Advanced Studies in English and Writing (ENGL3000)
Semester 2 / 2015

Texts

y separately published work icon The Strays Emily Bitto , Melbourne : Affirm Press , 2014 6974116 2014 single work novel historical fiction (taught in 2 units)

'On her first day of school, Lily Struthers meets Eva, one of the daughters of the infamous avant-garde artist Evan Trentham. He and his wife are attempting to escape the stifling conservatism of 1930s Australia by inviting other like-minded artists to live and work with them at their family home. As Lily’s friendship with Eva grows, she becomes infatuated with this artist colony, longing to truly belong to this makeshift family.

'Looking back on those years later in life, Lily realises that this utopian circle involved the same themes as Evan Trentham’s art: Faustian bargains and terrible recompense; spectacular fortunes and falls from grace. Yet it was not Evan, nor the other artists he gathered around him, but his own daughters, who paid the debt that was owing.

'The Strays is an engrossing story of ambition, sacrifice and compromised loyalties from an exciting new talent.'

Source: Publisher's blurb. (Sighted: 30/1/2014)

81 Austerities
y separately published work icon The Best Australian Essays 2014 Robert Manne (editor), Collingwood : Black Inc. , 2014 7989115 2014 anthology criticism essay (taught in 2 units)

'In The Best Australian Essays 2014, Robert Manne assembles his picks of contemporary non-fiction writing. Tim Winton reflects on the impact of landscape on the Australian character; Helen Garner remembers her mother with a raw and stirring poignancy; Christos Tsiolkas wonders how the Left forgot their origins; Tim Flannery traces the history of the Great Barrier Reef and fears its destruction. With essays traversing madness, liberty under the rule of Tony Abbott, the enslaving of horses and the legacy of Doris Lessing, this sharp collection offers lucid insight, shrewd understanding and heartbreaking empathy.' (Publication summary)

Description

This course is the culmination of the courses in the English and Writing major. It will consolidate and enhance the skills and knowledge that students have acquired so far, and prepare them to advance to Honours and further studies if they so desire. They may specialise in either English or Creative Writing. Students choosing English will engage with contemporary issues and debates in literary studies while students opting for Creative Writing will explore contemporary writing practice and theory. Students from both streams will be exposed to advanced research methods and will learn to contextualise their own work in the field. They will be asked to undertake an advanced research or writing project that demonstrates in-depth understanding of the critical/creative issues involved.

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