Macquarie PEN Anthology of Aboriginal Literature
Anita Heiss
(editor),
Peter Minter
(editor),
Nicholas Jose
(editor),
Crows Nest
:
Allen and Unwin
,
2008
Z1483175
2008
anthology
poetry
drama
prose
correspondence
criticism
extract
(taught in 19 units)
'An authoritative survey of Australian Aboriginal writing over two centuries, across a wide range of fiction and non-fiction genres. Including some of the most distinctive writing produced in Australia, it offers rich insights into Aboriginal culture and experience...
'The anthology includes journalism, petitions and political letters from both the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, as well as major works that reflect the blossoming of Aboriginal poetry, prose and drama from the mid-twentieth century onwards. Literature has been used as a powerful political tool by Aboriginal people in a political system which renders them largely voiceless. These works chronicle the ongoing suffering of dispossession, but also the resilience of Aboriginal people across the country, and the hope and joy in their lives.' (Publisher's blurb)
Carpentaria
Artarmon
:
Giramondo Publishing
,
2006
Z1184902
2006
single work
novel
(taught in 47 units)
Carpentaria's portrait of life in the precariously settled coastal town of Desperance centres on the powerful Phantom family, whose members are the leaders of the Pricklebush people, and their battles with old Joseph Midnight's tearaway Eastend mob on the one hand, and the white officials of Uptown and the neighbouring Gurfurrit mine on the other. Wright's storytelling is operatic and surreal: a blend of myth and scripture, politics and farce. The novel is populated by extraordinary characters - Elias Smith the outcast saviour, the religious zealot Mozzie Fishman, leader of the holy Aboriginal pilgrimage, the murderous mayor Stan Bruiser, the ever-vigilant Captain Nicoli Finn, the activist and prodigal son Will Phantom, and above all, Angel Day the queen of the rubbish-dump, and her sea-faring husband Normal Phantom, the fish-embalming king of time - figures that stand like giants in this storm-swept world. (Backcover)
Sweet Water : Stolen Land
St Lucia
:
University of Queensland Press
,
1993
Z32091
1993
single work
novel
historical fiction
(taught in 8 units)
'The destinies of two families, black and white, are fatally interwoven... in this frontier novel. Racial brutality and the tragic account of the Myall Creek massacre underscore the story of Ginny and Wollumbuy, Kamilaroi people of Warrumbungle Range. Mysterious killings follow the arrival Karl and Gundrun Maresch, a German couple who establish a Lutheran mission near the young settlement of Coonabarabran.' (Source: Publisher's blurb)
I'm Not Racist, But... : A Collection of Social Observations
Cambridge
:
Salt Publishing
,
2007
Z1387344
2007
selected work
poetry
(taught in 4 units)
I'm Not Racist, but ... is a collection of social observations, thoughts and conversations that will challenge the reader to consider issues of imposed and real Aboriginal identity, the process of reconciliation and issues around saying 'sorry', notions of 'truth' and integrity, biculturalism and invisible whiteness, entrenched racism and political correctness.' Source: Publisher's blurb.
Sweet Guy
2002
Alice Springs
:
IAD Press
,
2005
Z1008736
2002
single work
novel
young adult
(taught in 4 units)
'If Michael Sweet thought his early teens were difficult he's in for a shock now he's eighteen and ready to start uni. The pressures of study making new friends and moving into a co-ed college are only the beginning. When Michael sets out to woo the girl of his dreams he gets more than he bargained for. It makes dealing with his drop-kick father and the antics of his madcap surfer mate Angus seem a breeze. But life is about to dish up some surprises that help Michael meet the challenges head on.' Source: Publishers blurb. (Sighted 28/07/2009).
Objectives- Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. Describe how representations of identity are constructed and used in literature.
2. Discuss issues related to "race" relations today.
3. Critically evaluate the construction of "whiteness" in Indigenous and non-Indigenous representations.
4. Identify responses to change and difference.
5. Respond to and engage in local, national and global cultural communities.
6. Communicate a scholarly attitude towards representation of Indigenous and non-Indigenous knowledges.
Content- The course covers:
* Different cultural and political uses of literary texts
* Representations of colonisation and post-colonial discourses
* Theoretical and practical examples of Indigenous knowledges, pedagogies and communication tools
* Exploration of Indigenous and non-Indigenous constructions of Australian identity
Group/tutorial participation and contribution - Attendance at seminars is compulsory. Two absences are allowable in the case of illness or other emergencies, and two more absences may be recovered by completing extra work on each of the seminars missed, but further absences will be regarded as failure to complete the course.
Journal - 8 Journal entries, Journal worth 40%
Projects - Research project worth 40%
