Travelling Australia: A Cultural Guide (AUST2005)
Semester 2 / 2010

Texts

y separately published work icon Being Australian : Narratives of National Identity Catriona Elder , Crows Nest : Allen and Unwin , 2007 Z1418401 2007 single work criticism (taught in 6 units)

Catriona Elder explores the origins, meanings and effects of the many stories we tell about ourselves, and how they have changed over time. She outlines some of the traditional stories and their role in Australian nationalism, and she shows how concepts of egalitarianism, peaceful settlement and sporting prowess have been used to create a national identity.
(Publisher's blurb)

y separately published work icon Tracks Robyn Davidson , London : Jonathan Cape , 1980 Z811575 1980 single work autobiography travel (taught in 8 units)

Robyn Davidson tells the story of her 1977 journey across the desert, from Alice Springs to Western Australia. She and a Pitjantjara elder completed their crossing on camel's back. Tracks is the story of her adventure, not only across the desert, but also into self-discovery, and the discovery of the beauty, nobility, and history of the country and its people. (Source: Trove)

y separately published work icon Seven Versions of an Australian Badland Ross Gibson , St Lucia : University of Queensland Press , 2002 Z1005706 2002 single work prose travel mystery (taught in 8 units)

'Part road movie, part memoir, part murder mystery, Seven Versions of an Australian Badland embarks on an enthralling journey through time, into the realms of myth and magic, narcissism and genocide.' (Back cover)

Culture in Australia!$!Bennett!$! !$!!$!
Australian Rock!$!Stratton!$! !$!!$!
Routes : Travel and Translation in the Late Twentieth Century!$!Clifford!$! !$!!$!
Car Wars: How the Car Won Our Hearts and Conquered Our Cities!$!Davison!$! !$!!$!

Description

This topic will introduce students to literary, media, film and popular cultural studies responses to voyaging, travelling and touring in and around Australia. Much of Australia's history, literary and visual arts output, large and small screen production and oral traditions address the phenomenon of translation of peoples and cultures from place to place. Indigenous traditions and their cultural expression are equally concerned with the transmission of information and cultural practice over great distances and across time. The topic will therefore look at the way voyaging, travelling and touring have served to inform and inspire our arts and communications media. It will also consider constructions of voyager, tourist and traveller in historical and contemporary circumstances and relate this to current trends in tourism practice. The topic will address all media in its investigation.

Other Details

Levels: Undergraduate
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