106-046 Romanticism/Primitivism/Nationalism

Credit Points

HECS Band

Coordinator

Prerequisites

Usually 25 points of First Year English.

Semester

Contact

Subject Description

This subject discusses the ways in which the concepts of Romanticism, primitivism and nationalism are embodied in Australian writing. The subject provides a framework from within which to explore a range of issues that are central to Australian literary and intellectual history. Such issues include: the status of Romantic aesthetic norms in colonial culture; the role of convicts in the formation of Australian identity; the representation of colonial violence and aboriginal peoples; the role of women in the development of (and resistance to) radical nationalism; the western infatuation with the 'primitive' and the emergence of a post-colonial consciousness. By the end of the semester students should be familiar with the concepts of Romanticism, primitivism and nationalism and the ways they have manifested in, and continue to inflect, Australian cultural and political life.

Assessment

Written work totalling 4000 words and attendance and participation.

Prescribed Texts

A subject reader will be available.

• M Clarke, His Natural Life.
• X Herbert, Capricornia.
• E Jolley, The Well.
• W Lane, The Working Man's Paradise.
• P White, A Fringe of Leaves.