Narrative and Identity Content (ALL101)
Semester 1 / 2012

Texts

form y separately published work icon Night Cries : A Rural Tragedy Tracey Moffatt , Jimmy Little (composer), ( dir. Tracey Moffatt ) Alice Springs : Chili Films , 1989 Z142554 1989 single work film/TV (taught in 12 units)

A middle-aged Aboriginal woman nurses her old white mother. During her tending of the old woman, she expresses her frustrations and previously suppressed anger, her own need for warmth and love, and her personal loneliness. Her memories and dreams invade her nerve-fraying routine until the old woman dies and she begins to experience an immense sense of loss.

In the ABC Radio National program, It's Not A Race in May 2017, Marcia Langton notes that Night Cries is the retelling of Jedda as a horror story.

AI: Artificial Intelligence!$!Steven Spielberg!$!!$!!$!
Oranges are Not the Only Fruit!$!Jeanette Winterson!$!!$!!$!
Coetzee!$!J.M!$!Disgrace!$!!$!
Memento!$!Christopher Nolan!$!!$!!$!
y separately published work icon An Imaginary Life : A Novel David Malouf , New York (City) : George Braziller , 1978 Z828578 1978 single work novel (taught in 8 units)

'In prose that is both elegant and lyrical, David Malouf departs from the little-known facts of Ovid's exile beyond the pale of civilization to create a deeply moving novel of extraordinary beauty. An outcast in a vast wasteland at the edge of the Black Sea, Ovid discovers a feral child. As he teaches the boy to speak the language of the civilized world, the child tutors him in his own tongue, the language of nature, and the once barren landscape begins to resonate with meaning.' (Publisher's blurb)

y separately published work icon Summer of the Aliens Louis Nowra , 1992 Paddington : Currency Press , 1992 Z468336 1992 single work drama (taught in 1 units)

'It is 1962 and the world is worried about the Cuban missile crisis, except for Lewis, a youth on the cusp of manhood, growing up in a Melbourne housing commission suburb. He is preoccupied by flying saucer, much to the disgust of his friend Brian who can think only of losing his virginity. Lewis finds a natural soulmate in local tom-boy, Dulcie, who has her own confusions about approaching womanhood. And then out of nowhere Lewis's errant father returns to stay, as if he had never gone' (Currency Press).

Although the play largely focuses on adolescent issues, it is meant for an adult audience. Among the themes explored are sexuality, gender, prejudice, cultural identity and the relationship between memory and personal identity.

Description

This unit will equip students with the vocabulary needed to talk about literary texts and invite students to think about the vital role that fictions play in giving shape to our identities. The unit approaches literature and literary study as important pathways to unlocking our identities and understanding our lives, affirming the potential for transformation of the self that literary texts and study offer.

Set texts, which pair Australian and international fictions, include Christopher Nolan's Memento, J.M. Coetzee's Disgrace, Steven Spielberg's AI: Artificial Intelligence and Jeanette Winterson's Oranges are Not the Only Fruit.

Assessment

1000 word creative essay with 500 word critical appendix (40%); 1500 word critical essay (40%); 1000 word group class presentation (20%)

Other Details

Offered in: 2011, 2010
Current Campus: Burwood (Melbourne), Geelong, External
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