This course analyses some key examples of Australian literature and film that have come to be regarded as 'classics'. The course sets literature and film in its original context, examining the social function it might have served for its original audience. In addition, students examine the construction of literary and filmic canons, and ask why these texts attained status as Australian 'classics'. There is an emphasis on how literature and film deals with tensions and conflicts in Australian culture - for both original and subsequent audiences.
