Subjects

Who is it for?

This subject is for students who love texts, and want to investigate how they are constructed and how they are both shaped by, and come to shape, the world around them. It is for students who reserve a special place in their heart for that special character or moment from a story. Maybe you are a budding writer or filmmaker, or maybe you just want to understand how language can be used to move a reader/viewer.

What do you do?

In Unit 1, to consolidate the understanding you have gained in the weekly work, you will be required to undertake two School-Assessed Coursework tasks (SACs). In the first, you will explore how various poets use language, syntax and pace in their poetry, and will reflect on this in a ‘close analysis’ essay. This is great practice for students who plan to undertake Literature Units 3 and 4. In the second, you will use the cosy crime texts you have read and watched as the basis for developing your own piece of creative writing in either prose or screenplay form.

In Unit 2, you will demonstrate your understanding of how texts reflect and/or respond to the world in which they were created. Your graded assessments will take the form of an analysis of how a specific concern (either identity, culture, or place) is reflected in two or more short stories written by First Nations writers. You will then use what you know about why Frankenstein was created to pitch – or argue for – your own modern-day interpretation, one that responds not to Shelley’s Europe but to our world today.

What skills do you need?

Whatever your experience in analysing or creating texts, the main things you need to bring to the study of Literature is an intellectual curiosity and the willingness to examine texts in depth.

What skills do you develop?

The skills you will develop are the capacity to examine texts closely and write clearly about how their construction affects meaning, as well as how it reflects the world in which it was created.

Requirements

The booklist is as follows:

Unit 1

• All poetry will be supplied in the course notes
• Richard Osman, Thursday Murder Club, Penguin, 2020; ISBN 9780241988268

Unit 2

• Ellen van Neerven (editor) Flock : First Nations stories then and now, University of Queensland Press, 2021; ISBN 9780702263033
• Jane Harrison, The Visitors (play), Currency Press, 2021; ISBN 9781760626761. Please note: do not purchase the novel version of this text by the same author.
• Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, Penguin Classics; ISBN 9780241321645

Things to think about

The main thing for students to consider before undertaking this subject is that they are confident in reading extended texts, such as novels, taking notes, and writing extensively on these texts. It is also important to understand that students will get the most out of the subject if they are able to discuss their views about the texts, and about Literature more broadly, with their peers. If you feel confident that you can do all of these things, you have the skills you need to begin the subject.

Things you can do now

Once texts have been purchased, the best thing to do is to read each one through so you understand what each plot, characters and settings are. It is helpful to seek out published articles on the texts to get some other views and interpretations. You could also start making notes and observations about what you have read in a reading journal, which you will be able to develop as the subject progresses.