My Generation: Narratives of Youth in Fiction, Film and New Media (ENGL1012)
Semester 1 / 2012

Texts

y separately published work icon Swallow the Air Dust on Waterglass Tara June Winch , 2003 St Lucia : University of Queensland Press , 2006 Z1265164 2003 selected work short story (taught in 33 units)

Swallow the Air follows the life of 15-year-old May Gibson, an Aboriginal girl from New South Wales whose mother commits suicide. May and her brother go to live with their aunt, but eventually May travels further afield, first to Redfern's Block in Sydney, then to the Northern Territory, and finally into central New South Wales. She travels to escape, but also in pursuit of a sense of her own history, family, and identity.

y separately published work icon Praise Andrew McGahan , North Sydney : Allen and Unwin , 1992 Z563591 1992 single work novel (taught in 16 units) 'Praise is an utterly frank and darkly humorous novel about being young in the Australian of the 1990s. A time when the dole was easier to get than a job, when heroin was better known than ecstasy, and when ambition was the dirtiest of words. A time when, for two hopeless souls, sex and dependence were the only lifelines.' (from back cover)
The Bell Jar!$!Sylvia Plath!$!!$!!$!
A Clockwork Orange [film]!$!Stanley Kubrick (dir.)!$!!$!!$!
The Graduate [film]!$!Mike Nichols (dir.)!$!!$!!$!
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass!$!Lewis Carroll!$!!$!!$!
Mister Pip!$!Jones Lloyd!$!Penguin!$!!$!
Fight Club [film]!$!David Fincher (dir.)!$!!$!!$!
Ghost World [graphic novel]!$!Daniel Clowes!$!!$!!$!
Great Expectations!$!Charles Dickens!$!Penguin!$!!$!

Description

This course examines a series of classic and contemporary narratives of youth and the transition to adulthood, in a range of media from novels and films to comic books and TV series. It explores the origins of the idea of adolescence as a distinct life stage, and explores how the experience of youth and the cultural meanings attached to it have changed across the generations from the Baby Boomers to Generation Y. As well as skills in the analysis of both literary and film narratives, students will develop a basic understanding of contemporary theories of identity and identity formation in relation to issues of race, class, gender and sexuality.

Assessment

500 word research exercise (10%); 1,000 word essay (20%); 1,500 word essay (35%) and two-hour examination (35%).

Supplementary Texts

Techniques Of Close Reading --- Brummett B --- --- Sage USA --- --- ---

Other Details

Offered in: 2011, 2010, 2008
Levels: Undergraduate
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