After years teaching Romantic poetry at the Technical University of Cape Town, David Lurie, middle-aged and twice divorced, has an impulsive affair with a student. The affair sours; he is denounced and summoned before a committee of inquiry. Willing to admit his guilt, but refusing to yield to pressure to repent publicly, he resigns and retreats to his daughter Lucy's isolated smallholding. For a time, his daughter's influence and the natural rhythms of the farm promise to harmonise his discordant life. But the balance of power in the country is shifting. He and Lucy become victims of a savage and disturbing attack which brings into relief all the faultlines in their relationship.' (Publisher's blurb)
Christopher Nolan. Memento.
Steven Spielberg. AI: Artificial Intelligence.
Jeanette Winterson. Oranges are Not the Only Fruit.
This unit will equip students with the vocabulary needed to talk about literary texts and invite students to think about the vital role that fictions play in giving shape to our identities. The unit approaches literature and literary study as important pathways to unlocking our identities and understanding our lives, affirming the potential for transformation of the self that literary texts and study offer. Set texts include Christopher Nolan's Memento, J.M. Coetzee's Disgrace, Steven Spielberg's AI: Artificial Intelligence and Jeanette Winterson's Oranges are Not the Only Fruit..
Creative essay 40%
Critical essay 40%
1000 word class presentation 20%