106-275 Australian Authorship

Note

Available as 106-375 at 3rd-year level.

Credit Points

Coordinator

Semester

Contact

Subject Description

Students taking this subject will be introduced to the general vision, aesthetic, stylistic, narrative and other literary features of multiple works by five Australian authors. They will also gain familiarity with some of the theoretical issues connected with concepts of authorship, especially those generated by Roland Barthes' essay 'The Death of the Author' and Michel Foucault's 'What is an Author?' The subject also examines questions relating to the place of authors in Australian society, including their roles as sites of economic, political, educational and cultural debate. The authors referred to will generally be figures over whom some significant debate has taken place, and whose work has generated widespread critical interest.

Assessment

Written work of not more than 5000 words.

Prescribed Texts

• H Garner, Monkey Grip. Penguin.
• H Garner, The Children's Bach. Penguin.
• G Johnston, My Brother Jack. Collins.
• G Johnston, Clean Straw for Nothing. Collins.
• G Johnston, A Cartload of Clay. Collins.
• D Malouf, An Imaginary Life. Picador.
• D Malouf, Conversations at Curlow Creek. (paperback edition).
• P White, A Fringe of Leaves. Penguin.
• P White, The Twyborn Affair. Penguin.
• D Williamson, The Removalists. Currency-Methuen.
• D Williamson, Emerald City. Currency-Methuen.