Introduction to Australian Literature (ENGL1100)
Semester 1 / 2012

Texts

y separately published work icon Gould's Book of Fish : A Novel in Twelve Fish Richard Flanagan , Sydney : Pan Macmillan Australia , 2001 Z912793 2001 single work novel (taught in 4 units) 'Once upon a time that was called 1828, before all the living things on the land and the fishes in the sea were destroyed, there was a man named William Buelow Gould, a convict in Van Dieman's Land who fell in love with a black woman and discovered too late that to love is not safe. Silly Billy Gould, invader of Australia, liar, murderer, forger, fantasist, condemned to live in the most brutal penal colony in the British Empire, and there ordered to paint a book of fish. Once upon a time, miraculous things happened'. (Source: Trove)
y separately published work icon Bitin' Back Just Call Me Jean Vivienne Cleven , St Lucia : University of Queensland Press , 2001 Z669132 2001 single work novel (taught in 7 units) 'When the Blackout's star player Nevil Dooley wakes one morning to don a frock and 'eyeshada', his mother's idle days at the bingo hall are gone forever. Mystified and clueless, single parent Mavis takes bush-cunning and fast footwork to unravel the mystery behind this sudden change of face... Hilarity prevails while desperation builds in the race to save Nevil from the savage consequences of discovery in a town where a career in footy is a young black man's only escape. Neither pig shoots, bust-ups at the Two Dogs, bare-knuckle sessions in the shed or even a police siege can slow the countdown on this human time bomb.' (Source: Publisher's blurb)
y separately published work icon Coonardoo : The Well in the Shadow Katharine Susannah Prichard , 1928 Z1081769 1928 single work novel (taught in 39 units) Set in North-West of Western Australia, it describes life on cattle stations and the relationship between the white owner of the station and Coonardoo, an Aboriginal woman.
y separately published work icon Behind the Moon Hsu-Ming Teo , Crows Nest : Allen and Unwin , 2005 Z1201374 2005 single work novel (taught in 8 units)

'Justin Cheong, Tien Ho and Nigel Gibbo' Gibson have been best friends since school in a world divided along ethnic lines into skips, wogs and slopes. Together they've survived a suburban tragedy, compulsory karaoke nights and Justin's mother's obsession with clean toilets. They thought they would always be there for each other but they hadn't counted on the effects of jealousy, betrayal, and their desire to escape themselves.

'Ho Ly-Linh, Tien's mother, wasn't around for much of Tien's childhood. Left behind in a rapidly changing Vietnam, she risked everything to follow her family to Australia. Having spent so much of this dangerous journey alone, she is ready now to find love. On Saturday, 6 September 1997 they all meet at the Cheongs' house for the first time in years because Princess Diana is dead and their mothers have decided to hold a Dead Diana Dinner to watch the funeral on television. Nobody realises just how explosive this dinner will be, or how complicated life is going to get.

'This is a story of three families' discovery of the meaning of love and friendship.' [Source: publisher's website]

Description

The aim of this course is to introduce students to a diverse and interesting selection of some of the most significant Australian writing, and to develop students' skills in reading and understanding literary texts: poetry, novels, and short stories. The aim of this course is to introduce students to a diverse and interesting selection of some of the most significant Australian writing, and to develop students' skills in reading and understanding literary texts: poetry, novels, and short stories.

The course comprises four sections:

Writing Australia

Life on the Frontier: Early Australian Literature

Humour, Irony and Satire

Crossing Borders: Contemporary Australian Fiction

Assessment

Tutorial participation: 10%; take home exam: 20%; essay: 30%; final exam: 40%.

Supplementary Texts

An Introduction to Literature, Criticism and Theory, ​ Andrew Bennett and Nicholas Royle.

Other Details

Lecturer: Professor Carole Ferrier; Guest Lecturer: Dr Bronwyn Lea

Offered in: 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006
Current Campus: St Lucia
Levels: Undergraduate
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