Assessment: In-class editing and writing tasks (1350 words total) 30% Editing and writing portfolio with critical reflection (1350 words) 30% Short prose piece (1800 words) 40% Coordinator: Dr Gay Lynch, Humanities Room 219, Phone 82013259 Email: gay. lynch @flinders.edu.au
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ENGL 3111
THE BIG BOOKS 2
(core topic English literature major)
Units: 4.5 Semester: 2 Class Contact: 1x 2 hour weekly seminar for 12 weeks. Prerequisites: 2 of ENGL1101, ENGL1102, ENGL1001, ENGL1001A, ENGL1003,
ENGL1003A, ENGL1004, ENGL1004A, ENGL1007, ENGL1007A, ENGL1008, ENGL1008A, ENGL1013, ENGL 2140 (Literature majors) and ENGL 2143 & 2145 (Creative Writing majors).
What are the literary works that have inspired other writers? How have some literary works challenged and changed the way people express themselves creatively? What are these works we call ‘the big books’, and what makes them so important, or at least makes some people think they’re so important? In this topic, we will consider these and many other questions. We will focus on aspects of cultural value and literary merit, while charting the reception of some of the most significant works of literature either written in, or translated into, English. This topic will continue, and expand upon, the focus of ENGL 3110: The Big Books 1 and will act as a ‘bookend’ for the Literature major. Students will read and evaluate some of the core texts in our language—an opportunity that will properly prepare them for a completion of their major, or for further study in Honours and above.
Set Texts: Seamus Heaney (trans.) Beowulf: A Verse Translation, The Norton Critical Edition, 2002. William Shakespeare. Hamlet (1599/1601) Charles Dickens. Great Expectations (1860) James Joyce. Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916) Recommended Text: Ross C. Murfin and Supryia M. Ray, Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms (Boston: Bedford/St Martins, 2009) Assessment: One short assignment; one long assignment; in-class open book coverage test. Coordinator: Dr Giselle Bastin, Humanities Rm 233, Ph. 8201 2611 Email: [email protected]
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ENGL 3211
Exploring Genres in Creative Writing
(core topic Creative Writing major)
Units: 4.5 Semester: Two Class contact: Six 1-hour lectures per semester Six 1 hour seminars per semester Six 2-hour workshops per semester Prerequisites:
a) 2 of ENGL1101, ENGL1102, ENGL1001, ENGL1001A, ENGL1003, ENGL1003A, ENGL1004, ENGL1004A, ENGL1007, ENGL1007A, ENGL1008, ENGL1008A, ENGL1013, ENGL1013A b) 2 of ENGL2143, ENGL2145 Must Satisfy: (a and b)
Exploring Genres in Creative Writing provides students in the Creative Writing major the opportunity to consolidate, apply, and further develop previously attained skills and critical approaches to creative writing across a number of genre forms. The intention is to advance students’ understanding of forms of writing that both inhabit and challenge genre boundaries and to write in cross-genre formulations. Students will read in a range of genre styles which may include fiction, the lyric essay, fictional autobiography, the manifesto, creative non-fiction, the prose poem, psychogeography, nature writing, and science writing. Students will have the opportunity to reflect critically and creatively on the stylistic and generic aspects of these readings. On completing this topic students will have developed the ability to:
• recognise how writing is located in their own and others’ work in a generic context. • explore creative strategies for writing across generic forms • assess the quality of their own and others’ writing through the critical skills developed in
the workshop environment. Set Texts: Topic Reader Recommended Text: Ross Murfin & Supryia M. Ray: The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms (3rd edition) Assessment: Class presentation (1000 words) 20% Essay (1500 words) 35% Short story and statement (2000 words) 45% Coordinator: Dr Kalinda Ashton, Humanities Rm 248, Ph. 8201 2947 Email: [email protected]