Texts

y separately published work icon Benang : From the Heart Kim Scott , Fremantle : Fremantle Press , 1999 Z135862 1999 single work novel (taught in 31 units) In the vast expanse of Western Australia, a young Indigenous man embarks on a profound journey within himself. Labelled as the successful outcome of his white grandfather's attempts to breed the 'first white man born', Harley wants to be a failure. Finding himself at a difficult point in the history of his country, family and self, Harley's story takes the reader on an eye-opening and heartbreaking narrative of the impact of colonisation on First Nations people in Australia. From one of Australia's most revered storytellers, Benang sheds light on the ongoing struggle for cultural preservation, and is an epic and beautiful story of celebration and lament, beginning and return.
y separately published work icon My Place Sally Morgan , Fremantle : Fremantle Press , 1987 Z384564 1987 single work autobiography (taught in 30 units)

'In 1982, Sally Morgan travelled back to her grandmother's birthplace. What started as a tentative search for information about her family, turned into an overwhelming emotional and spiritual pilgrimage. My Place is a moving account of a search for truth into which a whole family is gradually drawn, finally freeing the tongues of the author's mother and grandmother, allowing them to tell their own stories.' Source: Publisher's blurb.

Description

This subject looks at the development of Black Australian writing and the way in which Black Australians have used writing to reflect their lives and consciousness. There will be an overview of Indigenous Australian literature in relation to social, historical and political contexts. Fiction, non-fiction, drama, poetry and critically acclaimed short feature films will be explored through various models of contemporary literary criticism and students will apply conventions from these, as well as their own perspectives in the appreciation and analysis of selected texts. On completion of this subject students should understand the complexities of black Australian writing in the context of post-colonial Australia and its relation to everyday life in Australia today. This subject will be offered through on-line activities and therefore requires students to have access to the World Wide Web. Those students who do not have access to email must contact the Subject Co-ordinator.

Assessment

assignments (25%); on-line discussions and critiques (30%); centrally-administered final exam (45%).

Other Details

Offered in: 2011, 2010
Current Campus: External
X