Overview

This unit examines debates about culture and identity within Australia through Australian writing and literature. Students evaluate the debates, issues, and literary devices that feature in contemporary Australian literature, and use these to inform their own critical and creative writing. Students present findings using industry standard media creation applications.

Requisites

Prerequisites

50 credit points

OR the following:

MDA10018 Content Creator Lab or JOU10007 Media Content Creation

and

MDA10001 Introduction to Media Studies

Teaching periods
Location
Start and end dates
Last self-enrolment date
Census date
Last withdraw without fail date
Results released date
Semester 1
Location
Hawthorn
Start and end dates
03-March-2025
01-June-2025
Last self-enrolment date
16-March-2025
Census date
31-March-2025
Last withdraw without fail date
24-April-2025
Results released date
08-July-2025

Learning outcomes

Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:

  • Evaluate Australian writing, including First Nations perspectives, by examining its relationships to cultural issues.
  • Analyse and synthesise knowledge of key literary terms in Australian contexts.
  • Critically analyse Australian writing through an analysis of narratorial presence and purpose.
  • Create original writing content that demonstrates an appraisal of the relationship between Australian writing, cultures and identities.
  • Articulate the relationship between diverse representations in Australian storytelling, including ecological and socio-cultural debates and issues.

Teaching methods

Hawthorn

Type Hours per week Number of weeks Total (number of hours)
Live Online
Lecture		1.00 12 weeks 12
On-campus
Class		2.00 12 weeks 24
Specified Activities
Various		3.00 12 weeks 36
Unspecified Activities
Various		6.50 12 weeks 78
TOTAL150

Assessment

Type Task Weighting ULO's
Assignment 1 Individual  25%  1,2,3,4 ,5
Assignment 2 Individual  45%  1,2,3,4 ,5
Class Exercises Individual  30%  1,2,3,4 ,5

Content

  • Realist modes of storytelling
  • Indigenous storytelling
  • Narratives focusing gender and sexual diversity
  • Narratives focusing the body and physical and mental health
  • Life Writing 
  • Social realism 
  • Narratives focusing cultural diversity
  • Narratives focusing emerging writers
  • Fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, essays
  • Short form narratives
  • Long form narratives
  • Themed narrative cycles
  • Graduate Attribute – Communication Skills: Verbal communication
  • Graduate Attribute – Communication Skills: Communicating using different media
  • Graduate Attribute – Teamwork Skills: Collaboration and negotiation
  • Graduate Attribute – Digital Literacies: Information literacy
  • Graduate Attribute – Digital Literacies: Technical literacy

Study resources

Reading materials

A list of reading materials and/or required textbooks will be available in the Unit Outline on Canvas.