Professor Richard Campbell, AM, BD MA Syd., DPhil Oxf., FACE
The School of Humanities brings together the core disciplines of `the humanities': Art History, Literature and Literary Criticism, Film Studies, History, Philosophy, Theatre Studies, and studies in Gender, Sexuality and Culture. It also offers majors in Australian Studies and Religious Studies. Each interprets expressions of the human spirit and reflects upon what it means to be human. These disciplines arise from three basic activities: Historia -- investigating the past in order to understand how we have become; Poesis -- making things (art works, writings, films, performances) in order to express ourselves; Philosophia -- articulating and evaluating how we understand ourselves and our milieu.
The School of Humanities is the largest and most varied School in the Arts Faculty. It encourages interdisciplinary work, promoting collaboration between such areas as Theatre Studies and English or Art History and Film Studies. Students are able to work within a single field but are also supported in their exploration across traditional boundaries. The courses focus on subject matter -- for instance, Shakespeare's plays, or the history of the French Revolution, or Australian art, or Theories of Ethics or the great artworks of the Renaissance. But, through working on these topics, students will learn 'generic' skills which are useful well beyond a specific discipline, and in every kind of career -- skills of analysis and the use of evidence, of clear thinking and research methods, of clarity and vigour of expression, both on paper and oral.
Honours is available in nearly all the School's majors, and postgraduate work, up to and including research degrees at Master's and PhD levels, in all of them.
The School offers the following majors:
For general enquiries contact the School Enquiries Desk on 6125 3708 or the Undergraduate Administrator Mrs Beverley Shallcross 02 6125 2723 (telephone); 02 6125 4490 (fax); or email SchoolofHumanities@anu.edu.au
Further details about the School can be found at:
http://arts.anu.edu.au/HSchool/humanities.htm
Art History: Dr Sasha Grishin <Sasha.Grishin@anu.edu.au>
Australian Studies: Professor Ann Curthoys
<Ann.Curthoys@anu.edu.au>
English: Dr Livio Dobrez <Livio.Dobrez@anu.edu.au>
Film Studies: Dr Gino Moliterno -- Semester 1
<Gino.Moliterno@anu.edu.au> and Dr Roger Hillman -- Semester 2 <Roger.Hillman@anu.edu.au>
Gender, Sexuality and Culture: Dr Rosanne Kennedy -- Semester 1 <Rosanne.Kennedy@anu.edu.au> and
Dr Jindy Pettman -- Semester 2 <Jindy.Pettman@anu.edu.au>
Philosophy: Dr Jeremy Shearmur <Jeremy.Shearmur@anu.edu.au>
Religious Studies: Mr Robert Barnes <Robert.Barnes@anu.edu.au>
Theatre Studies: Dr Geoffrey Borny
<Geoffrey.Borny@anu.edu.au>
Convener: Dr Sasha Grishin, BA MA Melb, PhD ANU
Art History offers a broad range of courses at undergraduate, honours and postgraduate levels, which examine aspects of the visual cultures of Australia, Europe, Asia and America. Art History has been taught at the ANU since 1977, initially as the Fine Art Program, then as the Department of Art History, and more recently, with expansion in offerings to include curatorial studies, film studies, digital images and the World Wide Web, as the Department of Art History and Visual Studies. Art History and Film Studies although separate majors in the new School of Humanities, continue to work very closely together with joint seminars, several shared courses and staff members teaching in both disciplines.
Our courses are designed to introduce students to painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, architecture, film, digital images and the decorative arts seen within their historical, social, cultural and political context. Art History is rapidly changing and our courses reflect the wide range of new approaches, methodologies and technologies found in recent critical, cultural and museum studies. They cover many aspects of art from prehistoric Australian Aboriginal art and classical antiquity through to the art of the present day, focussing on topics, which can illuminate specific trends and problems. Questions of technique are often examined in detail to assist in the study of selected monuments.
Reflecting our unique location in the national capital, many of our courses draw on the collections and staff expertise of the national cultural institutions. Some of our tutorial classes in many of our courses are held at the National Gallery of Australia, the National Library of Australia and the Australian War Memorial. Our highly successful Internship Program enables students to undertake curatorial work as part of their studies at approved art galleries or museums. Curators and directors from these institutions have frequently been invited to present guest lectures in our courses. Art History also conducts regular research seminars that deal with questions of art history, art theory and curatorial practice and bring together local, national and international expertise.
Although there are no prerequisites for Introduction to Art History ARTH1002, students are reminded that Art History is a visual discipline supported by documentation and scholarly literature. Because of the international nature of the discipline, students are strongly encouraged to develop reading skills in foreign languages.
The BA (Art History and Curatorship) includes in its requirements a minimum of 42 units of Art History (7 courses). It is available as a BA pass degree and as a BA Honours degree. See Faculty of Arts entry Undergraduate Courses.
The major in Art History consists of a minimum of 42 units (7 courses) chosen from the courses in Art History, with no more than 12 points at first-year level. For example, Introduction to Art History ARTH1002 and Introduction to Modern Art ARTH1003, together with later-year courses to the value of 30 points, form a major in Art History. Up to two later-year Film Studies courses can be included in an Art History major.
The courses Computer Applications in the Humanities ARTH2032, Publishing Humanities on the World Wide Web ARTH2035, and World Wide Web Strategies ARTH202036, may not form part of the Art History major. The following are particularly suitable for combination with an Art History major: Film Studies; Classical and Modern European Languages; English; History; Philosophy; Archaeology and Anthropology.
The courses Greek Art and Architecture ARTH2050, Roman Art and Architecture ARTH2054, and Classical Tradition in Art ARTH2014, may form part of the Classics major. Byzantine courses (ARTH2015 and ARTH2038) may form part of the Classics major and are included as West Asia-related courses in the Faculty of Asian Studies. Asian Art courses may form part of the Religious Studies or Contemporary Asian Societies majors.
Assessment may include a mixture of essay, tutorial and/or seminar presentations, together with visual tests, the balance of marks to be determined at the beginning of each course after discussion with students. Art History Honours IV will normally be assessed on a thesis, and on seminar presentations and the resultant papers. For Computer Applications in the Humanities, Publishing Humanities on the World Wide Web and World Wide Web Strategies see the individual entries.
Introduction to Art History ARTH1002 and Introduction to Modern Art ARTH1003 normally form the prerequisites for later-year courses in Art History; other subjects are sometimes acceptable as prerequisites for specific courses (see individual entries for details). For intending students without the listed prerequisites, special permission may always be sought from the Convener. The later-year courses may be taken in any order, although not all courses will be available every year.
It is impossible in Handbook entries to explain in sufficient detail the courses offered by Art History. Prospective students are encouraged to approach either the School of Humanities office or the Faculty of Arts office for a copy of our Information for Students (which gives much greater detail about Art History and its courses). In addition, members of staff are always delighted to provide further information.
All courses are offered subject to availability of staff and sufficient enrolments.
Three hours a week in lectures and tutorials
Syllabus: An introduction to selected themes and topics in the history of art and architecture, this course requires no previous knowledge of the subject. As well as studying the artistic production of selected periods, it also introduces broad questions of art-historical methodology. Classes will also be given on general and bibliographical research methods, so that students may approach with confidence the literature of art. Some tutorials are oriented toward the study of works at the National Gallery of Australia and other collections in Canberra, while others concentrate on questions of the techniques and reception of art works.
Three hours a week in lectures and tutorials
Prerequisite: Introduction to Art History ARTH1002 or permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: This course will examine the development of Modern Art from the middle of the nineteenth century to the present day. As well as studying the art of this historical period, the question, 'What is Modernism?' will also be addressed. We will employ a number of methodological approaches to gain as many perspectives as possible on the art of our century. Some tutorials will be held in the Australian National Gallery where we will be able to study at first hand the rich story of Modern Art.
Two hours of lectures per week and a tutorial in alternate weeks
Prerequisites: Introduction to Art History ARTH1002 and Introduction to Modern Art ARTH1003 or permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: The course will examine the contrasting cultures and societies of France, Italy, Britain, Spain and the Low Countries during the 17th century, and concentrate on the artistic aims and production of figures such as Rembrandt, Rubens, Bernini, Velasquez and Poussin.
An average of two and a half class contact hours a week
Prerequisites: Introduction to Art History ARTH1002 and Introduction to Modern Art ARTH1003 or permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: This course will provide a broad introduction to the art and architecture of India, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia. Themes of special importance will be the relation between art and religion, between art and royal patronage, and between indigenous styles and foreign forms and ideas. Art works from a range of religious and philosophical orientations -- autochthonous, Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Confucian, Daoist, Islamic and Christian -- will be studied.
Two hours of lectures per week and a tutorial in alternate weeks
Prerequisites: Introduction to Art History ARTH1002 and Introduction to Modern Art ARTH1003 or Rome: From Republic to Empire HIST1019 and Illuminating the Dark Ages HIST1018 or permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: The course will examine both chronologically and thematically aspects of the development of painting, sculpture, and architecture from Giotto through to the death of Michelangelo. Amongst the themes to be treated will be: art and the State; the revival of classical forms; the Papacy and the development of Rome.
An average of two and a half class contact hours a week
Prerequisites: Introduction to Art History ARTH1002 and Introduction to Modern Art ARTH1003 or permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: This course will provide a broad introduction to major themes and forms of art and architecture in Southeast Asia, from the prehistoric pottery of Thailand and bronzes of Vietnam, through the great Hindu-Buddhist architecture and sculpture of Angkor and Borobodur to modern art of the 19th and 20th centuries. The course will focus on the interplay between enduring ancestral themes in regional village and court arts, and the influence of world religions, trade and colonial power on form and meaning in Southeast Asian art. Themes of special importance will be the relation between art and royal patronage, between art and religious practice, and between the centre and the periphery.
Two hours of lectures per week and a tutorial in alternate weeks
Lecturer: Professor Greenhalgh
Prerequisites: Introduction to Art History ARTH1002 and Introduction to Modern Art ARTH1003 or permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: The course has two aims: (1) to examine how art works have been made over the centuries (such as fresco and oil, drawings and prints, sculpture, metalwork, textiles, furniture and glass); and (2) to study how works were originally meant to be displayed, as well as how later generations have housed them. We shall therefore examine ensembles from various periods and cultures such as palaces, temples and churches, villas and gardens, manuscripts and books. The course will conclude with an examination of the history of museums, and of the help the World Wide Web may provide for the reconstruction therein of informative context.
An average of two and a half class contact hours a week
Prerequisites: Introduction to Art History ARTH1002 and Introduction to Modern Art ARTH1003 or permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: This course will examine the history of art collecting and collections from their origins in temple treasuries, through the private collections of the mediaeval worlds of Europe and Asia, to the role of patrons and princes, past and present in the establishment of art collections and policies. It surveys the impact of colonial scientific and archaeological expeditions on the content of public and private collections and the establishment of the great public institutions of the 19th and 20th centuries. Themes will include the relationship between artist and collector; the contribution of art dealers and auction houses; and the compartmentalisation of art in and between museums by period, geography, religion and media. The impact of social, political and ethical environments on museum collection, display and documentation will be explored, with particular reference to Australian public collections and collecting policies.
Two hours of lectures per week and a tutorial in alternate weeks
Prerequisites: Introduction to Art History ARTH1002 and Introduction to Modern Art ARTH1003 or permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: The course will examine the emergence of the modern print in nineteenth century Europe and trace its development up to the present day. Questions of technique, from etching, lithography and relief prints, through to photograph-based printmaking and the computer digitised image, will be considered in considerable detail. Questions of what constitutes an original print and some of the theoretical implications of these definitions will be discussed. Although the course will examine the heritage of European and American printmaking, a major focus will be twentieth century printmaking in Australia. Extensive use will be made of the major collections of Australian and international prints in public collections in Canberra.
Two hours of lectures per week and a tutorial in alternate weeks
Prerequisites: Introduction to Art History ARTH1002 and Introduction to Modern Art ARTH1003 or permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: The course will examine aspects of Australian painting, printmaking, sculpture, photography and the applied arts from a methodological perspective. It will raise questions concerning the analysis of Australian art by art historians and art critics and will suggest possible alternative readings of Australian art history within a broader international context.
Two hours of lectures per week and a tutorial in alternate weeks
Prerequisites: Introduction to Art History ARTH1002 and Introduction to Modern Art ARTH1003 or Australian History HIST1203 or Lines of Growth in Australian Literature ENGL2004 or 20th Century Australian Fiction ENGL2011 or permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: The course will examine a variety of visual sources for mainly non-Aboriginal art in Australia during our century and up to the present day. While it will in no way attempt a survey of Australian art, it will range widely, looking at different media and art forms including architecture, printmaking and sculpture.
Two hours of lectures per week and a tutorial in alternate weeks
Prerequisites: Introduction to Art History ARTH1002 and Introduction to Modern Art ARTH1003 or Ancient Israel HIST2137 or The Historical Jesus HIST2138 or RELS1002 Introduction to Religion A and RELS1003 Introduction to Religion B or Rome: Republic to Empire HIST1019 and Illuminating the Dark Ages HIST1018 or permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: A study of the Palaeologan culture after 1204 through to the capture of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453. The course will examine Byzantine art and culture in particular regions: Greece (especially Thessaloniki and Mount Athos), Cyprus and the Levant, Bulgaria, Serbia and Russia, Crete and Renaissance Italy.
Two hours of lectures per week and a tutorial in alternate weeks
Prerequisites: Introduction to Art History ARTH1002 and Introduction to Modern Art ARTH1003 or Ancient Israel HIST2137 or The Historical Jesus HIST2138 or RELS1002 Introduction to Religion A and RELS1003 Introduction to Religion B or Rome: Republic to Empire HIST1019 and Illuminating the Dark Ages HIST1018 or permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: A study of Byzantine art, cultural institutions and patronage from AD 330 to AD 1204. Specific works of art and architecture ranging in provenance from Syria and Armenia to Constantinople and Sicily will be studied in the context of the society: theology and liturgy; politics and investment; court ceremony; and urban, provincial and monastic life.
Average of 2.5 hours/week in lectures and tutorials (13 weeks). The lectures will not be taped, but outline material and images will be available on the web as well as on CDROM
Lecturer: Professor Greenhalgh
Prerequisites: Introduction to Art History ARTH1002 and Introduction to Modern Art ARTH1003 or Rome: Republic to Empire HIST1019 and Illuminating the Dark Ages HIST1018 or Myths and Legends of Greece and Rome ANCH1012 or permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: This course will examine aspects of the impact of Roman example on the Carolingian and Ottonian renaissances, the convergence of Christian and Islamic influences in Spain, Sicily and the Crusader states, and the startling efflorescence of large cathedrals after the millennium. Illuminated manuscripts, silver and ivories, will receive as much attention as church architecture, frescoes and sculpture. The unit will conclude with an overview of Gothic art and architecture.
Proposed Assessment: One research essay, plus two Take-Home Visual Papers available both in printed form and on the web;
Not offered in 2002 may be offered in 2003
Two hours of lectures per week and a tutorial in alternate weeks
Prerequisites: 12 units of Ancient History or Introduction to Art History ARTH1002 and Introduction to Modern Art ARTH1003 or Rome: Republic to Empire HIST1019 and Illuminating the Dark Ages HIST1018 or permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: This course is an examination of the various ways (stylistic, intellectual, political and social) in which the art and architecture of Antiquity has been of use and value to later generations. Special consideration will be given to Charlemagne at Aachen, the Renaissance in Italy, Rome and the Papacy, the rediscovery of Greece, and Classicism and Romanticism in the 19th and 20th centuries.
An average of two and a half class contact hours a week
Prerequisites: Introduction to Art History ARTH1002 and Introduction to Modern Art ARTH1003 or permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: This course critically examines the role of the curator of cultural objects in museums and art galleries. Topics will include the development of art galleries and museums, especially in the 20th century; the development, management and display of art collections; and approaches to documentation and publication. The course will study issues related to the responsibilities of the curator to the community (accessibility, education, exhibition and public relations) as well as responsibility to the objects (conservation, storage, accessioning and loan policies). The course will focus on Australian institutions and collections at national and regional levels.
Average of 2.5 hours/week in lectures and tutorials (13 weeks). The lectures will not be taped, but outline material and images will be available on the web, as well as on CDROM.
Lecturer: Professor Greenhalgh
Prerequisites: Introduction to Art History ARTH1002 and Introduction to Modern Art ARTH1003 or Rome: from Republic to Empire HIST1019 and Illuminating the Dark Ages HIST1018 or Myths and Legends of Greece and Rome ANCH1012 or permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: This course will examine aspects of late antique and early medieval art from the later Roman Empire to ca AD 800 in an historical context. The focus will be on choices of architectural design, style and iconography, materials and techniques of production, lay and ecclesiastical patronage, and regional influences. Areas of special study will include the breakup of urban life, early Christian art and its variations throughout Europe, Anglo-Saxon and Viking art, the impact of Islam, and the continuing influence of Roman art and architecture during the Middle Ages.
Proposed Assessment: One research essay, plus two Take-Home Visual Papers available both in printed form and on the web;
An average of two and a half class contact hours a week
Prerequisites: Introduction to Art History ARTH1002 and Introduction to Modern Art ARTH1003 or permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: This course will provide a broad historical introduction to textile arts in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas and Australia. Contrasting the role and importance of textiles in Western and non-Western societies, the course will examine textiles in court and village cultures, as symbols and markers of religious and social affiliations and hierarchy; the impact of colonialism, trade and industrialisation on the organisation of textile manufacture and traditional gender roles; and the evolution of textile motifs, designs, materials and technology. The history of textile collecting, display and analysis will also be studied.
Two hours of lectures per week and a tutorial in alternate weeks
Prerequisites: Either 12 first-year or 6 later-year units of Art History or Rome: Republic to Empire HIST1019 and Illuminating the Middle Ages HIST1023 or any 2 first year courses of classical language -- Ancient Greek or Latin
Syllabus: A study of aspects of the art of the ancient Greek world from the Bronze Age to the Hellenistic period, and of the Italian peninsula, including Etruscan art, to the end of the Roman Republic. Topics will include the design, function and decoration of buildings in cities and sanctuaries; developments in sculpture, painting, ceramics, metalwork and coinage in relation to the society. There will be a focus on works which have influenced later art and on ancient theories about art. Use will be made of the antiquities in the Classics Museum in the ANU and there will be a visit to the Nicholson Museum in the University of Sydney.
Two hours of lectures per week and a tutorial in alternate weeks
Prerequisites: Introduction to Art History ARTH1002 and Introduction to Modern Art ARTH1003 or Rome: Republic to Empire HIST1019 and Illuminating the Dark Ages HIST1018 or permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: Rome and Venice during the early 16th century generated ideas, themes and artworks, which form the bedrock of European culture until well into the 19th century. The course will study the ensembles which give their complexion to the age -- Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel; Raphael in the Papal Apartments; Bramante and the building of the New St Peter's; Titian in the Farari and in his great paintings for Philip II -- and the ideological and political horizons of the connoisseurs, statesmen and prelates who commissioned them. It will conclude with an assessment of the impact of the High Renaissance on later art -- the Baroque in Italy; Velasquez in Madrid and Poussin and French art.
Two hours of lectures per week and a tutorial in alternate weeks
Prerequisites: Introduction to Art History ARTH1002 and Introduction to Modern Art ARTH1003 or permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: The course will address the exciting developments in architecture and urbanism worldwide from 1900 to the present day. These will be studied through themes (such as the skyscraper, the planned city, postwar reconstruction) related to the major social, economic and political changes of our century.
Two hours of lectures per week and a tutorial in alternate weeks
Prerequisites: Introduction to Art History ARTH1002 and Introduction to Modern Art ARTH1003 or Urban Society SOCY2035 or Modern Society SOCY2034 or permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: The course will examine the evolution of art and design from 1900 to the present day. An understanding of the idea of modernism as an aesthetic and theoretical concept will be a predominant theme. Differing views about the social role of visual culture and the institutions which maintain it will be explored. The course will include studies of original works held in Australian galleries.
Two hours of lectures per week and a tutorial in alternate weeks
Prerequisites: Introduction to Art History ARTH1002 and Introduction to Modern Art ARTH1003 or permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: The course examines aspects of 19th-century art and architecture in Europe after Romanticism, and will concentrate on the emergence of modernism in the painting of the Impressionists and their circle. Themes to receive special attention will include the representation of everyday life, realism and naturalism, and the changing roles of academic art.
Two hours of lectures per week and a tutorial in alternate weeks
Prerequisites: Introduction to Art History ARTH1002 and Introduction to Modern Art ARTH1003 or permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: This course will focus on the history and theory of photography from its beginnings to the present day. Its aim is to examine the critical questions and methodological framework of photography as an art form. Topics to be covered will include: the development of photographic technologies and their impact; theoretical constructs; art and photography; documentary photography; photography and politics; word and image; photography of the body; postmodernism; Australian photography.
Two hours of lectures per week and a tutorial in alternate weeks
Prerequisites: Introduction to Art History ARTH1002 and Introduction to Modern Art ARTH1003 or Australian History HIST1203 or Introduction to Australian Literature ENGL1004 or permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: Current debates about the question of 'art on the periphery' and the idea of 'the other' have direct relevance to the development of art in Australian colonial life and to the practice of art today. This course will examine these questions by concentrating on aspects of art, architecture and design in Australia, both in the colonial era and in the current re-appropriation of early Australian imagery. The course will address such issues as the dependence on imported modes, the role of landscape imagery, and the distinctions between 'high' and 'popular' art forms.
Two hours of lectures per week and a tutorial in alternate weeks
Prerequisites: Introduction to Art History ARTH1002 and Introduction to Modern Art ARTH1003 or permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: This course will both survey postmodern art in general, and will pursue a more focussed approach to a dominant theme of such art, the sublime. In this respect, we will concentrate on the writing of Lyotard. Once the issue of the sublime is raised, the question of the links to Romanticism automatically follows, and the course will investigate whether postmodern art should be considered fundamentally neo-Romantic, or whether it should stand as an independent, revolutionary category in itself. The relation of Modernism to neo-Romanticism will also be investigated, thus allowing for a consideration of Modernism and Postmodernism to each other. Other topics to be examined include the political values and claims of postmodern art and the status of the art-producer as artist-theoretician.
Two hours of lectures per week and a tutorial in alternate weeks
Prerequisites: Either 12 first-year or 6 later-year units of Art History or Rome: Republic to Empire HIST1019 and Illuminating the Middle Ages HIST1023 or any 2 first year courses of classical language -- Ancient Greek or Latin
Syllabus: A study of aspects of the art and architecture of the Roman Empire from the time of Augustus to the sixth century AD. Topics will include historical and funerary monuments, urban planning and amenities, especially in Rome, Pompeii and Ostia, but also in the provinces, and the foundation of Constantinople. A range of sculpture, silver and coinage, frescoes and mosaics, manuscripts and textiles will be studied in their social and religious context, including early Christianity. Particular attention will be paid to technological innovations, ancient treatises and literary sources, and modern approaches to the subject.
Two hours of lectures per week and a tutorial in alternate weeks
Prerequisites: Introduction to Art History ARTH1002 and Introduction to Modern Art ARTH1003 or permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: This course will examine recurring themes in Russian art from the period of Kievan Rus to the postmodernist art of the Perestroika period. Two major focal points for the course will be Russian avant-garde art of the revolutionary period and Russian theatre art connected with the Ballets Russes. Both of these areas are extensively represented in the collection of the National Gallery of Australia and a number of classes will be held at the Gallery working with original major art objects by Malevich, Goncharova, Tatlin, Chagall, Bakst and Larionov. The course will also examine the impact of Russian art on Australian visual culture.
Two hours of lectures per week and a tutorial in alternate weeks
Lecturer: Professor Greenhalgh
Prerequisites: Any first-year course.
Syllabus: Directed at all who recognise the success and potential of the Internet and Web as a force in education and commerce, it will be especially useful for those concerned with initiating, developing and managing the provision of electronic information, whether in organisations like the Public Service, museums or galleries, or in commerce. This course requires no more than a basic knowledge of computers, because students will be brought up to speed on Internet technologies in early sessions. It offers an overview and detailed examination of the opportunities offered by the Web as a flexible, modular and easy-to-use vehicle for various information formats and structures from text and images to sound and video. Lectures will be illustrated by online networked demonstrations, and students will be trained in making class presentations using web resources.
ARTH2018 Northern Renaissance Art
ARTH2021 Romanticism in European Art 1750-1850
ARTH2032 Computer Applications in the Humanities
ARTH2035 Publishing Humanities on the World Wide Web
Coordinator: Professor Greenhalgh
Intending honours students should first read the general statement `The degree with honours' in the introductory section of the Faculty of Arts entry, and should consult the Honours Coordinator about their proposed courses at an early stage.
(a) Completion of the requirements for the pass degree;
(b) Ten courses to the value of 60 units of Art History with an average grade of Credit and including at least 2 Distinctions; up to two later-year Film Studies courses may be included in the 60 units. Either Computer Applications in the Humanities ARTH2032 or Publishing Humanities on the World Wide Web ARTH2035 or World Wide Web Strategies ARTH2036, although not forming part of an Art History major, may be included; in some circumstances, with the approval of the Faculty, up to 2 cognates may be included in the 60 units provided that there are at least 48 units of Art History.
(c) Competence in a second language, at least at an elementary level.
Assessment: Seminar papers and essays; 30%.
Students are expected to consult with the honours course coordinator in November of the previous year about their choice of thesis topic, and are required to seek approval for their topics and arrange supervision with a member of staff no later than mid-January, when work on the thesis should commence.
A student may commence Art History IV (Honours) in the second semester.
Two semester duration, starting either first or second semester
In collaboration with the National Gallery of Australia, the National Library of Australia and other Canberra institutions, a system of internships has been established whereby, as part of the course for their degree or diploma, selected students may undertake curatorial work at the approved art gallery and museum under host institution supervision. Honours IV, GradDip, MLitt, MA (coursework) and PhD students are eligible to apply. Available intern positions in specific curatorial areas and institutions will be advertised in Art History towards the end of the preceding semester.
Graduates in any field may study for a Graduate Diploma in Art History or in Art History and Curatorship.
These degrees can be taken in Art History and Film Studies. A good honours degree is normally required for admission to these courses. A graduate with a pass degree in Art History or a higher degree in another field who wishes to proceed to the degree of Master of Arts may be required to undertake a Master of Arts qualifying course.
Convener: Professor Ann Curthoys BA Syd., DipEd SydTchColl, PhD Macq., PhD Hon.causa UTS
This is a multi-disciplinary major that draws on the ANU's considerable strengths in the area of Australian Studies, in both the humanities and social sciences. It takes Australia as its focus, and provides opportunities for the detailed study of Australian history, environment, geography, society, politics, and culture. Emphasis is given to both indigenous and non-indigenous Australia, with many courses focusing specifically on indigenous Australian societies and cultures, and most courses considering the contact and connections, past and present, between indigenous and non-indigenous peoples. In the courses which make up this major, Australia is studied in a series of relationships and comparisons: to the European origins and allegiances of many of its people and institutions; to similar settler societies, especially those which also have British connections; and to the societies and cultures of the Asia-Pacific region. The theoretical and methodological frameworks used to consider Australian society are varied, according to the approach of the contributing disciplines and teachers. Some of the themes and concepts used include: national identity and nationalism, class and power, popular culture, colonialism and postcolonialism, gender and sexuality, and race, ethnicity and diaspora.
The requirements for the major are 42 units with:
(a) a maximum of 12 units at first year level, from the list below.
(b) no more than 18 units may be taken from a single discipline (signified by a common alpha in the subject code).
There are no compulsory courses or additional requirements.
In selecting courses for the major, students are advised to remember that many are offered each alternate year. Details are given in the course descriptions in the various major's entries. Existing prerequisites apply, except that, with the permission of the relevant Head of School, twelve units in Australian Studies may be used as a mode of entry to the later-year courses listed below.
Archaeological Artefact Analysis ARCH3017
Archaeology of Culture Contact ARCH2031
Archaeological Field and Laboratory Methods ARCH3004 (12 units)
Australian Archaeology ARCH2004
Australian Art: Methods and Approaches ARTH2049
Australian Art: Twentieth Century ARTH2027
Australian Federal Politics POLS2065
Australian Film: Ned Kelly to Mad Max ENGL2066
Australian Government Administration and Public Policy POLS2005
Australian Political Economy POLS2054
Australian Political Parties POLS2067
Australian Foreign Policy POLS3001
Belonging, Identity and Nationalism ANTH2056
Contemporary Australian Cultures an Anthropological View ANTH2058
Contemporary Australian Political Issues POLS2083
Convicts and Immigrants: Colonial Australian History HIST2128
Country Lives: Australian Rural History HIST2129
Globalism and the Politics of Identity POLS2075
Healing Powers: Medicine and Society since 1750 HIST2111
Elections and Campaigning POLS2084
Environment and Society SOCY2022
Indigenous Australian Societies and Cultures ANTH2005
Language in Indigenous Australia LING2016
Indigenous Australians and Australian Society ANTH2017
Indigenous Australian History HIST2022
Landscape Archaeology ARCH2017 (12 units)
Lines of Growth in Australian Literature ENGL2004
Modern Australian Drama DRAM2008
Music in Indigenous Society MUSM2088
People and Environment GEOG2013
Politics, Policy and the Media POLS2080
Population and Australia SOCY2032
Postcolonial Discourses in Australian Art ARTH2093
Pressure Groups and Political Lobbying POLS2043
Religions and Politics in Australia POLS2081
Savage Dreams, Native Truths: Representations of the `Native Other' in America and Australia ENGL2072
Studies in Social Problems SOCY3027 (3units)
20th Century Australia HIST2134
Twentieth Century Australian Fiction ENGL2011
Understanding Early Technologies ARCH2036
Urban Australia 1850-1980 HIST2119
Women and Australian Public Policy POLS2074
Check course descriptions in majors for information on availability in future years.
Coordinator: Professor Ann Curthoys BA Syd., DipEd SydTchColl, PhD Macq., PhD Hon.causa UTS
Intending honours students should first read the general statement `The degree with honours' in the introductory section of the Faculty of Arts entry, and should consult the Honours Coordinator about their proposed courses at an early stage.
Honours in Australian Studies is available, subject to negotiation between the student, the Convener, and the relevant Heads of School. Students hoping to undertake a combined honours year, which includes Australian Studies, should consult with the Convener early in their second year of study. The honours year will consist of a thesis, and two special subjects.
Convener: Dr Livio Dobrez, MA PhD Adel.
The English syllabus at the ANU is wide-ranging and varied. There are courses on the whole range of English-language literatures from British and Australian to American and Postcolonial. British literature covers the period from medieval times to the present, from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales to Samuel Beckett, from Shakespeare and Milton via Austen and Wordsworth to TS Eliot and Seamus Heaney. There are three courses on Australian writing, two on American writing, and three on Postcolonial (one on postcolonial writing generally, one on Indian writing, and the third on 'first contact' writings). Australian texts studied include works by Aboriginal authors, by poets of the 60s and by novelists such as Patrick White and Christina Stead. American authors range from Walt Whitman to Toni Morrison. Postcolonial texts include First Fleet journals and work by Salman Rushdie, Jean Rhys, VS Naipaul, KS Maniam and Ee Tiang Hong. There are courses of an interdisciplinary kind - on philosophy and literature, on history and literature, on gender studies, and on literary and cultural theory. There are also film courses (Shakespeare and Film, Australian Film, Classic Novel into Film, and Modern Novel into Film) and courses offering wide-ranging introductions to themes in, and classics of, European literature (Souls and Lives, Thinking Selves). As well as seeking to broaden students' knowledge and enjoyment of the literature studied, our courses aim to enhance their powers of analysis, argument and expression, both on paper and in class discussions.
The English Program offers a Distinguished Scholars Program for high-achieving students. Students who are accepted into the Program will have a member of the academic staff as a mentor, who will assist in planning a course tailored to their needs and interests. Distinguished Scholars are selected on merit. Applicants should contact the English Convener, the Faculty of Arts Office, or the Admissions Office for details.
English cooperates closely with Theatre Studies, and students will find the two majors highly complementary. A major in English, indeed, combines well with many other disciplines, both in the Humanities and elsewhere (eg. Linguistics, Law).
All courses are semester-long and have a value of 6 units. Later-year courses are normally offered in alternate years.
All courses are offered subject to staff availability and sufficient enrolments.
General requirements: Students are required to submit written work by the due dates, to attend all lectures, workshops and tutorial classes, and to present any prescribed tutorial exercises. Students are expected to possess copies of the prescribed texts.
Taping of lectures: Lectures are normally taped.
Assessment: Methods of assessment will be discussed with students enrolled in each course before they are finalised. A substantial proportion of final marks come from written work presented during the year.
Further information: It is not possible to give full details of courses or full lists of recommended reading in the entries in this Handbook. Prospective students are encouraged to approach the relevant Administrator in the Humanities School office for a copy of our descriptive brochure. In addition, the Coordinators responsible for each course will be pleased to provide further information.
From this year onwards a major in English consists of:
(a) Any two of the following first-year courses: ENGL1004, ENGL1008, ENGL1009, ENGL1010, DRAM1006 or LING1020 (ENGL1001, ENGL1002, ENGL1003 and ENGL1007 are no longer offered but may still be counted in the major as first-year courses): plus
(b) Five later-year courses to the value of 30 units, including at least one from the following list:
Duchesses and Drudges ENGL2062
Eighteenth-Century Literature ENGL2050
Introduction to Old English ENGL2014
Jane Austen: History and Fictions ENGL2074
Literature and Gender in the Eighteenth Century ENGL2059
19th and 20th Century Poetry ENGL2008
Renaissance and England ENGL2056
Representations of Nature ENGL2057
16th, 17th and 18th Century Literature ENGL3005
Souls and Lives: Models of the Self in Literature ENGL2073
The above courses are marked with an asterisk in the course descriptions below.
The following later-year courses are no longer offered but may still be counted as part of the above list:
English Literature 1789-1939 ENGL2001
Literature and Politics in Early Modern England ENGL3013
Sex and Terror: The Gothic Novel 1764-1824 ENGL2060
17th and 18th Century Literature ENGL3001
The 1790s: Representations of Revolution ENGL2017
A major in English may contain one course from the following list of cognates (in place of one later-year English course):
Modern Australian Drama DRAM2008
Post-War British Drama DRAM2009
Speaking and Persuading ARTS2001
Theories of Interpretation in Law and Literature PHIL2090
Writing a Woman's Life GEND2016
AUST2005 Sociology of Australian Literature and Art and WOMS2012 Fiction and Domesticity are no longer offered but may be counted in this list.
In the case of a student who includes an English first-year course in another Arts major, a major in English may consist of English courses to the value of 42 units (including at least one asterisked course) at least 30 units of which must be from later-year courses.
Certain English courses may be taken as part of other Arts majors: Australian Studies, Theatre Studies, Film Studies, Contemporary Europe, Applied Linguistics and Gender, Sexuality and Culture. In some cases this involves altered prerequisites. For details see the individual major/course entries.
Offered in 2002 and succeeding years
24 hours of lectures and one 1-hour tutorial per week
Syllabus: A study of Australian literary as well as some visual and filmic texts, by way of introducing the diversity of Australian cultural production. We shall look at the short stories of Henry Lawson and Barbara Baynton in conjunction with the pictures of the so-called Heidelberg painters for images of Australian life at the turn of the twentieth century; then at two celebrated texts which became equally celebrated film features (focussing both on novel and film), namely My Brilliant Career and The Getting of Wisdom; also at Martin Boyd's writing in conjunction with the visual art of the Boyd family in the mid-twentieth century; at a major Australian novel by Patrick White; at the drug poems of Michael Dransfield; finally at a recent translation of Aboriginal song poems.
Proposed assessment: Written exercises totaling 2,500 words and a final two-hour examination with take-home option.
Offered in 2002 and succeeding years
24 hours of lectures and one 1-hour tutorial per week
Syllabus: In this course we will usually study four or five novels in depth. The detailed exploration of each text will allow students to consider such issues as the depiction of human relationships, gender, and self-realisation in the novel as well as focussing on a variety of aspects including characterisation, structure and themes. The texts selected will usually include at least one work written in the eighteenth century as well as novels from the nineteenth century and they will cover a sufficient chronological range to give students some sense of the history of the genre and of the development of the novel.
Proposed assessment: One 1,000 word essay, one 1,500 word essay and a final two-hour examination.
Offered in 2002 and in succeeding years
24 hours of lectures and one 1-hour tutorial per week. Lectures will be taped.
Syllabus: This course is intended to help students to think, talk and write about poetry. If you have already read some poetry, the course aims to deepen your appreciation and enjoyment of it. But no prior knowledge is assumed; the course is designed to offer a useful introduction. Poems studied will range from the fourteenth century to the year 2002, from medieval Scottish erotica to Shakespeare in love to Bob Dylan, rap and limericks, from England to Australia, from Ireland to India. Poetry in performance (e.g. Shakespeare) and poetry in translation (e.g. from French and Russian) will be included. Readings by poets will be included. Students will be given a broad picture of the history and development of poetry in English, as well as an introduction to some key critical terms and approaches; the course will also serve as a more general introduction to the methods of literary criticism (useful, too, for those studying other literatures). Teaching and assessment will aim at developing students' capacity to explore their own responses to what they read, to construct cogent arguments and to write and speak clearly.
Proposed assessment: One 1,000-word essay, one 1,500-word essay and a final examination.
Offered in 2002 and succeeding years
24 hours of lectures and 13 one-hour tutorials.
Syllabus: This course will explore the diverse range of literary texts by Indigenous Australian writers that have appeared in Australia in recent decades. Emphasis will be upon close analysis of a relatively small number of texts, with a view towards enabling first year students to develop the critical skills essential to the study of literary discourses.
But wider theoretical and sociopolitical issues will also be foregrounded. In what ways does Indigenous Australian literature seem to embrace, ring changes upon, or depart from significant features and strategies in texts produced by Euroaustralians, and by English language writers elsewhere in the world? Is Aboriginal writing best understood as a distinctively "native" discourse? In what respects does it tend to reflect elements of traditional cultures? And how (if at all) is it similar to the literatures of other colonised peoples throughout the Anglophone world?
Proposed Assessment: one essay of 1,000 words; one essay of 1,500 words; final two-hour examination.
Offered in 2002 and succeeding years
This course can be counted towards a Linguistics, English or an Applied Linguistics major.
20 hours of lectures and one 1-hour tutorial per week
Prerequisite: Any two first-year English courses.
Syllabus: A study of some of the most fascinating literary texts produced in the United States in the modern era. While the course encourages the close reading of each text, it also attempts to address fundamental issues relating to the study of modern American society, such as race, class, and gender divisions. More broadly still, it seeks to raise and explore basic questions about the study of literature and other cultural productions.
Proposed assessment: One 1,000-word essay and one 3,000-word essay.
Offered in 2002 and in alternate years
One 2.5-hour combined lecture/seminar session per week
Prerequisite: Any two first-year English courses, or permission of the Convener of English
Syllabus: This course explores the development of Australian English in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, looking especially at its role in constructions of Australian identity. Dialects of Australian English (e.g. Aboriginal English) and regional Australian English will also be considered. Selections from texts of various kinds will be provided in a `reading brick'; for example: convicts and convictism; early explorers naming and describing an alien landscape; the language used to describe and control the indigenous population; accounts of life on the goldfields; creative writing which illustrates the development of an Australian vocabulary; the development of the Australian accent; evidence for the public suppression of Australian English in the first half of the twentieth century; examples of writing in Aboriginal English; texts which demonstrate the American influence on Australian English. The material covered will be wide-ranging and, in work for assessment, students will be encouraged to focus on topics that are of special interest to them. In their study, students will be encouraged to use the resources of the Australian National Dictionary Centre.
Proposed assessment: One 1,500 word essay and a final two-hour examination.
Offered in 2002 and in alternate years
One three-hour period for film screenings and lecture plus one one-hour tutorial per week.
Prerequisite: Any two first-year English courses or Intro to Film Studies FILM1001, or permission of the Convener of English
Syllabus: This course spans the development of Australian film from its early achievements before 1920 to its internationalisation circa 1980. Its primary focus is the cultural study of Australian film, with particular attention to changing depictions of the bush and the city, of Aboriginal, Australian and immigrant men and women, of Australian nationalism, and of our myths and heroes. The history of Australian film itself and its significant turning points, from the innovations of the silent era to later developments in art films, will also be a continuing consideration. Films chosen for study, such as The Sentimental Bloke, The Rats of Tobruk, The Overlanders, Jedda, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Breaker Morant, Mad Max, Hightide, Bedevil, Romper Stomper, The Piano and Beware Greeks Bearing Gifts will represent the work of major directors, producers and script writers, and screenings of the principal films will be supplemented by introductory talks and by the screening of related short film material.
Proposed assessment: One 1,500 word essay and a final two-hour examination (with a take-home option).
One 2.5-hour combined lecture/seminar session per week
Prerequisite: Any two first-year English courses.
Syllabus: A study of a selection of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and of other literature of his period.
Proposed assessment: (i) a mid-semester essay of 2,000 words, (ii) a take-home examination including critical comments.
Offered in 2002 and in alternate years.
20 hours of lectures and one 1-hour tutorial per week and four film viewing sessions of up to three hours.
Prerequisites: Any two first-year English courses or Intro to Film Studies FILM1001.
Syllabus: An exploration of four 19th Century novels and how they have been turned into movies. The set texts will vary from year to year but in 2002 they will probably be Jane Austen's Persuasion, Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, Henry James's The Portrait of a Lady and Bram Stoker's Dracula.
Proposed assessment: One 2,000 word essay and a final two-hour examination (with take-home option).
This course can be counted towards an English or Film Studies major.
20 hours of lectures and one 1-hour tutorial per week
Prerequisite: For students taking the course as part of an English major, any two first-year English courses; for others, two first-year Arts courses or two compulsory courses in the Gender, Sexualtity and Culture major
Syllabus: What perceptions of place and of other human beings are generated by the situation of first contact? How are these perceptions constructed? This course examines the phenomenon of contact with reference to Australia and the South Pacific, with some consideration of the Americas. Texts used include those traditionally marginalised in literary studies (journals, diaries, letters), as well as novel-extracts, poetry and visual material. We shall analyse European notions of the Savage (Noble and Ignoble) and of the State of Nature from their origins in Antiquity to their application in eighteenth-century explorers' journals, First Fleet journals, diaries and letters. Material aimed at promoting discussion of Aboriginal perceptions of Europeans is also set. The course is suitable for all students, but may be of special relevance to those interested in contemporary theory, postcolonial studies and Australian studies. It focuses on issues still alive today, particularly in the wake of the Mabo debate.
Proposed assessment: One 1,500 word essay and a final two-hour examination (with take-home option).
This course can be counted towards a History, Gender, Sexuality and Culture or Indigenous Australian Studies major.
20 hours of lectures and one 1-hour tutorial per week
Prerequisite: Any two first-year English courses.
Syllabus: An introduction to the great formative period of American literature in the 19th century. This was the period in which the national literature came of age, as several brilliant, eccentric writers wrought radical changes upon traditional English models of prose and verse and thereby created a body of distinctively American forms of literary art. To read and study the most influential works of this period is thus a particularly exciting project. Not only are the texts themselves marvelous and unusual creations, but, studied in conjunction with one another, they afford us the opportunity of witnessing elements of a national culture that is in the process of forming and becoming conscious of itself. Writers considered will ordinarily include Walt Whitman, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Emily Dickinson, Mark Twain, and Kate Chopin.
Proposed assessment: One 1,000-word essay and one 3,000-word essay.
20 hours of lectures and one 1-hour tutorial per week
Prerequisites: Any two first-year English courses.
Syllabus: This course is an introduction to British literature of the eighteenth century through close critical analysis of selected texts in a variety of genres including poetry, drama and prose. Attention will be given to historical context -- the social and literary environment in which the texts were produced and to which they refer. Satire is a dominant literary mode in the early decades of the eighteenth century. The course will focus on writings by some of the major satirists of the period such as Pope, Swift, and Gay.
Proposed assessment: Written assignments totaling 4,000 words.
Offered in 2002 and in alternate years
20 hours of lectures and one 1-hour tutorial per week
Prerequisite: Any two first-year English courses. Students may count either Introduction to the Western Theatrical Tradition DRAM1006, or Introduction to Dramatic Form ENGL1002 as a prerequisite, if ENGL2012 is counted towards a major in Theatre Studies
Syllabus: This course is designed to introduce students to some of the most important dramatic texts of the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods by authors such as Marlowe, Shakespeare and Jonson. Teaching will be based on a consideration of these plays as literary, cultural and theatrical texts; that is, we shall examine the social and literary environment in which they were first produced, relating this to the conditions of theatrical performance in the period. Topics to be considered in relation to the drama include -- the representation of religion, kingship, sexual and political morality, national histories, gender and the family. Indeed, Elizabethan and Jacobean drama has become the focus for the most dynamic and controversial work in English studies, some of which will be considered in this course. 'Elizabethan Drama' will complement present or subsequent work in ENGL3005.
Proposed assessment: One 1,500 word assignment, 2,000 word essay, plus one tutorial paper.
Offered in 2002 and in alternate years
20 hours of lectures and one 1-hour tutorial per week
Prerequisite: Any two first-year English courses, or permission of the Convener of English
Syllabus: This course examines some landmarks in the literary history of late 19th and early 20th century imperialism. The focus in 2002 will be on novels of the British Empire, although a French novel in English translation will also be studied. The course involves the analysis of literary works and investigation of germane contexts (political, social, literary etc). Particular attention will be paid to issues of race relations, gender and class generated by the texts. The course will explore some significant metropolitan works that are striated by empire and its discontents. The set texts include novels by H. Rider Haggard, Joseph Conrad, H.G. Wells and Evelyn Waugh. The course concludes with the incendiary first novel of one of the most infamous authors of the 20th century, Journey to the End of the Night by Louis-Ferdinand Céline.
Proposed assessment: Written assignments totaling 4,000 words.
20 hours of lectures and one 1-hour tutorial per week
Prerequisites: Any two first-year English courses.
Syllabus: The aim will be to explore the phenomenon of Indian national identity as it has emerged within one of the world's oldest literary traditions, with particular attention to modern print and film texts. These will be, primarily, English-language texts of relatively recent vintage, although translations of some older works will also be incorporated. And while the focus will be upon the construction of a postcolonial India, the more general issue of imagined nationhood in the modern era will be considered as well. It is a course that is specifically designed to complement the Program's offering entitled 'Postcolonial Literatures', but to be of interest also to students of English language literatures generally, and to those specialising in Asian studies.
Proposed assessment: One 1,500 word essay and either a final two-hour examination or a 2,500 word essay.
Prerequisite: A first-year course in English, History, Linguistics or Modern European Languages
Syllabus: An introduction to the language and literature of Anglo-Saxon England based on study of selected passages of Old English prose and verse.
Proposed assessment: One take-home mid-semester grammar exercise, and a final take-home examination including passages for translation.
Offered in 2002 and alternate years
Two one-hour lectures and one one-hour tutorial for 11 weeks. Two weeks will be designated research weeks. One research week will be mid Term 1; the second will occur mid Term 2 when essays are due.
Prerequisites: First-year History courses to the value of 12 units or any two first-year English courses
Syllabus: This interdisciplinary course will focus on five novels by Jane Austen. Each novel will provide a starting point from which we'll explore the representation within them of broad themes of historical and literary significance, relating to late eighteenth and early nineteenth century Britain. We shall examine the ways in which a knowledge of the period in which Austen wrote enriches our understanding of her fiction and how the novels in turn participate in certain crucial debates and developments of the period. A concern of the course will be to challenge on the one hand, the idea of literary texts as mere illustrations of historical change, and on the other, the idea of history as a 'background' to literature. Topics to be covered will include the representation within the novels of the following: the Navy, marriage and adultery, fashion and consumption, slavery and empire, the landed estate, Bath, the concept of 'improvement', the female reading public and its institutions, leisure, the Gothic, ideas of the family and domesticity, music, the theatre, female friendship, philanthropy, and science.
Proposed assessment: Tutorial participation and presentation; a 1,000-word essay; a 3,000-word research essay.
Offered in 2002 and in alternate years
20 hours of lectures and one 1-hour tutorial per week
Prerequisite: Any two first-year English courses.
Syllabus: This course is divided into three sections. In the first section attention is concentrated on writers of the late nineteenth century and the Federation period who took a strong interest in Australian nationalism and bush life. The second and third section contains the work of writers published in the middle and later parts of this century. Studying their work will naturally raise questions about the evolution of Australian literature -- not only its divergences, but also the lines of continuity, which include a continuing interest in Australian identity and Australian landscapes -- cities, suburbia, or the bush.
Proposed assessment: One 2,500 word essay and a final two-hour examination.
Offered in 2003 and in alternate years
20 hours of lectures and one 1-hour tutorial per week
Prerequisites: Any two first-year English courses.
Syllabus: This course will explore the construction and representation of gender in a range of 18th-century texts by men and women authors, including autobiographical and biographical materials, poetry, essays, drama and works of prose fiction. The primary focus in studying these texts will be on their dramatisation of such issues as the interrelationships between class and gender and between morality and gender; the 'performance' of gender in cultural forms such as the drama, the construction of the gendered self and the gendered construction of 18th-century sensibility and sentiment. Attention will also be given to the social and historical backgrounds against which this literature was written and which it addresses, and to contextual aspects such as the representation of gender in changing modes of masculine and feminine dress. Texts studied will include poems, letters and diaries, as well as novels and drama by such authors as Samuel Richardson, Charlotte Lennox, Hannah Cowley and Laurence Sterne.
Proposed assessment: One 2,000 word essay and a final two-hour examination.
Not offered in 2002. Offered in 2003 and in alternate years.
20 hours of lectures and one 1-hour tutorial per week and five film viewing sessions of up to three hours.
Prerequisites: Any two first-year English courses.
Syllabus: An exploration of five 20th-century novels and how they have been turned into movies. The set texts will vary from year to year but in 2003 they will be Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness (paired with the film Apocalypse Now), Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway, Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca (paired with Hitchcock's film), Philip K Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (paired with the film Blade Runner), and Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting.
Proposed assessment: One 2,000 word essay and a final two-hour examination (with take-home option).
This course is open to all students but is required for Honours.
Offered in 2002 and succeeding years
20 hours of lectures and one 1-hour tutorial per week
Prerequisite: Any two first-year English courses.
Syllabus: The historical era spanned by this course is 1789-1942: from the 'blissful' dawn of the French revolution to the darkest hours of the Second World War; from the publication of William Blake's Songs of Innocence to the completion of T. S. Eliot's Four Quartets; from Romanticism to Modernism. This is a vast literary-historical panorama, and yet there are essential continuities between the writers and texts on the course. Essential, and also vital: for these major poets and these especially challenging poems have been amongst the most influential of all in setting the agenda for modern literary practice in our language, as well as for modern conceptions and theories of literature. Poets studied will normally include Blake, Wordsworth, Byron, Yeats and Eliot.
Proposed assessment: One in-class exercise, one 2,000 word essay and a final two-hour examination.
20 hours of lectures and one 1-hour tutorial per week
Prerequisite: Any two first-year English courses or two compulsory courses in the Gender, Sexuality and Culture major or with permission from the Convener of English.
Syllabus: An introduction to creative writing and performance in English from countries formerly colonised by Britain. The course explores recent cultural productions including literature, film and popular culture, within the context of local histories, politics and cultural patterns, and their relations and reactions to colonial and neo-colonial forces. Students will also be introduced to recent theoretical approaches to understanding postcoloniality, and will gain a better insight into how these issues relate to Australia's own history of colonialism. The countries or regions to be examined in some depth may vary from year to year; the conception of the unit will not, however, be affected by such variations. In 2002, the unit will focus on literatures from the West Indies, Singapore and Malaysia.
Proposed assessment: One 1,500 word essay and either a final two-hour examination or a 2,000-word essay.
Offered in 2003 and in alternate years
20 hours of lectures and one 1-hour tutorial per week
Prerequisites: Any two first-year English courses.
Syllabus: The course will examine a wide range of literary works from the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. It will also explore some connections between English literature and the European Renaissance, including creative translations and some parallel developments in painting and music. Works by Wyatt, Surrey, Spenser, Shakespeare, Jonson and Milton will provide the focus for study.
Proposed assessment: Written assignments totalling 4,000 words.
Offered in 2002 and in alternate years
20 hours of lectures and one 1-hour tutorial per week
Prerequisites: Any two first-year English courses.
Syllabus: The course will focus on representations of Nature, primarily in literature but also in some non-literary and philosophical works. It will introduce students to some of the key changes in conceptions and representations of Nature, and will examine some of the social, ethical and political implications of these changes, considering questions such as: Is there such a thing as 'human nature'? What, if anything, is 'natural' about that? Works considered will include Pope's Essay on Man, Wordsworth's Prelude and Thoreau's Walden. It will touch on writings from the Classical world (these will be available in a course anthology) and conclude with an examination of contemporary work.
Proposed assessment: Written assignments totalling 4,000 words.
Offered in 2003 and in alternate years
20 hours of lectures and one 1 hour tutorial a week
Prerequisite: Any two first-year English courses or one first year English and one Theatre Studies course.
Syllabus: This course will focus upon narrative and discursive representations of people and cultures invaded, subjugated and transformed in various ways by British colonialism. The emphasis will be upon the modern period but some consideration will be given to seminal texts from earlier centuries, as well as to non-literate modes of narrative discourse. As well as providing students with an introduction to contemporary Aboriginal and Native American writing, the course is designed to encourage speculation about two sets of parallels and contracts -- those between the Australian and the American experience and those between the productions of Native and European "settler" writers.
Proposed assessment: One essay of 1,500 words; and EITHER a two-hour exam OR a second essay of 2,000 words.
Offered in 2002 and in alternate years
20 hours of lectures and one 1-hour tutorial per week
Coordinator: Mr Cullum and Dr Campbell
Prerequisite: Any two first-year English courses.
Syllabus: An examination of some major and representative texts of the Scottish literary tradition. The course will introduce students to works from the Scottish Renaissance, Enlightenment, the Romantic period and the Twentieth Century.
Proposed assessment: One 2,000 word essay and either a two-hour examination or a 2,000 word essay.
Offered in 2003 and in alternate years
20 hours of lectures and one 1-hour tutorial and a film viewing session of two or three hours each week.
Prerequisites: Any two first-year English courses or Intro to Film Studies FILM1001
Syllabus: One of the most important media for the interpretation of the plays of Shakespeare in the twentieth century has been the cinema. Directors and actors from widely differing cultural, political and national backgrounds have sought to represent Shakespeare on screen. This course will examine the written texts of a number of Shakespeare plays in relation to how they have been interpreted in the cinema. Plays to be studied may include Othello and Henry V: we shall then go on to examine how these texts have been represented by directors such as Orson Welles, Laurence Olivier, and Kenneth Branagh. The course will complement work in ENGL2012.
Proposed assessment: Two 500 word tutorial papers, a 1,500 word essay and a final examination.
This course is open to all students but is required for Honours
Offered in 2002 and in succeeding years
20 hours of lectures and one 1-hour tutorial per week
Prerequisite: Any two first-year English courses
Syllabus: A study of selected poetry, prose and drama of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. Discussions of the set texts will be at an advanced level and will raise wider issues of critical theory and practice. Authors to be studied will include Shakespeare, Marvell, Milton, Behn, Pope, Swift, and Johnson.
Proposed assessment: Written assignments totalling 4,000 words.
20 hours of lectures and one 1-hour tutorial per week
Prerequisite: Any two first-year English courses.
Syllabus: Literature offers us an immensely rich and diverse gallery of lives and aspects of lives. We will be selecting a few of the most celebrated of these from European poetry, drama, prose fiction and philosophy. We will consider some English-language texts but will use mainly non-English texts in standard translations, from pre-classical Greece to classics of Romanticism and beyond, attempting to identify some key assumptions, practices and concerns in how they are shaped. How do these writers, these texts, model a life, a person, a self? What sorts of value do these various models have for us? How do they work in our own lives? Writers/texts considered will include Homer's Iliad, Sophocles' Antigone, Dante's Inferno, a Shakespeare play and Goethe's Faust I, as well as a course brick of extracts from texts including a Plato dialogue, Aeneid IV, St Mark's Gospel, Chaucer's Wife of Bath's Prologue, Rousseau's Reveries and Proust's Swann's Way.
Proposed assessment: one in-class exercise, one 1500-word essay and a final two-hour examination
Preliminary reading: Sophocles, Antigone, Oxford World's Classics
Offered in 2002 and succeeding years
Incompatibility: LENG2020 Structure of English
This course may be counted towards an English, Linguistics or Applied Linguistics major.
Offered on an occasional basis depending on availability of staff
Offered in 2003 and in alternate years
20 hours of lectures and one 1-hour tutorial per week
Prerequisites: Any two first-year English courses, or with the permission of the Convener of English.
Syllabus: The course will introduce students to some theories of Imitation and Representation, and to some of the corresponding questions about 'truth' and value in literature (with some reference to other art forms).
We shall explore some early conceptions of mimesis, including those of Plato, Aristotle, Sidney and Johnson, but the primary focus will be on literary theory in the modern period.
Proposed assessment: Written assignments totalling 4,000 words.
Offered in 2003 and in alternate years
20 hours of lectures and one 1-hour tutorial per week
Prerequisite: Any two first-year English courses, or with the permission of the Convener of English
Syllabus: An introduction to different theories of and different ways of thinking about textuality. The course begins with a consideration of 19th century hermeneutics, then goes on to concentrate on 20th century, indeed largely contemporary, theory, including phenomenology, reader-response, New Criticism, existentialism, Marxism, structuralism, post-structuralism and feminism.
Proposed assessment: One 1,500 word essay and a final two-hour examination (with a take-home option).
Offered in 2002 and in alternate years
20 hours of lectures and one 1-hour tutorial per week
Prerequisite: Any two first-year English courses or with the permission of the English Convener
Syllabus: The course will explore some of the relations and interactions between philosophy and literature through the study of autobiographical works. Topics to be discussed will include -- concepts of truth, fiction and authenticity; relations between formal features of autobiography and philosophical treatments of self-knowledge; narrative unity and human identity; selfhood and temporality; the possibility of self-knowledge. Works to be studied will include Augustine, Confessions; Wordsworth, The Prelude; M H Kingston, Woman Warrior.
Proposed assessment: Written assignments totaling 4,000 words.
20 hours of lectures and one 1-hour tutorial per week
Prerequisite: Any two first-year English courses.
Syllabus: The course examines ways in which we identify, or fail to identify, ourselves as Australians. It begins by discussing theories of identity, looking at historical mechanisms by which identity is constituted in Australia. It then focuses on 'alienation and identity' in Australian writing, with emphasis on the role of women and also on work by Aborigines.
Proposed assessment: One 1,500 word essay and a final two-hour examination (with a take-home option).
20 hours of lectures and one 1-hour tutorial per week
Coordinator: Dr Campbell and Dr Higgins
Prerequisites: Any two first-year English courses.
Syllabus: Students in this course will be asked to study a selection of novels and verse from the Victorian period. Authors to be studies will include Dickens, Brontë, Tennyson and Arnold.
Proposed assessment: One 1,500 word essay and a final two-hour examination.
20 hours of lectures and one 1-hour tutorial per week
Coordinators: Mr Barnes (History), Dr Campbell (English)
Prerequisites: First-year courses in English or History to the value of twelve units, or permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: The course will examine the transition from orality to literacy in ancient and modern societies, the form, diffusion and purpose of books, and the development of libraries as intellectual and social institutions. It will give special attention to the invention of printing and its results. It will introduce students to theories of textual criticism and some practical problems of editing and preservation of texts. Finally it will consider the possible effects of the present "digital revolution" on reading, literature, libraries and the storage and diffusion of information.
Proposed assessment: One bibliographical exercise involving scholarly use of on-line resources; one research essay; one two-hour examination; tutorial performance. This proposal will be discussed in the classes of the first weeks of the course.
Intending honours students should first read the general statement 'The degree with honours' in the introductory section of the Faculty of Arts entry.
The course for the degree with Honours in English extends over four years and normally consists of
(a) The completion of the requirements for a BA degree. This must include ten English courses to the value of 60 units, including an English major and the two special Honours courses 19th and 20th Century Poetry ENGL2008 and 16th, 17th and 18th Century Literature ENGL3005
Students achieving a Distinction or above in both first year English courses may be invited to join the honours program which involves enrolment in the Honours courses ENGL2008 and ENGL3005, normally taking one in their second year of study, the other in their third year of study.
All students who have the prerequisites for ENGL2008 and ENGL3005 are free to enrol in these courses without invitation. If they subsequently meet the prerequisite for entry into English IV they will be recommended to the Faculty in the usual way (see below).
Intending honours students in English should consult the Convener about their proposed courses before the beginning of their second year of study.
Students may combine honours in English with honours in another discipline. A Combined Honours course must be agreed and arranged through the relevant Conveners, and intending candidates should consult those Conveners at the beginning of their second year of study and take into account the honours requirements in both subjects. In the case of English, this would normally entail gaining at least 48 units of English, including a major and the two honours courses ENGL2008 and ENGL3005, all at Credit level or above. Honours schools which would most appropriately be combined with English include History, Art History, Classical and Modern European Languages, Classics, Linguistics, Philosophy, and Political Science.
In particular students may take combined Honours in English and Theatre Studies.
Syllabus: The course will be prescribed from year to year by the Convener.
Students are expected to consult with the Honours Adviser in December 2001 about their choice of courses and long essay topic, and are required to seek approval for their topic, arrange supervision with a member of staff, and commence work on the essay as early in 2002 as possible.
Conveners: Dr Gino Moliterno, BA PhD Syd. (Semester 1) and, Dr Roger Hillman, BA Syd., PhD DipEd Adel (Semester 2)
Film is undoubtedly the leading art form and major means of communication of our time. The ANU Film Studies Program is designed to bring together the different perspectives offered by a variety of courses in a range of disciplines and programs throughout the university. Film Studies courses also feed well into other majors such as Theatre Studies and Gender, Sexuality and Culture. The core course, Introduction to Film Studies FILM1001, described below, introduces students to both film theory and film analysis from within an interdisciplinary approach, seeking to develop in students a high degree of cinema literacy which should enable them to make better sense of our increasingly visual media culture.
Students interested in the major are encouraged to consult with the Convener to assemble an appropriate sequence of courses. Please note that not all later-year courses are offered in each year.
The Film Studies major requires a minimum of 42 units consisting of Introduction to Film Studies FILM1001 (12 units) plus later year courses to the value of 30 units from Groups A and B. Note that no more than 12 units may be counted from Group B courses. Full details of those courses with a non-FILM prefix will be found under their respective majors.
As with all other courses in the Humanities, students are required to submit written work by the due dates, to attend all lectures, workshops and tutorial classes, and to present any prescribed tutorial exercises. Students are also expected to possess copies of the prescribed texts.
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Australian Film: Ned Kelly to Mad Max ENGL2066 Classic Novel into Film ENGL2067 |
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Four to five hours a week, with two lectures, a tutorial, and a screening.
Syllabus: This course is intended as an introduction to the history and aesthetics of film, as well as a primer in film theory and film analysis. Once equipped with an understanding of all the elements of film technique, students will address questions of narrative, spectatorship, auteurship and a consideration of film as social and cultural document. Students will also be introduced to genre theory and will closely study a number of film genres.
Proposed assessment: One 1,500 word assignment (involving close analysis of a film sequence); a 2,000 word essay; two two-hour examinations (one at the end of each semester).
* N.B. If you wish to take this course you must enrol in both FILM1001A (First Semester) and FILM1001B (Second Semester). This course continues over a full-year and is not divisible into semesters. There is no formal assessment at the end of the first semester. You will not receive a final grade until you have completed Part B at the end of the year. If you drop Part A in First Semester, you must also drop Part B.
A one-hour lecture, a one-hour tutorial/seminar and a screening per week
Prerequisites: For Film Studies majors, Intro to Film Studies FILM1001, for Art History majors Intro to Art History ARTH1002 and Intro to Modern Art ARTH1003. For other majors, FILM1001, EURO1002 and EURO1003, or 2 courses in History. Available also to students undertaking the major in Political Communication after consultation with the convener of Film Studies.
There is no language prerequisite; all films not in English are subtitled.
Syllabus: The course examines how selected postwar European cinema movements and filmmakers have used film as a way to represent the past. After a brief segment on the relationship between Hollywood and European cinemas, the main focus is on issues -- aesthetic, cultural and industrial -- arising from the representation of history in film. The conventions of visual vs written genres and language are examined. Chronologically the course extends from a retrospective view of Stalinism in Burnt by the Sun to splintered nationalism in the former E. bloc (Before the Rain; Gorilla Bathes at Noon), but it also includes cult art-house films whose historical contexts are still of particular significance (The Conformist; Hiroshima, mon amour). The interplay between fact, fiction and memory foregrounds the role of film in creating or perpetuating cultural myths via historical themes. Discourses addressed include national identities, the aestheticisation of fascism and the limits of representation. The course will combine the symbolic dimension of (political) history with the social dimension of (film) art. In this it complements Postwar European Cinema: Films and Directors (FILM 2004).
Proposed assessment: Two 1,500 word essays, or one essay and a two-hour examination.
20 hours lectures, 11 hours film, 11 hours tutorials
Prerequisites: Two first-year courses to the value of 12 units.
Syllabus: What can we learn about other cultures through film? What can the camera do that the pen cannot? How has the digital revolution changed this? How have anthropologists and film-makers responded to these changes? What are the implications for the future?
This course will address these questions and others by means of an examination of some films by leading ethnographic filmmakers. We will study films from a variety of cultures, the contrasting modes of representation employed by various filmmakers, and the debates they have given rise to.
Proposed assessment: one essay, tutorial work and tutorial participation.
Not offered in 2002. May be offered in 2003.
A one-hour lecture, a one-hour tutorial and a screening
Prerequisites: For students taking it for the Film Studies major, Intro to Film Studies FILM1001; for students taking it for the Art History major, Intro to Art History ARTH1002 and Intro to Modern Art ARTH1003; otherwise students should have qualified for entry into 2nd year study in the Faculty of Arts or have the written permission of the Film Studies Convener.
Syllabus: Through a close analysis of selected feature films which utilise artistic and art historical references as part of their expressive strategies, the course will explore both the nature of visual representation, common to cinema and the visual arts, as well as the particular characteristics which distinguish and define each of these as separate art forms. Among the films to be studied: Vincente Minnelli's An American in Paris, Andrej Tarkovsky's Andrej Rublev, Derek Jarman's Caravaggio, Peter Greenaway's The Draughtsman's Contract, Orson Welles' F for Fake, and Raul Ruiz's Hypothesis of a Stolen Painting.
Not offered in 2002. May be offered in 2003.
Four hours per week: one three hour session for film viewing and discussion, plus a one-hour tutorial/workshop
Prerequisite: Intro to Film Studies FILM1001 or, for those taking it as part of a Theatre Studies major, twelve first-year units in Theatre Studies.
Syllabus: Cinema has a rich tradition of attempts to translate theatrical texts into film. If at one level such attempts can be appreciated simply as productions of the plays in question, at another level such adaptations bring to the fore the specificity of theatre and film as distinct forms of representation working within differing conventions. The course thus proposes to study a number of films adapted from plays not merely with the intention of gauging the fidelity of the adaptation to the original but more importantly as a way of trying to elucidate the complex dynamics of exchange between these two different forms of representation.
Proposed assessment: Two 1,500 word essays, tutorial/workshop participation.
This course can be counted towards a Film Studies or Theatre Studies major.
Not offered in 2002. May be offered in 2003.
A one-hour lecture, a one-hour tutorial/seminar and a screening.
Prerequisites: For Film Studies majors, Intro to Film Studies FILM1001; for Art History majors Intro to Art History ARTH1002 and Intro to Modern Art ARTH1003; for Contemporary Europe majors, EURO1002 and EURO1003; otherwise at least two first-year courses in the Faculty of Arts.
There is no language prerequisite; all films not in English are subtitled.
Syllabus: The course examines the major developments in postwar European cinema through a detailed study of representative films by some of Europe's most significant filmmakers. Directors to be studied will include Ingmar Bergman, Roman Polanski, Federico Fellini, Luis Bunuel, Jacques Tati, Jean-Luc Godard, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Werner Herzog, Peter Greenaway and Krzysztof Kieslowski. Films will be examined in their historical and social context as well as in relation to their director's particular aesthetic and thematic concerns.
The course is specifically intended to function as the aesthetic counterpart of European Cinemas, European Societies FILM2003 but it may also be taken on its own as a general survey of the major European auteurs.
Proposed assessment: One 2,000 word essay and one two-hour examination.
This course may also be counted towards an Art History, Film Studies or Political Communication major.
A one-hour lecture, a one-hour tutorial and a screening per week
Prerequisites: For students taking the course as part of the Film Studies major, Introduction to Film Studies FILM1001; for students taking the course as part of the Italian major, Continuing 2 ITAL2006 or equivalent language competence (these students will discuss the films and do their written work for assessment in Italian); for students taking the course as part of the Contemporary Europe major, EURO1002 and EURO1003; otherwise 12 first-year units in the Faculty of Arts
Syllabus: A study of the major figures in Italian postwar cinema (Rossellini, De Sica, Antonioni, Visconti, Wertmuller, the Taviani brothers, Amelio) through a number of their most representative films.
Not offered in 2002. May be offered in 2003
A one-hour lecture, a one-hour tutorial and a screening per week
Prerequisites: Intro to Film Studies FILM1001 or Intro to Art History ARTH1002 and Intro to Modern Art ARTH1003, or else by permission of the Convener of Film Studies.
Recommended Co-requisite: History on Film HIST2130
Syllabus: The course comprises an aesthetic, historical and, to a lesser degree, industrial analysis of the impact of Hollywood on 20th century culture. It will trace the development, maturation and more recent transformations of classical narrative, while also addressing issues of genre, performance, and historical, social and sexual ideology. Questions of censorship, the industrial aspects of the studio system and Hollywood's attempts at global hegemony will also be addressed.
Among the films to be studied: D.W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation, Mankiewicz's All about Eve, John Ford's The Searchers, Malick's Days of Heaven, Jarmusch's Night on Earth, and films by Charlie Chaplin and others.
Proposed assessment: A 1,500-2,000 word essay and either a two-hour exam or a further essay.
Full details of the following may be found in the relevant School/major entries:
French Cinema from the "Nouvelle Vague" to the Nineties FREN2023
Full details of the following may be found in the relevant School/major entries:
Australian Film: Ned Kelly to Mad Max ENGL2066
Classic Novel into Film ENGL2067
Modern Novel into Film ENGL2069
Honours Coordinator: Dr Gino Moliterno/Dr Roger Hillman
Intending honours students should first read the general statement `The degree with honours' in the introductory section of the Faculty of Arts entry.
Students are expected to consult with the honours course coordinator well ahead of time about their choice of thesis topic, and are required to seek approval for their topics and arrange supervision with a member of staff no later than mid-January or mid-June, when work on the thesis should commence.
A student may commence Film Studies IV (Honours) in the second semester.
(a) Completion of the requirements for the pass degree;
(b) Ten courses to the value of 60 units of Film Studies, including the Film Studies major. The 60 units must be attained with an average grade of Credit and include at least 2 Distinctions. A maximum of eighteen units of later-year Group B units may be included in the 60 units.
(a) Either two one-semester courses or an Internship and one one-semester course; each 30%.
(b) A research thesis of 15,000 words on an approved topic 40%; and
Film Studies offers a combined Honours program in combination with any area in the Faculty of Arts where the combination makes academic sense.
To be admitted to combined honours a student must complete the Bachelor of Arts pass requirements and include a minimum of 48 units from the Film Studies major with a Credit average and two Distinctions (unless by special permission of the Head of School, Humanities) with a maximum of twelve units may be included from Group B and 48 units from the other Honours Program.
(b) coursework prescribed by the other Honours Program
(c) a research thesis of 15,000 words on a topic approved by both areas.
In 2002 the course topic for (a) will be Postwar Italian Cinema ITAL3009, running in Semester 1. While sharing lectures and screenings, honours students will also attend a separate seminar.
It is now possible for later-year students in the Film Studies Program to complete 6 units towards the major via an internship at ScreenSound Australia. Internships run either for a full two weeks during the Summer vacation (usually in February) or for a certain number of hours throughout a semester. Entry into the Internship Program is through a competitive selection process requiring a formal application on the part of the student. Information regarding the process of application is widely advertised and circulated at the relevant time. For any further information contact the Film Studies Convener.
Conveners: Dr Rosanne Kennedy, BA MtHolyokeColl., PhD Duke -- Semester 1 and Dr Jindy Pettman, BA Adel., GradDip CanberraCAE, PhD Lond. -- Semester 2
Gender, Sexuality and Culture is a transdisciplinary major that offers students the opportunity to explore the related fields of Gender Studies and Cultural Studies, with a strong international and regional component. Both fields draw on new theoretical and methodological developments, including feminist theory, queer theory, psychoanalysis, deconstruction, post-structuralism and post-modernism. Students will have the opportunity to take courses that apply these theories and methodologies to a range of contemporary issues and practices. Students may choose to concentrate either on gender studies or cultural studies, or to devise a major that integrates both fields.
Gender studies is concerned with the ways in which identities and sexualities (feminine, masculine, heterosexual, lesbian and gay) are constructed in a range of discourses (political, legal, historical, literary, popular), in the media and in embodied practices (sport, behaviour, cosmetic surgery, dieting, leisure activities). Courses in the major reveal how gender and sexuality are socially constructed and reproduced, and how hierarchies of gender and sexuality are implicated in all aspects of social life. Students will examine interrelations between gender, race, class and sexuality in a variety of cultural, historical and political contexts. In addition, students will have the opportunity to explore the construction of social identities and power relations, and the role of gender and sexuality in citizenship, state politics, development, war and international relations.
Cultural studies is concerned with questions of meaning, identity, production and consumption. How do everyday objects and behaviours -- from mobile phones to rave parties -- become meaningful cultural commodities and practices? What role do objects and practices play in constructing social identities? Cultural Studies is also concerned with cultural politics at the local, national, regional and international level. Courses in the major explore issues such as how significant national and international events are represented in the media; whose voices are heard and whose stories are told; what events are memorialised, and the construction of histories. Students will have the opportunity to study the role of the media in contemporary culture, and will be introduced to important concepts for the study of culture such as mass culture, popular culture, representation, the sign, the text, the body, sexuality, power, subjectivity, pleasure and consumption. Courses in the major draw on a wide range of texts from elite and popular culture, including magazines, newspapers, film, art, photography, political tracts, video, the internet and performance art.
Honours will be offered in the new Gender, Sexuality and Culture major from 2003 onwards.
Students who began a Critical and Cultural Studies major or the Women's Studies major prior to 2001 should complete these majors under the old rules. An information sheet for continuing students undertaking the Critical and Cultural Studies major or the Women's Studies major can be collected from the above Conveners or the Undergraduate Administrator, School of Humanities Administration Office or from the Faculty Office located in the Hayden-Allen Bdg.
Such students, if they meet the requirements for entry into Honours, will be able to do Honours in Women's Studies until 2005.
The major consists of a minimum of 42 units. These must include:
(a) at least 6 but no more than 12 units of GEND first-year courses
(b) at least 24 units chosen from core courses
(c) the remaining units may include either core or cognate courses
Core courses are those in which
Cognate courses are those in which
The list of core and cognate courses will change from year to year, depending on availability.
Gender and the Humanities: Reading Jane Eyre GEND1003
Reading Popular Culture: An Introduction to Cultural Studies GEND1002
Sex, Gender and Identity: An Introduction to Gender Studies GEND1001
Culture Matters: An Interdisciplinary Approach GEND2000
Deconstruction: A User's Guide PHIL2002
Flesh and Fantasy: Body, Self and Society in the Western World HIST2003
Gender, Globalisation and Development POLS2086
Gender in Cross-Cultural Perspective ANTH2025
Gendered Politics of War POLS2085
Gender, Sex and Sexuality: An Introduction to Feminist Theory GEND2023
Globalism and the Politics of Identity POLS2075
Issues in Postcolonial Studies GEND2020
Popular Culture, Gender and Modernity HIST2122
Belonging Identity and Nationalism ANTH2056
Electric Citizens: The rise of modern media in the United States, 1865-2000 HIST2121
Frankfurt School and Habermas POLS2076
Gender and Korean History ASHI2006
Gender and Power in East Asia ASHI2016
Intersexions: Gender and Sociology SOCY2044
Jane Austen: Histories and Fictions ENGL2074
Literature and Gender in the 18th Century ENGL2059
Love, Death and Freedom PHIL2059
Philosophy and Gender PHIL2070
Postcolonial Literatures ENGL2018
Power and Subjectivity PHIL2089
Women and Australian Public Policy POLS2074
26 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials
Syllabus: How are women's and men's identities shaped by society? In what ways are men's and women's lives different and in what ways are they similar? How do we learn to become `proper' women and men? How do gender relations intersect with race, class and sexuality? This course gives an accessible and lively introduction to Gender Studies. It introduces the key concepts of gender, sexuality, femininity and masculinity, and the key idea that gender is socially constructed. The course includes case studies of three areas of popular controversy in gender relations: sex and sexuality (bodies, cosmetic surgery, sport, etc.); images of women and men in the media; and men's and women's experiences of violence. These case studies are used to explore the significance of gender analysis in understanding social and cultural life, and to introduce the diversity of feminist approaches within Gender Studies.
26 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials
Syllabus: This course will introduce the field of cultural studies by teaching students how to do a cultural study of an object. In class, we will take as our examples products such as the Sony Walkman, the Holden and the Barbie doll -- all of which have been the objects of major marketing campaigns nationally and internationally, and of academic research by feminist and cultural critics.
1) how objects such as the Walkman, the Holden and the Barbie doll have been represented in advertising and in product promotions;
2) how these representations construct identities that become associated with and are used to sell the product;
3) how objects are consumed or used by different cultural groups, and
4) the global processes of production and product regulation.
In the first half of the course, students will be introduced to semiotics, a method that is widely used by cultural and feminist critics to study how meanings are produced in images and texts, and to theories of identity and subjectivity. By the end of the course, students should have a basic understanding of key concepts shared by cultural and gender studies, including representation, culture, the sign, identity, production and consumption.
Proposed assessment: Tutorial exercises and participation, a semiotic analysis and a short final project.
Not offered in 2002. Offered in 2003.
2 one-hour lectures and one one-hour tutorial for 11 weeks.
Lecturers: Dr Kennedy, Dr Russell
Syllabus: This course is designed to introduce students to the concepts and critical approaches, as well as to some of the interdisciplinary methods, that are central to gender studies in the Humanities. It will achieve this by focussing on a literary text, Charlotte Bronte's novel Jane Eyre. This text, which has been important in the development of feminist scholarship since the 1970s, has also attracted a non-academic readership, influencing media such as the popular romance and cinema. Using Jane Eyre and its extensive critical commentary as a springboard, the course will investigate such topics as gender, representation, sexuality, race, class, madness, marriage and the law. Other texts to be studied in conjunction with the novel will include Jane Campion's 1992 film The Piano. Study of a notorious comtemporary divorce and child custody case involving Caroline Norton, will form the basis for a comparison of uses of gender studies in History and English Studies. This course will prepare students for later work in Gender Studies, English Studies, History and will also be relevant to other majors in the School of Humanities.
Proposed assessment: Tutorial participation, 1,500 word essay and additional 2,000 word essay OR possibly one piece of Web-based research.
Offered in 2003 and alternate years
30 hours in lectures and tutorials
Lecturers: Professor Merlan (Anthropology) and Dr Kennedy
Prerequisites: Two first year courses in Anthropology or two first-year Gender, Sexuality and Culture courses.
Syllabus: The modern concept of culture, which was developed out of earlier intellectual currents, is one of the most important concepts in the humanities and social sciences today. It is also widely used in non-academic contexts. We hear, for example, of global culture, consumer culture, high and low culture, organisational culture, enterprise culture and even police culture.
This course will consider the origins and development of the concept in the social sciences and the humanities. After introducing some foundational theories of culture, the course will survey the relatively new fields of cultural studies, postcolonial theory and globalisation theory. The course will also consider changing divisions of intellectual labour, both outside the academy and within it, through an examination of the social position of the main producers and consumers of contemporary images of culture and difference.
20 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials
Prerequisites: Two first year Philosophy courses if undertaking a Philosophy major or GEND courses or one of: Identity and Desire PHIL2091, Representation and Gender WOMS2010, Reading Contemporary Culture WOMS2022, Gender, Sex and Sexuality WOMS2023, Philosophy and Gender PHIL2070, Theories of Literature and Criticism ENGL2009; or with permission of the lecturer.
Syllabus: What is meant when a contemporary theorist talks about deconstructing 'gender', a text, a novel, a philosopher, or an identity effect? This course will introduce students both to key aspects of deconstruction, and to the influence of deconstruction in a variety of academic contexts. A component of the course is devoted to reading some of the early, famous pieces by Jacques Derrida. We then survey the influence and changing uses of deconstruction in some of the following contexts: literary theory, gender theory, queer theory, French feminism, postcolonial theory. Readings will include: Eve Sedgwick, Gayatri Spivak, Luce Irigaray, Sarah Kofman, Vicki Kirby and Jacques Derrida.
Proposed assessment: One 2,500 word essay, plus other components such as shorter written exercises, or tutorial participation.
Incompatibility: WOPH2002 Deconstruction: A User's Guide.
This course can be counted towards a Gender, Sexuality and Culture, Contemporary Europe or Philosophy major.
Two one-hour lectures per week and six-to-eight one-hour fortnightly tutorials. Lectures will be taped.
Prerequisite: Any first-year history or Gender, Sexuality and Culture course or permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: Is it possible to study the history of the human body? In recent years scholars in the humanities and social sciences have not only responded affirmatively to this question, but have demonstrated how the body itself changes depending upon its social and historical context. Most importantly, such scholars have suggested a close connection between conceptions of the personal body and the mainstream thinking about the body politic, making the study of one essential for the study of the other. Considering the body as a legitimate object of study, on short, not only offers a wealth of new material for historical investigation, but opens up innovative ways of thinking about history in general.
This course explores the role of the human body in the creation of personal and social identities in the western world since the sixteenth century. We will proceed thematically rather than strictly chronologically, and will combine historical investigation with contemporary theoretical reflections on the relationship between the body, society and the creation of the modern notion of the self. We will consider an eclectic and lively mix of topics, such as: the connection between posture and morality; table manners and interpersonal relations; changing notions of cleanliness and hygiene; exercise, dieting, and body-building; sexuality and personal identity; fashion, make-up and cosmetic surgery; vegetarianism, self-help literature and alternative medicine; and tattooing and body modification.
Proposed assessment: Responses essays and a short research essay totalling 4,000 words.
Not offered in 2002; offered in 2003
22 hours of lectures and 10 hours of tutorials
Prerequisite: Two first-year courses in Political Science when taken as a Political Science course or any 12 first-year units when taken as a Gender, Sexuality and Culture course.
Syllabus: This course brings together 'development' and 'globalisation' literatures, with particular attention to women's experiences and gender relations. It begins with an analysis of 'women and development' and its subsequent manifestations. It pursues a gendered critique of international political economy, and intensifying globalisation processes. It then focuses on particular aspects of contemporary global political economy, including the feminisation of the global assembly line, labour migration, the international political economy of sex, and transnational political organising for women's and workers' rights.
Proposed assessment: Tutorial participation, written work, and a course review.
Incompatibility: POLS2068 Gender and International Politics
This course can be counted towards a History or Gender, Sexuality and Culture major.
22 hours lectures, 11 hours tutorials
Lecturer: Dr Helliwell (Anthropology)
Prerequisites: Two first year courses to the value of 12 units in Anthropology or Sociology or Gender, Sexuality and Culture.
Syllabus: Anthropology is uniquely situated to look into concepts and theories of gender, sex and sexuality through its concern with the culturally-specific character of human categories and practices. This course explores gender, sex and sexuality across a range of cultural settings seeking, in the process, to question most of what we- including most theorists of sex/gender -- take for granted about the gendered and sexed character of human identity and difference. Topics explored include: the saliency of the categories man and woman; the relationships between race and gender; the role of colonialism and neocolonialism in the representation of gender, sex and sexuality; the usefulness of the notion of oppression; the relationship between cultural conceptions of personhood and cultural conceptions of gender; and the ethnocentricity of the concepts of gender, sex and sexuality themselves. To assist these explorations we will make use of cross-cultural case studies in a number of areas including rape, prostitution, work and domesticity, the third sex and homosexuality.
Not offered in 2002; offered in 2003
22 hours of lectures and 10 hours tutorials
Prerequisite: Two first-year courses in Political Science when taken as a Political Science course or any 12 first-year units when taken as a Gender, Sexuality and Culture course.
Syllabus: This course focuses on key questions to do with gender and global politics. It will analyse women's experiences, gender relations and feminist scholarship in relation to collective identity conflicts, political violence and war. It will begin with an analysis of the international politics of identity, boundary politics and the making of the outsider. It will then focus on the gendered politics of war and peace. It interrogates key concepts in critical security studies, peace research and feminist ethics. It will conclude with a review of contemporary women's organising across identity and state lines for peace.
Proposed assessment: Tutorial presentation, essay (2,000 words) and review (1,700 approx).
Incompatibility: POLS2068 Gender and International Politics
This course can be counted towards a Political Science or Gender, Sexuality and Culture major.
20 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials
Prerequisite: Two first-year Arts courses to the value of 12 units.
Syllabus: This course will further develop students' knowledge and understanding of concepts and theories of gender and sex, as well as examining the aims of feminist theory in general. In particular, the course will trace changes from the late 1960s to the present in the status of the categories of `women' and `gender' as foundational concepts in Feminist Theory. In addition, it will consider how theories of discourse and representation have changed the way theorists have conceived of `women' and `gender''. Topics to be covered include: biological and cultural theories of sex and gender; feminist analyses of sexuality, the relationship between gender and differences of race and class, the sex/gender debate; feminist theory and postmodernism; critiques of the category of `women' and critiques of binary theories of sex and gender.
Proposed Assessment: The recommended assessment for this course is 3,000-3,500 words of written work and tutorial participation.
Incompatibility: WOMS2023 Gender, Sex and Sexuality: An Introduction to Feminist Theory
Two lectures and one tutorial a week for eleven weeks
Prerequisite: Two first-year courses in Political Science if undertaking a Political Science or International Relations major, or two first-year GEND courses if undertaking a Gender, Sexuality and Culture or Women's Studies major with the permission of the lecturer.
Syllabus: This course analyses the making of political identities in the contemporary world, beginning with 'the world' itself, the West and its Others, and international processes of colonisation, migration, decolonisation and globalisation. It utilises critical and feminist accounts to interrogate particular political identities: of state, citizen and nationalism, and post-colonial and post-migratory identities. Within this global frame, it pursues contemporary debate around region, and 'Asia'. It concludes with a brief consideration of how international identity politics might figure in determining Australia's place in the world.
Proposed assessment: Tutorial participation, written work and a course review.
This course can be counted towards a Women's Studies or Gender, Sexuality and Culture Studies or Political Science or International Relations major.
20 hours of lectures and weekly tutorials
Prerequisite: Two first-year courses to the value of 12 units.
Syllabus: This course sets out to investigate the emergence of postcolonial theory as a key intellectual framework through which to investigate any colonial, imperial and subaltern histories. We will consider the usefulness of postcolonial theory when applied to the particular historical conditions of Australian "settler-colonial" relations and the work of feminist scholars engaging with these questions in relation to gender/race/class and so on.
The first part of the course will include discussion of Fanon, Sid, Bhabha, Spivak and Hall. We then apply postcolonial theory to various texts including art, fiction and history as we question the ways in which "history", whether cultural histories or history as an academic discipline, has engaged the centrality of colonial, national and imperial histories and subjectivities in (re)thinking the relationship of past and present.
Proposed assessment: Tutorial exercises, essay and take-home review.
One lecture of one and a half hours incorporating video material; one tutorial of one hour per week. There will be additional film screenings up to two hours per week.
Lecturer: Dr Matthews (History)
Prerequisites: If this course is to be included in a History major, any first-year History courses to the value of twelve points. If it is to be included in a film studies major, Intro to Film Studies FILM1001 otherwise, any first year courses to the value of twelve points.
Syllabus: This course will look at the development of and theories about mass popular culture and leisure activities from around 1880 to the late 1920s, focusing on the great modern cities of New York and Sydney, with occasional glances to Paris, London and Berlin. It will examine the social and individual consequences of the new ways in which urban masses used their leisure: going shopping, going to the movies, listening to the radio and gramophone records, reading cheap magazines and paperback books. There will be a particular emphasis on silent cinema as both experience and evidence of the modern. The central theme of the course will be the emergence of a mass society and the ways that the pleasures of commercial popular culture affected the experience of the modern -- and of being modern -- by those masses. In particular, it will examine how such experiences affected the meanings of modern masculinity, femininity and sexuality.
Proposed assessment: Tutorial participation, a short exercise and a final essay.
This course can be counted towards a History, Film Studies or Gender, Sexuality and Culture major.
22 hours of lectures and 10 hours of tutorials
Prerequisite: Two first-year courses to the value of 12 units.
Syllabus: This course will consider the recent moves within feminist history to bring "race" into its focus on gender. As black feminists and women of colour within Australia and overseas have noted, Western feminism and feminist history has for too long overlooked the centrality of racial issues and race relations to the histories and politics of "women" in Australia".
This course will investigate the impact of new imperial and colonial history and rewritings of national history upon the field of feminist history. We will begin by asking what are the implications of writing history which recognises power relations operating between women differently constituted within dominant discourses of national, imperial and colonial relations. We will then investigate recent claims for both the complicity and resistance of colonising women in their proximity to other women as well as the work of indigenous women in activist history. This course ends with a short introduction to postcolonial theory.
Proposed assessment: Tutorial participation and written work.
Incompatibility: WOMS2019 Race, Gender and Nation
This course may be counted towards a Gender, Sexuality and Culture or History or Indigeneous Australian Studies major.
20 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorial, plus film screenings
Lecturer: Dr Kennedy and Ms Wilson
Prerequisites: Any first-year courses to the value of twelve points
Syllabus: This course is concerned with the cultural politics of memory and trauma. Whose memories are sought, believed and commemorated in the public sphere? What problems do traumatic events present for those attempting to commemorate or represent them? Is trauma a useful cross-cultural concept? We will begin by tracing the history of the concept of trauma in psychoanalysis, medicine and popular culture. Next, students will be introduced to theories of memory and trauma drawn from cultural studies, anthropology, history, psychoanalysis, and feminist theory. We will study the cultural politics of trauma and memory in in relation to two events -- the Holocaust and the Stolen Generations. In particular, we will consider the relationship between trauma, history and mourning, the role of public memorials, and the problem of "forgetting". Texts for study will include autobiographies, films, novels, poetry, testimonials, media texts and political essays.
Proposed Assessment: 3,000-4,000 words of written work, and tutorial participation.
Incompatibility: WOMS2021 Trauma, Memory and Culture
This course can be counted towards a Gender, Sexuality and Culture or History or Indigenous Australian Studies major.
History comprehends all aspects of human experience. History courses offered in the School of Humanities explore that experience, help students to develop critical and analytical skills, and encourage them to ask questions which lead to an understanding of past and present societies.
Within these courses it is possible for students to pursue their particular interests, for example in politics, economics, philosophy, and religion. Our courses also explore the historical significance of ideas, technologies, and cultures. Some courses cover broad themes across national boundaries, while others explore the theories and values that underlie all historical explanations. There are courses that investigate Australian society, and others which examine aspects of Western societies and cultures in Europe and North America. Students can include in their History major courses on aspects of Asian History offered by the Faculty of Asian Studies.
History is, therefore, an important discipline within an Arts degree, and in the various combined degrees (eg Arts/Law, Arts/Science, Arts/ Economics). History courses are also included in many of the majors offered within the Faculty of Arts, notably Australian Studies, Gender, Sexuality and Culture, Indigenous Australian Studies, Political Communications and Religious Studies.
While students who have studied history before coming to University will be able to extend their knowledge and interest, no prior grounding in history is required to take these courses.
Apart from Faculty requirements there is no limit on the number of History courses that may be included in the pass degree course.
Students may take the Arts degree with honours in the Honours School of History.
All courses are of one semester's duration, and are worth 6 units, with the exception of HIST2134 20th Century Australia, which is a full year, 12 unit course.
A History major consists of a minimum of 42 units, made up of a maximum of twelve units in first-year History courses, with a minimum of 30 units in later-year courses offered or approved for the major.
Alternatively the History pass major may consist of 42 units from later-year courses offered or approved for the major where the first-year History courses are counted as part of another major or where exemption from the first-year History courses has been granted by the Convener. At least 30 units must be in History courses taught in the School of Humanities. Courses that are jointly taught will count as History courses if they are listed as such.
In all History courses students will be required to submit written work by the due dates, attend tutorial classes and present prescribed tutorial exercises. Tutorial attendance is compulsory even if specific marks are not allotted for tutorial participation, and students who miss more than three tutorials in any semester in any particular History course may be excluded from assessment in that course. Students are expected to possess prescribed text-books and course readings and will be expected to use them in tutorials and, in some instances, in examinations.
Methods of assessment will be discussed with students early in each semester. A student's final grade in a course will usually take into account some or all of the following elements: essays and other exercises undertaken in the course; contributions to tutorials; a final examination or, alternatively, a synoptic essay. In first-year courses the final examination is compulsory; in later-year courses there is normally a choice between a final examination and a synoptic essay.
For all later-year courses forming part of a History major the prerequisites are any first-year courses to the value of twelve units offered by History, unless otherwise specified.
The following courses, up to a maximum of 12 units, may be counted towards a History major.
See entries in this Handbook under the relevant major or Centre for descriptions of these courses.
Artefacts and Society in the Greco-Roman World ANCH2009
Economy and Society in Ancient Greece ANCH2011
Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome ANCH2012
Victims and Perpetrators of the Imperialistic Roman Republic ANCH2013
Chinese Southern Diaspora ASHI3002
Colonialism and Resistance: Indonesia, Malaysia and the Phillipines ASHY2011
Gender and Power in East Asia ASHI2016
History of Modern Japan: Imperial Japan 1895-1945 ASHI2029
Indonesia: Politics, Society and Development ASHI2516
Modern Japanese Society ASHI2009
Pre-Modern Japan: History and Culture ASHI2261
Religion and Politics in India 1193-1858 ASIA2161
Religion and Politics in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, 1858 to the present ASIA2163
State, Society and Politics in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Phillipines ASIA2012
Two one-hour lectures and one hour-long tutorial per week. Lectures will be taped
Syllabus: Australian history can be seen as the story of European, especially British, cultures meeting, confronting, and interacting with indigenous societies in a large island continent located in the Asia-Pacific region. In this course we explore the broad outlines of this history, beginning with the forces in British society leading to the establishment of colonies on the other side of the world and moving onto the complex, protracted, and still continuing processes whereby these colonies were transformed into an independent nation. We consider the ways in which the creation of an Australian nation involved and continues to involve extensive debates on national identity, our political institutions, and relationships with Britain and Asia. Within this broad framework, themes of particular interest include: relationships between indigenous and non-indigenous people, especially in connection with land; divergent experiences of migration and settlement; Australian experiences of war and their place in collective memory; class and gender relationships; and changes in popular culture in newspapers, novels, radio, theatre, film, music, and television.
This course also aims to help students to think historically, by introducing issues such as historical interpretation, narrative, and memory.
Proposed assessment: Tutorial participation, short assignments, an essay of 2,500 words, and an examination.
Two hour-long lectures and one hour-long tutorial per week. Lectures will be taped.
Syllabus: The expansion of the Second British Empire from the late 18th century created or transformed societies throughout the New World. The legacy of this empire meant in some cases the substantial implantation of British civilisation, and in others the superficial introduction of Western democracy. The imperial inheritance also bestowed racial and ethnic divisions, social inequalities, and lop-sided economic and cultural development. In this course we shall investigate how new states emerged and older ones collapsed; how traditional religions and political structures resisted or collaborated, or contrived to do both; how racial attitudes determined the character of British or settler rule; and how the character of colonial government in turn affected racial feelings. Other themes to be examined include: the formation or development of white settler colonies; the abolition of the slave trade; the imposition of colonial rule; the spread of mission Christianity and of Western education; the growth of trade and investment; and the demands of imperial security. Our study of these themes will focus upon Africa, Australia, and the Pacific, notably Fiji.
Proposed assessment: Two essays (of 1,000 and 2,500 words respectively), tutorial participation, and a final examination.
Offered in 2002, offered in 2003
26 hours of lectures and 12 tutorials
Coordinator: Dr Forth and Professor Papadakis
Syllabus: This course develops perspectives on the concept of Europe from the Middle Ages to the 20th century. It considers political, social and cultural forces at work on European countries both with respect to elements of unity and diversity, to traditions and innovations and to the significance of notions like democracy, authoritarianism, the nation state, social class and citizenship.
Among the core themes are the idea of European unity, the shifting boundaries of European culture and identity, the development of political, social and economic theory, the impact of encounters with cultures outside of Europe, the consequences of transformations like the political and the industrial revolutions of the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the development of a welfare state and models of unifying Europe today.
The course provides access to perspectives on modern Europe, which are critical of prevailing orthodoxies, constructive in attempting to understand the benefits of particular courses of action and offer explanations and interpretations of social, political and cultural forces at work in Europe.
Proposed assessment: Tutorial paper, essay and examination
Incompatibility: EURO1002 Foundations of Modern Europe.
This course can be counted towards the Contemporary Europe, or History, or International Relations majors.
Offered in 2002; offered in 2003
Two one-hour lectures per week. One tutorial per week, one hour. Lectures will be taped
Syllabus: This course considers the history of the United States from the origins of the American Revolution through 1900. It surveys the political, social, economic, and cultural developments of the United States with particular attention to the struggles over who was, and what it meant to be, 'American'. We will examine the following themes:
Proposed assessment: Short writing assignments (2,500 words), tutorial participation, and a final examination (1,500 words).
Syllabus: There are three facets to this study: the stories themselves; the Greek, Roman, and subsequent contexts and the ways in which the stories have been presented; the various attempts in recent years to account for the enduring appeal of these myths. The ancient myths and legends as a form of history, their prevalence in art, the narrative techniques used, and some religious, philosophical and poetic dimensions will be addressed. While the primary focus is on the classical sources, the various interests and disciplinary backgrounds that members of the class may bring to the subject will be integral to the course.
Proposed assessment: Based on tutorial work, a 1,500 essay and a one-hour test.
Incompatibility: ANCH2012 Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome.
This course can be counted towards a Classics, History, or Religious Studies major.
Offered in 2002, first semester, and in 2003
Two lectures and one tutorial per week. Lectures will be taped.
Syllabus: This course considers the political, social and cultural history of Rome in the period when the Roman state changed from a republic to a virtual monarchy (approximately 70BC-70AD). Through a study of ancient sources it examines the crisis in republican institutions brought about by the growth in Rome's empire, the civil wars, the Augustan settlement and the Julio-Claudian dynasty. It also considers the development of social classes (including slaves) and the roles of women in this period. Finally it considers cultural developments, with particular attention to literature, art and architecture.
Proposed assessment: a bibliographical assignment, a historiographical assignment, one essay, tutorial participation and a final examination.
The prerequisite for later-year courses forming a History major is first-year courses to the value of twelve units offered by History. For particular later-year courses not forming part of a major, other courses may serve as prerequisites where specified in majors, or where judged appropriate by the Convener.
Two one-hour lectures per week. One tutorial per week, one hour for eight weeks. Lectures will be taped.
Prerequisites: Any first year history courses to the value of twelve units or with permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: This course will introduce students to key issues in African American history including slavery, emancipation, and the struggle for equal rights. In this course we will focus on a social history of race relations but pay close attention to the important role of politics and economics in shaping white and black interactions from the colonial period through the recent past. In addition students will be exposed to the rich secondary literature and historiographical debates on how African Americans played a crucial role in forging and maintaining their own institutions and fashioning their own culture. They will also be introduced to the considerable range of primary sources--including official and private records, autobiographies, oral histories, and folklore.
Proposed assessment: Short writing assignments, tutorial participation, and a lecture proposal project.
20 lectures, weekly tutorials. Lectures will be taped.
Prerequisites: Any first year History courses to the value of twelve units or with permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: The 1960s in the United States were marked by prosperity, social unrest, a losing war, large scale civil rights movements and the flowering of youth culture. In the process the 1960s became one of the most documented, celebrated and condemned decades of the twentieth century. This course examines the 1960s in a historical perspective in order to raise questions about the longer term significance of the Vietnam War, the War against Poverty, Civil Rights and the counter culture for American society and values. Along the way we can also explore the usefulness of decades as courses of historical time and the parallels and contrasts between the experiences of the United States, Britain, France and Australia during these years.
Proposed assessment: Tutorial participation, a research essay and either a formal examination or a synoptic essay.
One 90 minute lecture and one tutorial per week
Prerequisites: Any first-year History courses to the value of twelve units or with permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: This course is designed to expose students to some of the most significant works of American social and cultural analysis since 1900. The major organising theme of the course concerns changing conceptions of community made necessary by two sets of phenomena. The first were the great intellectual and social `revolutions' of the age, including Darwinism, industrialisation and consumerism. The second influence came from a new conception of society itself, which stressed the competing, and often divergent, interests and concerns of various ethnic, racial, gender and regional groups. These phenomena presented two interrelated problems to many American intellectuals after 1900: first, to redefine the individual's citizenship and sovereignty within an increasingly organised society, and secondly to recreate a sense of community within a new context of perceived social diversity.
Proposed assessment: One 3,000 word essay, tutorial participation, and a final examination. Other forms of optional assessment will be available.
Prerequisite: Twelve units from any of the following: any first-year History courses; any first-year Classics courses; any first year Religious Studies courses; or with permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: The history and religion of ancient Israel, as presented in the Hebrew Bible (or Old Testament), have determined the political, religious, ethical and social thinking of many later societies. This course considers the literary sources for our knowledge of ancient Israel, including the Bible and related texts, but also relevant archaeological data. It then places Israel in the context of other ancient Near Eastern cultures. Finally it considers the development and influence of the Jewish religion, in ancient and more recent times, and Jewish and Christian understandings of the Bible.
Proposed assessment: Based on written work, tutorial participation and a final examination.
Incompatibility: CLAS2007 Biblical Literature I
This course can be counted towards a Classics, History or Religious Studies major.
24 hours of lectures, 11 hours of tutorials. Lectures will be taped.
Prerequisites: First-year courses in History to the value of twelve units, or permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: This course adopts a thematic approach, focusing on work and workers in a series of formative contexts: Aboriginal society; the convict system; pastoralism and mining; colonial plantation economies; domestic labour and the family; small farming; manufacturing and industrialisation. It seeks to analyse the interactions of race, class, gender and ethnicity in Australia's development, to examine their role in forming a national identity, and to locate a 'settler society' within the world economy.
At a more general level, this course will link Australia's experience with that of other colonised countries: for instance, by seeing how labour forces are created, and how Australians themselves have contrived this in Queensland, Fiji and Papua New Guinea. It will also clarify and trace to their source Australians' perceptions of their own society and of other societies that impinge upon it, whether through immigration or as neighbours in Asia and the Pacific.
Proposed assessment: A research essay of 3,000 words, tutorial participation, and a synoptic essay of 2,000 words.
24 hours of lectures, 11 hours of tutorials. Lectures will be taped.
Prerequisites: First-year courses in History to the value of twelve units, or permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: This course investigates European settlement in Australia, with particular emphasis on convicts and emigrants, from the decade of Cook's discovery to the advent of Federation. Major themes of this course will include the characteristics of a `settler society', issues of race and gender on the frontier, class formation in colonial communities, and Australia's role in British colonial policy. We shall explore the following topics, among others: the nature and functioning of the convict system; the vices and virtues of a convict colony; the debate over penal transportation; the successive emigrations of British and Irish peoples; their expectations and experience as settlers in a `new' country; the encounter with Aboriginal Australia; the transfer of British ideas, values and institutions; and the growth of Australian national identity. We shall also consider colonial perceptions of the imperial relationship, the colonists' views of the world and of themselves, and images of Australia, whether as a `land of criminals' or as `a new Britannia in another world'.
Proposed assessment: A research essay of 3,000 words, tutorial participation, and either a synoptic essay of 2,000 words or a final examination.
24 hours of lectures, 11 hours of tutorials. Lectures will be taped.
Prerequisites: First-year courses in History to the value of twelve units, or permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: This course examines the history of rural Australia, from the `squatting age' of the 1830s and `40s to the era of `globalisation'. A number of major themes will be pursued, including patterns of settlement, issues of race and class in the outback, gender roles in rural communities, and the relationship between city and country. Among specific topics for study we shall explore the following: pastoral dominance, `unlocking the lands', sources of rural labour, the rise and fall of country towns, rural politics, race relations in the bush, work practices and technology, farming and the environment, rural social institutions, and the economics of survival in commodity production. We shall also discuss government policy and rural development, the role of the bush in the national psyche, urban perceptions of life on the land, and the view from the country in the late twentieth century.
Proposed assessment: A research essay, tutorial participation and either a synoptic essay or an examination.
Three contact hours a week (lectures/workshops and tutorial).
Prerequisites: First-year courses in History to the value of twelve units, or permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: A study of English society, culture and politics from the arrival of bubonic plague in Western Europe to the death of Richard III at Bosworth Field, the traditional date for the end of the English Middle Ages. The course looks critically at the concept that medieval civilisation declined in these centuries, to the point where the accession of the Tudors can be viewed as marking the transition to a distinctively different period. Topics covered will include the impact of the Black Death on economy and society; towns and trade; the Hundred Years War and the rise of nationalism; political instability and the Wars of the Roses; the emergence of parliament as an important institution of government; heresy and criticism of the Church; the status of women; Robin Hood and the problem of social disorder; and the Gothic art and architecture of the period. Emphasis will be placed on interpretation of primary sources (historical, archaeological, literary and artistic), but no language skills other than English will be required.
Proposed assessment: Based on written work, tutorial participation, and optional examination.
One lecture and one tutorial (of one or two hours) per week. Lectures will be taped.
Prerequisites: Any first year History courses to the value of twelve units or permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: This course aims to provide students with an introduction to the development of selected modern mass media, including the popular press, telegraph, radio, and television, in the United States between 1865 and the present. After examining some theoretical explanations and forecasts of the role of modern media in society, both historical and contemporary, the course will explore the ways in which each succeeding wave of communication media has confirmed or confronted the received culture of the United States. Lectures and tutorial readings will focus upon the ways in which these media have altered perception and practice of political and popular cultures over time and space in the United States. Where appropriate, materials dealing with the impact of mass media within and upon British and Australian societies will also be used. The course will conclude with an examination of the impact, both present and future, of the networked computer upon the politics and popular culture of the United States.
Proposed Assessment: One essay (40%), tutorial participation and assignments (20%), and a final examination or thematic essay (40%).
Two one-hour lectures per week and eight one-hour fortnightly tutorials. Lectures will be taped.
Prerequisite: Any first-year history courses to the value of twelve units or permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: Is it possible to study the history of the human body? In recent years scholars in the humanities and social sciences have not only responded affirmatively to this question, but have demonstrated how the body itself changes depending upon its social and historical context. Most importantly, such scholars have suggested a close connection between conceptions of the personal body and the mainstream thinking about the body politic, making the study of one essential for the study of the other. Considering the body as a legitimate object of study, in short, not only offers a wealth of new material for historical investigation, but opens up innovative ways of thinking about history in general.
This course explores the role of the human body in the creation of personal and social identities in the western world since the sixteenth century. We will proceed thematically rather than strictly chronologically, and will combine historical investigation with contemporary theoretical reflections on the relationship between the body, society and the creation of the modern notion of the self. We will consider an eclectic and lively mix of topics, such as: the connection between posture and morality; table manners and interpersonal relations; changing notions of cleanliness and hygiene; exercise, dieting, and body-building; sexuality and personal identity; fashion, make-up and cosmetic surgery; vegetarianism, self-help literature and alternative medicine; and tattooing and body modification.
Proposed assessment: Response essays and a short research essay totalling 4,000 words.
24 hours of lectures, 11 hours of tutorials. Lectures will be taped.
Prerequisites: First-year courses in History to the value of twelve units or permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: This course will explore the social history of medicine since the mid-eighteenth century, with some consideration of its British and American dimensions, but giving particular attention to the Australian experience. It will investigate such topics as: perceptions of health, disease and the sick; orthodoxy and unorthodoxy; the impact of medical innovations; the growth and metamorphosis of the charity hospital; the role of the patient; the rise of female nursing; the professionalisation of medicine; its relationships with other health professions and with the state; issues of medicine and gender; the role of doctors in public health and the wider community; and professional and public responses to epidemics.
Proposed assessment: A research essay of 3,000 words, tutorial participation, and a synoptic essay of 2,000 words.
Twenty lectures, weekly tutorials. Lectures will be taped.
Prerequisite: Any first year courses to the value of twelve units from any of the following: History, Classics, Religious Studies, or with permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: The "quest of the historical Jesus" has been one of the most debated issues in modern historical research, partly because it affects the theological claims made for Jesus by the Christian religion. This course examines the ancient sources for Jesus' life, including the New Testament and related literature, and attempts to place Jesus in his Jewish and wider context. It then considers the rise of the Christian religion, with particular attention to ancient social factors. Finally it discusses the various modern quests of the historical Jesus, and examines their motivations.
Proposed assessment: Based on written work, tutorial participation and a final examination.
One two hour lecture and one hour tutorial per week. Lectures will be taped
Lecturers: Dr Forth, Dr Powers
Prerequisites: At least twelve units at first year level in History (Faculty of Arts) or Asian History (Faculty of Asian Studies).
Students entering History IV must have successfully completed this course.
Syllabus: This course explores long-standing and recent debates over the nature of history, historians, and the past. The course will consider a wide variety of historical texts, looking at notions of historical truth, history as process, and how historians construct an historical past. In particular, it will focus on the theory and writing of history since the linguistic turn. Topics will include: the Annales School; social history; Marxist theories of history; 'postcolonial' critiques of history; Foucault and the new cultural history; feminist histories; and postmodernism and history.
Three hours per week of lecture and tutorial. Lectures will be taped.
Prerequisites: If this course is to be included in a History major, any first year History courses to the value of twelve units otherwise any first year courses to the value of twelve units.
Syllabus: This course will examine the emergence of the new field of the history of sexuality, both as an example of the creation of a new field of knowledge and in terms of the substantive issues it has explored. Specific topics will vary from year to year, but will include three or four of the following: fertility, contraception and abortion; sexually transmitted diseases; sexual violence; prostitution; pornography; homosexual/lesbian identities; cross-dressing; masturbation; sexual panics and moral regulation; race, nationalism, eugenics and sexuality; sexology and sexual knowledges in various periods.
One lecture and a tutorial/seminar, plus up to three hours for film viewing each week.
Prerequisites: If this course is to be included in a History major, any first year History courses to the value of twelve units. If it is to be included in a Film Studies major, Intro to Film Studies FILM1001 otherwise any first year courses to the value of twelve units.
Syllabus: Throughout the twentieth century, film and television rather than books have been the medium from which many people have gained knowledge of history and a consciousness of the past. This course will address the issue of how we can assess and evaluate the contribution of popular film to our sense of the past. How does popular film represent, reconstruct and interpret the past? What can film do that a history book cannot? It will look at an array of film genres: historical feature film, biopic, documentary, docudrama.
A number of specific films will be examined (1) as representations or interpretations of history; (2) as forms of evidence for social, cultural and political history; and (3) in the context of the history of the film industry.
Proposed assessment: Tutorial participation and two essays. Details will be finalised in consultation with students.
Twenty lectures and 12 tutorials, plus video and film screenings. Lectures will be taped
Prerequisites: If this course is to be included in a History major, 12 units in first-year History. Otherwise, any one first year course from Anthropology, Archaeology (ARCH or PREH), Sociology or Political Science or 12 first year units in the Australian Studies, Aboriginal Studies or Indigenous Studies majors.
Syllabus: A study of the history of Indigenous Australians since European contact. We consider the ways in which the conceptual tools for understanding this history have changed over time, in response both to a changing political climate and the increasing impact of Indigenous perspectives on historical writing. Topics to be covered include: first contact; processes of invasion, dispossession, and settlement; Indigenous workers and labour relations; the gendered and sexual dimensions of colonisation in the Australian context; changes to government policy; the motivations for and experience and consequences of the large-scale removal of children from their parents; the constitutional changes of 1967; the struggle for land rights; and housing, health, and education. There will be special attention to the dialogue between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians through various cultural forms such as writing and the visual and performing arts, and through public protest and political action for Aboriginal rights.
Students will be encouraged to use the extensive resources for Indigenous history located in Canberra, at the Australian Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, the National Museum of Australia, and elsewhere. An excursion to a site of significance in Indigenous history is planned.
Proposed assessment: Two essays and tutorial participation.
Incompatibility: HIST2022 Aboriginal Australian History
This course can be counted towards a History, Indigenous Australian Studies (Aboriginal Studies) or Australian Studies major.
Three contact hours a week (lectures/workshops and tutorial). Lectures will be taped
Prerequisites: History first year courses to the value of twelve units, or permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: This course studies the central institution in the civilisation of Western Europe during the high middle ages, the Church. It begins with the accession to the papal throne of Innocent III, whose pontificate sees the supreme authority in the Western Church at the height of its power. It examines the challenges to papal power in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and ends with the Great Schism, which permanently compromised papal authority. The problems of the relations of the Church with the secular rulers of Western Europe are a continuing theme of the course. So too is the reforming program launched by the Fourth Lateran Council, whose successes and failures are evaluated through an examination of the writings of various 14th-century authors (including Dante, Boccacio, and Langland). Religious dissent and its forcible suppression through the machinery of the Inquisition will also be studied, and the relationship between heresy and orthodox popular piety examined. In general the focus is on understanding the role of religion and the institutional Church in medieval society, and exploring the ways in which religious belief and practice were shaped by their changing social context.
Proposed assessment: Based on written work, tutorial participation, and optional examination.
This course can be counted towards a History or Religious Studies major.
One lecture of one and a half hours incorporating video material; one tutorial of one hour per week. There will be additional film screenings of up to two hours per week.
Prerequisites: If this course is to be included in a History major, any first year History courses to the value of twelve units. If it is to be included in a Film Studies major, Intro to Film Studies Film1001 otherwise, any first year courses to the value of twelve units.
Syllabus: This course will look at the development of and theories about mass popular culture and leisure activities from around 1880 to the late 1920s, focusing on the great modern cities of New York and Sydney, with occasional glances to Paris, London and Berlin. It will examine the social and individual consequences of the new ways in which urban masses used their leisure: going shopping, going to the movies, listening to the radio and gramophone records, reading cheap magazines and paperback books. There will be a particular emphasis on silent cinema as both experience and evidence of the modern. The central theme of the course will be the emergence of a mass society and the ways that the pleasures of commercial popular culture affected the experience of the modern-and of being modern-by those masses. In particular, it will examine how such experiences affected the meanings of modern masculinity, femininity and sexuality.
Proposed assessment: Tutorial participation, a short exercise and a final essay.
This course can be counted towards a Gender, Sexuality and Culture, Film Studies or History major.
One 2-hour lecture and one tutorial per week.
Prerequisites: History first year courses to the value of twelve units, or permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: This course introduces students to the roots of modern racism by focusing on the development of European medical and scientific knowledge since the eighteenth century. We will investigate the ways in which the concept of `race' has been constructed in the human sciences and reveal its interconnections with other ways of thinking about human difference, especially gender and class. Much time will be spent exploring the historical role of the body as the bearer of this culturally-defined sense of difference and the range of possible consequences springing from such thinking, including discrimination, segregation, eugenics, and extermination. We will also take stock of the appearance of racialised concepts and imagery in the European cultural tradition by examining literature, poetry, and the graphic arts. Finally, we will consider the historical effects of such concepts with reference to the development of empire, immigration restrictions, and the mass extermination of the Jews during the Holocaust.
Seminars and excursions, class contact average three hours per week.
Prerequisites: Completion of 24 units in History, including History and Theory HIST2110.
Syllabus: This course aims to assist students to undertake original research in history through discussion of questions of method and ethics in historical research and writing, and through students undertaking research exercises and a research essay. Each student will be helped to formulate an independent research proposal in a field of history known to both the teacher and the student. Students will be encouraged to conduct research using a variety of traditional and non-traditional historical sources, such as published and archival written documents, oral history, material culture, place and cultural landscape, and visual sources such as photographs and film. Excursions are arranged to various relevant institutions in Canberra (such as the National Library, the War Memorial, National Film and Sound Archive, the National Museum of Australia repositories, the National Archives of Australia, the Noel Butlin Archives). Staff at each of these institutions will supply an introduction to the strength of holdings, relevance to historical research, and methods of access to the collections.
Students will also be encouraged to experiment with historical writing. There will be some discussion of the diverse forms historical writing has taken, and the possibilities for innovation in writing history. Students will have an opportunity to give work-in-progress seminars before submitting the final version of their research essay. Workshops are designed to encourage students to reflect on their work, and offer each other constructive criticism and support.
Proposed assessment: 5,000-word research essay; short exercises interpreting source material; seminar participation.
Three contact hours a week (lectures/workshops and tutorial). Lectures will be taped.
Prerequisites: Any two first-year courses to a total value of 12 units
Syllabus: The religious, social, cultural and political history of England between the Henrician Reformation in the 1530s and the early seventeenth century. The course will begin with the changes in the English Church introduced by Henry VIII, and the successive attempts at a religious settlement will be discussed. Another focus will be the nature of Tudor society, which will be explored with the aid of literary evidence. Topics for consideration will include social hierarchies and social change, gender relations, urban and rural society, popular and elite culture, the development of theatres and drama, literacy and education, the nature of royal government and the role of parliament, relations with Scotland and Ireland, diplomacy and warfare.
Proposed assessment: Based on written work, tutorial participation, and optional examination.
Two lectures and one tutorial a week. Lectures will be taped.
Prerequisites: Any first year History courses to the value of twelve units, or with the permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: The idea of technological revolution helps define and explain one of the most important phenomena of modern life: that we live in a time of profound and constant change. This comparative history course will examine the growth of technology and its impact on various societies in Europe, America and Australia over the past 200 years. Topics examined will include industrialisation, transportation, early science fiction, electrification, mass production, telecommunications, warfare, domestic technologies, flight and the computer revolution. Key issues addressed are mankind's relationship with technology (technophilia versus technophobia), the process of invention and development, technological determinism, and the role of gender in the history of technology. A particular focus of the course will be the cultural and social aspects of technological change, exploring the interaction between ideas, technology and the way people lived their lives.
Two one-hour lectures per week. One one-hour tutorial per week, for eight weeks. Lectures will be taped.
Prerequisites: Any first year history courses to the value of twelve points or with permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: This course considers the history of the United States in the twentieth century. It surveys the political, social, economic, and cultural developments of the United States with particular attention to the struggles over who is, and what it means to be, 'American'. We will examine the contested meanings of citizenship, especially in the context of demands for gender and racial equality; the geographical expansion and foreign policy of the United States and its influences on world history; the industrial age and class formation in the 20th centuries; the impact of World War I, World War II, and Vietnam; the rise of the liberal state with a focus on the influence of reform and social protest movements; and the United States' development as a multi-racial and multi-ethnic society.
Proposed assessment: Short writing assignments (2000 words), tutorial participation, and a final examination or take-home final examination (2000 words).
Two lectures and one tutorial a week. Lectures will be taped
Prerequisite: Any first year History courses to the value of twelve units, or with the permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: This course will focus on the processes, ideas and events -- external and internal -- that have shaped Australia since it achieved nationhood in 1901. The course is organised thematically, rather than chronologically and will emphasise a practical approach to the study of Australian history. Themes and topics to be examined include: Federal-State politics, class struggle and industrial relations; the treatment of Aborigines; ethnic divisions and sectarianism; political protest in rural Australia; crime and corruption; the changing role of women; depression and unemployment; the two world wars; migration and multiculturalism; poverty, affluence and consumerism; sport and national identity; Vietnam, student protest and Aboriginal cultural renaissance.
Proposed assessment: Tutorial participation, essays, and an optional end-of-year essay or examination.
Incompatibility: HIST2010 Modern Australia, HIST2011 Modern Australia.
This course can be counted towards an Australian Studies or History major.
* N.B. If you wish to take this course you must enrol in both HIST2134A (First Semester) and HIST2134B (Second Semester). This course continues over a full-year and is not divisible into semesters. There is no formal assessment at the end of the first semester. You will not receive a final grade until you have completed Part B at the end of the year. If you drop Part A in First Semester you must also drop Part B.
Two lectures and one tutorial a week. Lectures will be taped
Fieldwork: Two half days over the course of the semester
Prerequisites: Any first-year History courses to the value of twelve units.
Syllabus: Australia is one of the most heavily urbanised nations on earth. It also has an extraordinarily large concentration of its population in large metropolitan centres. This is surprising given Australia's reputation overseas (and its image of itself) as a country of wide-open spaces, laconic bushfolk and an economy built on rural industries and mining.
This course will examine the history of the growth and development of city and suburban living in Australia. Theories and models of city development will be presented -- the commercial city, the industrial city, the metropolis and the hinterland, ideal cities and garden suburbs, the post-modern city -- and their applicability to the history of urban development in Australia explored. Themes to be examined will include: poverty, crime and corruption; the revolutions in public health, transport and communications; suburbia and domestic architecture; planning, city architecture, and high culture; settlement patterns, immigration, urban decay and urban rebirth.
Proposed assessment: Based on written work, tutorial participation, and optional examination.
Two one-hour lectures and one tutorial per week. Lectures will be taped.
Prerequisite: Any first-year history courses to the value of twelve units or permission of Convener
Syllabus: This course examines the history of immigration and ethnicity in the United States between 1820 and the present. We will consider the processes, politics, and cultures of "new" Americans settling into the United States. Instead of adopting the traditional view of immigrants embracing the "American Way," we will focus on how immigrants retained and refashioned their ethnic identities. We will study immigration and ethnicity in terms of its relevance to the law, urbanisation, religion, slavery, mass culture, and the transformation of race, class, and gender relations in the U.S. In addition, we will compare and contrast U.S. immigration and ethnic history to that of other countries including Australia. By looking at world migration patterns, we will place the history of immigration to the U.S. in a larger, less "exceptional" context.
Proposed assessment: One essay, short weekly writing assignments, tutorial participation, and a final exam or thematic essay.
One lecture, a 2 hour film or documentary screening, and one tutorial a week. Lectures will be taped.
Prerequisite: Any first year History courses to the value of twelve units, or with the permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: The Second World War was the greatest conflict in history. An estimated 50 million men, women and children died in a war that engulfed the globe and shaped the world in which we live; it is the defining event in the history of the twentieth century. This comparative history course will focus on political, social and cultural aspects of World War Two. It will encompass the war in Europe, and the war in Asia and the Pacific. Topics and themes will include: Hitler and Japan's war aims; Blitzkrieg in Poland and France; the uses of propaganda; civilian mobilisation and total war; the effects of mass bombing; allied leadership, cooperation and division (Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin); civilians under Nazi occupation (collaboration and resistance); racial policies and genocide; wartime espionage; science at war; Japan's occupation of South East Asia; anti-colonialism and the war in Asia; planning for peace and the liberation of Europe; the decision to drop the atomic bomb.
Two lectures and a tutorial each week. Lectures will be taped.
Prerequisites: Completion of twelve units at first year level. There is no requirement to complete first year history before undertaking this course.
Syllabus: This course surveys the past on the largest possible scale, providing a framework within which it is possible to ask large historical questions. It considers various attempts to understand the human past as a whole, and to define its major phases, periods, or epochs. It also considers different notions of time (such as linear, cyclical, calendrical, historical) involved in these attempts. There is discussion, of the value and limitations of conventional western forms of periodisation, such as ancient, medieval, early modern, and modern. Though designed for students in History, this course should also be of interest to students in many other disciplines and fields.
The course focuses on the relationship between humans and their environment in the broadest sense. It begins by placing human history in a larger context by exploring understandings of the origins of the Universe itself, the planet we inhabit, life on earth, and the emergence of our own species. It then considers different modes of human survival and interaction with the environment, from earliest times to the present. It subjects to historical investigation both the mind (belief, knowledge, arts, sciences) and the body (food, drink, sex, health, and disease), and their inter-relation. Themes include: different and changing forms of community, including family, village, farm, city, nation, and diaspora, and changes in the extent and forms of interaction beyond these communities, such as empires, migration, trade, and war.
Proposed assessment: Students will be assessed through tutorial participation, essays and/or tutorial exercises, and either a formal examination or an additional essay.
20 lectures, weekly tutorials. Lectures will be taped.
Lecturers: Mr Barnes (History), Dr Campbell (English)
Prerequisites: First-year courses in English or History to the value of twelve units, or permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: The course will examine the transition from orality to literacy in ancient and modern societies, the form, diffusion and purpose of books, and the development of libraries as intellectual and social institutions. It will give special attention to the invention of printing and its results. It will introduce students to theories of textual criticism and some practical problems of editing and preservation of texts. Finally it will consider the possible effects of the present `digital revolution' on reading, literature, libraries and the storage and diffusion of information.
Proposed assessment: One bibliographical exercise involving scholarly use of on-line resources; one research essay; one two-hour examination; tutorial performance. This proposal will be discussed in the classes of the first weeks of the course.
Honours Convener: Dr Dennis Deslippe
Intending honours students should first read the general statement 'The Degree with Honours' in the introductory section of the Faculty of Arts entry.
Students entering the honours year (History IV) need to have completed the pass degree with 60 units in at least 10 courses offered or approved for the History major. At least 48 of the 60 units must be in History courses taught in the School of Humanities, and students must have completed both History and Theory HIST2110 and Researching and Writing History HIST3006 OR Third Year Honours Seminar HIST3005.
Of the 60 History units required to enter the honours year (History IV), at least twelve units must be completed at Distinction level or above and the remainder at Credit level or above. Students may compensate for up to twelve units in History at Pass level with an equal number of points in History at Distinction level or above (that is, in addition to the twelve Distinction units which are required as a minimum).
Students entering a combined honours year will need to have completed 48 units in courses offered or approved for the History major. At least 30 of the 48 units must be in History courses taught in the School of Humanities, and students must have completed both History and Theory HIST2110 and Researching and Writing History HIST3006 OR Third Year Honours Seminar HIST3005. Students considering a combined honours year should consult the Convener as early as possible.
Of the 48 History units required to enter a combined honours year, at least six must be at Distinction level or above and the remainder at Credit level or above. Students may compensate for up to twelve units in History at Pass level with an equal number of points in History at Distinction level or above (that is, in addition to the six Distinction units which are required as a minimum).
The coursework of the honours year will be prescribed from year to year by the Convener.
History 4A, a research thesis of 15,000 words on an approved topic. The thesis must be submitted on a specified date soon after the end of the first semester; students will give at least one seminar on their topic during the first semester. Students are expected to have sought approval for their topic and made supervision arrangements with a member of staff no later than January.
History 4B, a special course involving intensive reading, weekly tutorials and the presentation of essays during the second semester.
History 4C, a special course involving intensive reading, weekly tutorials and the presentation of written essays during the second semester.
Final honours results are determined on the basis of History IV as a whole.
History provides teaching and supervision of research projects in a range of courses within the Graduate School. Courses are available leading to the Graduate Diploma and to the degrees of Master of Arts, Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy. Normally graduate students will be enrolled in the History Program of the Graduate School, but students can also undertake M Phil and PhD study through the Australian Studies Program of the Graduate School, or the Women's Studies Program.
Prospective students should consult the Graduate School website www.anu.edu.au/graduate/. They are advised to contact the Graduate Convener in the History Program for advice about admission procedures and the availability of supervision in the field they wish to study.
Convener: Dr Jeremy Shearmur, BScEcon MSc PhD Lond.
Philosophy is an investigation into fundamental matters of human concern. It is at the same time an investigation into problems fundamental to the various special disciplines pursued in a university. It includes logic, the study of which is relevant to all inquiries. It is not normally taught outside universities, and for this reason there are no special prerequisites for admission to a philosophy course.
For students in their first year there are, instead, two non-technical introductory semester courses. These courses, Fundamental Ideas in Philosophy PHIL1004 and Contemporary Issues in Philosophy PHIL1003, are designed to be of use both to students who intend to specialise in philosophy and to students who intend to take only one or two courses in the subject. Teaching in these courses is fairly flexible. It consists of general lectures, with tutorials, on the history and problems of philosophy, as well as special-interest options, among which students have a choice. The options cover in an introductory way a number of traditionally distinct fields of philosophical inquiry, such as ethics, political philosophy, logic, theory of knowledge, philosophy of mind and philosophy of religion. Some of the options are designed to throw light on topical problems, or on studies pursued in other parts of the university. The introductory courses in philosophy are thus appropriate for students of all faculties.
In addition to the philosophy major there are a number of other majors that include philosophy courses. They are Contemporary Europe, Gender, Sexuality and Culture, Religious Studies, Theatre Studies and English.
A major in Philosophy consists of at least 42 units chosen from the courses offered by the discipline. Study at first-year level consists of a maximum of 12 units (2 courses) Fundamental Ideas in Philosophy: A Historical Introduction PHIL1004 and Contemporary Issues in Philosophy PHIL1003, which can be taken in any order. A version of PHIL1003 can be taken as a skills course Logical Thinking ARTS1000. Students must then complete a minimum of 30 units (5 courses) at later year level.
All courses are offered subject to staff availability and sufficient enrolments.
Students enrolled for the degree of Bachelor of Science may count the following as Group B courses: Logic PHIL2080, Philosophy of Science PHIL2057, Philosophy of Psychology PHIL2061, and Philosophy of Mathematics PHIL3057, and Philosophy of Biology PHIL2082.
Further Information: It is not possible in this Handbook to explain all philosophy units in sufficient detail. For further information, see the philosophy web page: http://arts.anu.edu.au/philosophy, or consult individual members of staff.
Assessment: Unless otherwise specified under the particular course, assessment will be based on essays, other written work and contributions to tutorials. In some courses, formal examinations form part of students' assessment. For each course, details concerning forms, weights and options of work to be assessed are proposed on the Philosophy web page and decided upon after consultation with the class.
Eligibility for assessment: In each course, completion of prescribed written work and participation in classes is a condition, which, if unfulfilled, will render a student ineligible for assessment. The policy in this regard is further explained on the Philosophy web page.
General requirements: Students are required to submit written work by the due dates, to attend all lectures, workshops and tutorial classes, and to present any prescribed tutorial exercises. Students are expected to possess copies of the prescribed texts.
Offered in 2002 and succeeding years
Three hours a week of lectures and tutorial classes
Syllabus: An introduction to some of the main areas of philosophy, and to some of the great philosophers of the past, including Plato (c. 429-347 BC), René Descartes (1596-1650), Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) and John Stuart Mill (1806-1873). The lectures also aim to show how to engage with the problems that exercised these philosophers: How can we establish the difference between right and wrong? What is knowledge? What is the nature of the mind? What is human freedom? What arguments have been offered for the existence -- or non-existence -- of God? Those problems are still current, and we will be discussing some contemporary ways of grappling with them.
Offered in 2002 and succeeding years
Three hours a week of lectures and tutorial classes
Lecturer: Dr Roeper, Dr Shearmur
Syllabus: The course consists of two 6 or 7 week segments. For each segment students will choose one from a number of options on offer. Each option group will meet for two hours of lectures and one tutorial hour each week. Through the in-depth exploration of particular topics of interest, the course develops students' abilities in prose based argument, oral debate, development and presentation of one's own critical perspective, and strong essay writing. Examples of option topics that may be offered are:
Aesthetics: Theories of Art and Pleasure
Incompatibility: PHIL1002 Introduction to Philosophy and ARTS1000 Logical Thinking.
Three hours a week of lectures and tutorial classes
Syllabus: The course is a version of Contemporary Issues in Philosophy PHIL1003. It aims to develop the participants' analytic and thinking skills. It introduces the fundamental aspects of logical thinking and the basic principles of informal and formal logic. Central to the course is the analysis and assessment of reasoning.
The first segment (6 weeks) Clear Thinking deals with informal logic. Examples of clear (and unclear) thinking will be studied. Topics to be covered include the analysis of propositions and of arguments, vagueness, ambiguity, fallacies, definition of terms, propositional form, and argument form. At the end of the segment participants should have improved their ability to read a text closely, to analyse and to construct and critically to assess arguments.
The second segment (7 weeks) Principles of Argument is an elementary introduction to formal logic. The aim will be to enable participants to identify the structure of important kinds of English sentences, to perform simple deductions and to appreciate elementary metalogical notions such as validity, provability, and consistency. We will look first at elementary propositional logic: the logical connectives, the notion of truth-functionality, truth tables and rules of natural deduction. We then turn to elementary predicate logic: the distinction within a proposition between a predicate and its arguments, the concepts of existential and universal quantification as they are expressed both in English sentences and in formal logic, and the treatment of quantity expressions in traditional syllogistic logic.
Incompatibility: Introduction to Philosophy PHIL1002 and Contemporary Issues in Philosophy PHIL1003.
A one-semester course offered on an occasional basis depending on staff availability.
Prerequisites: At least 24 units of philosophy
Syllabus: This course will provide intensive coverage of selected topics in philosophy through the prescription of a course of reading, with the topics varying from year to year.
A one-semester course offered on an occasional basis depending on staff availability.
Prerequisites: At least 24 units of philosophy
Syllabus: This course will provide intensive coverage of selected topics in philosophy through the prescription of a course of reading, with the topics varying from year to year.
20 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials
Prerequisites: PHIL2068 Aesthetics
Syllabus: Detailed examination of selected themes in the philosophy of art. These may include aspects of the history of philosophy in relation to art (e.g. simulation and representation in Plato; early modern theories of art; the beautiful and the sublime) or contemporary philosophical reflection upon particular arts (eg deconstruction and art; philosophy and modern painting/film/literature). Students should consult the Philosophy web page for detailed course content.
Proposed assessment: One 2,500 word essay, plus other components chosen from shorter written exercises, an end-of-course examination, and tutorial participation.
This course may be taken as part of a BA (Art History and Curatorship).
20 hours of lectures 12 hours of tutorials
Prerequisites: Completion of at least 12 units of Philosophy, or, with the permission of the lecturer, Arts courses to the value of at least 12 units.
Syllabus: An introduction to selected themes in the philosophy of art: mimesis and representation in Plato and Aristotle, the notion of beauty, realism in 20th century philosophy of Art, the notion of the sublime in postmodern philosophy of art.
20 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials
Prerequisites: Completion of at least 12 units of Philosophy, or, with the permission of the lecturer, Arts courses to the value of at least 12 units.
Syllabus: This course will examine a range of issues in applied ethics, including abortion, euthanasia, suicide, issues in medical and professional ethics, and issues relating to cloning and transgenic research, as a means through which to give students skills to deal with issues in applied ethics, more generally.
Proposed assessment: One 2,500 word essay, plus a course journal.
Offered in 2003 and in alternate years
20 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials
Prerequisite: Completion of at least 12 units of Philosophy, or, with the permission of the lecturer, Art courses to the value of at least 12 units.
Syllabus: We shall examine key issues in metaphysics, such as: the nature of the self, the mind-body problem, free-will and determinism, fatalism, the nature of space and time, causation, and arguments for God's existence. The interest in examining these issues lies largely in seeing whether we are entitled to many of our ordinary beliefs: that the self exists, that we have free-will, that time is real, that events cause other events, and that God exists. As we shall see, it is far from clear that we are always so entitled. Arguments in metaphysics thus challenge some of our deepest beliefs.
Proposed assessment: Two 1,500 word essays and tutorial participation.
20 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials
Prerequisites: Two first year Philosophy courses if undertaking a Philosophy major or GEND courses or one of: Identity and Desire PHIL2091, Representation and Gender WOMS2010, Reading Contemporary Culture WOMS2022, Gender, Sex and Sexuality WOMS2023, Philosophy and Gender PHIL2070, Theories of Literature and Criticism ENGL2009; or with permission of the lecturer.
Syllabus: What is meant when a contemporary theorist talks about deconstructing 'gender', a text, a novel, a philosopher, or an identity effect? This course will introduce students both to key aspects of deconstruction, and to the influence of deconstruction in a variety of academic contexts. A component of the course is devoted to reading some of the early, famous pieces by Jacques Derrida. We then survey the influence and changing uses of deconstruction in some of the following contexts: literary theory, gender theory, queer theory, French feminism, postcolonial theory. Readings will include: Eve Sedgwick, Gayatri Spivak, Luce Irigaray, Sarah Kofman, Vicki Kirby and Jacques Derrida.
Proposed assessment: One 2,500 word essay, plus other components such as shorter written exercises, or tutorial participation.
Incompatibility: WOPH2002 Deconstruction: A User's Guide.
This course can be counted towards a Gender, Sexuality and Culture, Contemporary Europe or Philosophy major.
Offered in 2002 and in alternate years
20 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials
Lecturer: Professor Campbell, Dr Thiel
Prerequisites: Philosophy courses to the value of at least 12 units; or EURO1002 Introduction to Contemporary Europe or EURO1004 Europe in the Modern Era: Foundations of International Relations or with the permission of the lecturer, any two Arts courses.
Syllabus: An examination of some foundational themes in European philosophies, as developed by nineteenth-century thinkers. Texts to be discussed may be selected from the works of Hegel, Marx, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Dilthey, and the Neokantians (e.g. Cohen and Natorp) among others. Students should consult the Philosophy web page for detailed course content.
Proposed assessment: One 2,500 word essay, plus other components chosen from shorter written exercises, an end-of-course examination, and tutorial participation.
Incompatibility: PHIL2062 German Philosophy and PHIL2054 Contemporary European Philosophy.
Offered in 2003 and in alternate years
20 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials
Prerequisites: Philosophy courses to the value of at least 12 units; or with the permission of the lecturer, any four Arts courses.
Syllabus: The course will address one or more of the major 20th century European philosophies or philosophical traditions: phenomenology; existentialism; and the Frankfurt School. It will involve a close study of seminal texts (in English translation) written by key figures, such as Edmund Husserl, Martin Heidegger, and Jürgen Habermas. Students should consult the Philosophy web page for detailed course content.
Proposed assessment: One 2,500 word essay, plus other components chosen from shorter written exercises, an end-of-course examination, and tutorial participation.
This course is required for Philosophy Honours
20 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials
Prerequisites: Philosophy courses to the value of at least 12 units.
Syllabus: This course is an introduction to the work of John Locke and David Hume, through a study of Locke's Essay and Hume's first Enquiry. These two British philosophers, who lived in the 17th and 18th centuries, developed important views about the relationship between our thoughts and the world around us, the nature of the external world, and the self. This course will focus on their epistemological and metaphysical doctrines. Topics to be considered include: the emergence of the modern sense of 'idea'; primary and secondary qualities; the nature and limits of knowledge; causality and the problem of induction; the identity of things and persons; and scepticism.
Proposed assessment: One 2,500 word essay, plus other components chosen from shorter written exercises, an end-of-course examination, and tutorial participation.
Incompatibility: PHIL2096 2nd year Honours Seminar B and PHIL2077 Philosophy 2nd Year Honours Seminar
This course may be taken as part of a BA (European Studies).
Offered in 2003 and in alternate years
20 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials
Prerequisite: Completion of at least 12 units of Philosophy, or, with the permission of the lecturer, Art courses to the value of at least 12 units.
Syllabus: This course considers philosophical theories of humans as 'subjects of desire'. We begin by considering the connections between knowledge and desire, desire and identity, and desire and gender, as discussed in philosophers ranging from ancient Greece through to the nineteenth and late twentieth century (from Plato through Freud to Foucault).
We ask how concepts of power, subversion and resistance have developed in relation to theories of identity and desire. We consider philosophers who have asked: is desire repressed? How does psychic resistance relate to political resistance? How is desire produced? How is desire productive? We consider contemporary theorists who have offered alternative models of identity and desire by developing concepts of performativity, queer, hybridity and the assemblage (Butler, Sedgwick, Bhabha, Deleuze).
Proposed assessment: One 2,500 word essay, plus other components chosen from shorter written exercises and tutorial participation.
20 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials
Prerequisites: Completion of at least 12 units of Philosophy, or permission of the lecturer.
Syllabus: This course brings issues from philosophy and social theory together with current concerns about the effective use of knowledge in organisations. Material which we will discuss ranges from the philosophy and sociology of science, the theory of knowledge and aspects of economic and social theory, to some recent literature on 'knowledge management'. Our concern will be with a range of different issues concerning the character and effective use of knowledge and the ways in which organisations function, and also with the tensions that maybe generated between different approaches to these issues. Among those upon whose work we will draw are: Friedrich Hayek, Ronald Coase, Karl Popper, Michael Polanyi and Thomas Kuhn, as well as a range of current writers on 'knowledge management'. Our approach will be theoretical, but it will also have practical concerns. The course deals with some broad issues that are currently under discussion among those concerned with management and the effective use of information technology, although, as it is a philosophy course, its approach will be of a general and theoretical character.
Proposed assessment: Reflective journal, and one essay or project (which may be collaborative).
20 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials
Prerequisites: Completion or concurrent taking of:
(a) any other philosophy course; or
(b) two Mathematics courses; or
(c) two Statistics courses; or
(d) two Computer Science courses; or
(f) LING1001/2001 plus LENG1020/2020 or LING1020/2020.
Syllabus: An introductory course in formal logic, dealing with propositional and predicate logic. Techniques of formal deduction and tests for the validity of arguments will be studied. Basic semantic concepts will be discussed.
Proposed assessment: Weekly exercises, a mid-semester test, and an end-of-semester examination.
This course can be counted as a Group B course towards a degree of Bachelor of Science and may be taken as part of the BA (Policy Studies).
20 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials
Prerequisites: Completion of at least 12 units of Philosophy. Students who have completed other courses to the value of 12 units may also be admitted with the permission of the lecturer.
Syllabus: This course offers an overview of the main figures in twentieth century French phenomenological philosophy, Jean-Paul Sartre, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Simone de Beauvoir and Emmanuel Lévinas. The course will focus on the approaches taken by these philosophers to the themes of love, death, freedom, existence, ethics, embodiment and justice. It will also offer students interested in moral philosophy some familiarity with continental approaches to ethics.
Proposed assessment: One 2,500 word essay, plus other components chosen from shorter written exercises, an end-of-course examination, and tutorial participation.
Preliminary reading (While these are provided for those interested, there is no required preliminary reading for this course):
This course may be counted towards the Contemporary Europe and Gender, Sexuality and Culture majors.
20 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials
Prerequisites: Completion of courses to the value of 12 units in science, mathematics, the social sciences (history, economics, economic history, psychology, linguistics, anthropology, archaeology, political science, sociology), or philosophy.
Syllabus: In this course, we shall examine various analyses of the concept of knowledge, and various attempts to characterise the distinction between a priori and a posteriori knowledge. We will look at different theories of justification, a notion thought to be crucial to knowledge. We will also be concerned with the arguments of sceptics who claim that we have little or no knowledge of the external world. A key question is: can our discussion of various theories of knowledge and justification help us respond to the arguments of sceptics?
Proposed assessment: Two 1,500 word essays and tutorial participation.
20 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials
Prerequisites: Completion of 12 units of Philosophy
Syllabus: In this course we shall look at some of the late 19th century/early 20th century pioneers of analytic philosophy: Frege, Wittgenstein, Russell, Ayer, Carnap and others. The central concern of these philosophers is with language, and they helped to define analytic philosophy as the analysis of language. Frege, for example, introduced the distinction between sense and reference, essential (he thought) to explain various puzzles in belief-ascriptions. And Russell devised his elegant theory of descriptions, also with the aim of solving various linguistic and psychological puzzles. Finally Ayer, in his book Language, Truth & Logic, formulated a criterion of meaningfulness (the verification criterion), which he used as a scythe to eliminate much traditional metaphysics, and also as a way of motivating a certain (emotivist) view of the meaning of moral utterances. These philosophers laid the foundation for one of the great philosophical traditions of the 20th century. The aim of the course is to evaluate their arguments.
Proposed assessment: One 2,500 word essay, plus other components chosen from shorter written exercises, an end-of-course examination, and tutorial participation.
Incompatibility: PHIL2096 2nd year Honours Seminar B and PHIL2077 Philosophy 2nd Year Honours Seminar
This course may be taken as part of a BA (European Studies).
20 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials
Prerequisite: Completion of at least 12 units of Philosophy, or RELS1002 Introduction to Religion A and RELS1003 Introduction to Religion B.
Syllabus: An examination of the interactions between Christian thinking and the Western philosophical tradition, as they jointly evolved. Topics will be chosen from the following: developments in the idea of God and their impact upon the metaphysical inheritance of Plato and Aristotle; articulation of the idea of creation and its implications for the possibility of scientific knowledge; different approaches to the question of the existence of God; the idea of revelation; the relative contributions of faith and reason; the logical relations of statements of religious belief to scientific and historical statements; characteristics of religious language.
Proposed assessment: One 2,500 word essay, plus other components chosen from shorter written exercises, an end-of-course examination, and tutorial participation.
This course may be counted towards a Philosophy or Religious Studies major.
20 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials
(a) any other Philosophy course
(c) with the permission of the lecturer, any other course permitted to be taken for the degree of Bachelor of Arts
Syllabus: According to the theorists considered in this course, gender is not a marginal issue in the history of philosophy. Instead, ideals of reason have been constructed in opposition to, or as a transcendence of, the bodily and the emotional, which have been associated with femininity. What are the consequences of this history?
The course will look at a range of feminist philosophers, both historical and contemporary. Some wish to remove sex bias from philosophy. Others argue that law, language, reason, science or ethics need to become more 'sexually specific' so as to reflect, or even reinvent, sexual difference. We consider liberal feminisms of equality as opposed to more recent French and post-structuralist feminisms of difference and embodiment. We will also look at arguments that feminist theory itself suppresses race and cultural diversity.
Proposed assessment: One 2,500 word essay, plus other components chosen from shorter written exercises, an end-of-course examination, and tutorial participation.
Preliminary reading (While these are provided for those interested, there is no required preliminary reading for this course):
This course may form part of the major in Gender, Sexuality and Culture and may be taken as part of the BA (Policy Studies).
20 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials
Prerequisite: Any course(s) in Philosophy, Biology, Psychology, or Anthropology to the value of at least 12 units, or permission of the Head of Philosophy.
Syllabus: Contemporary evolutionary and ecological theory raises a number of theoretical and conceptual problems, which are best studied together. The course deals with some of these. Topics include the level of selection, what constitutes a species, and how natural selection interacts with other forces, which determine the direction of evolution. We will also examine the nature of explanations in the biological sciences.
Proposed assessment: One or two essays and tutorial participation.
This course can be counted as a Group B course towards a degree of Bachelor of Science.
20 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials
Prerequisites: Courses in Philosophy or Linguistics to the value of at least 12 units, or with the permission of the lecturer.
Syllabus: In this course, we will cover the main themes in the philosophy of language. The approach will be historical, viewing the central problems in the philosophy of language as largely those set by the German philosopher/mathematician Gottlob Frege and the British philosopher Bertrand Russell. Then we shall examine the ideas of A.J. Ayer and the Logical Positivists, and the development of their ideas in the work of W.V.O. Quine. We shall then look at the work of two more recent philosphers: Saul Kripke and Paul Grice. All these philosophers are concerned to elucidate the notion of meaning, of what it is for a word or sentence to be meaningful. This may seem an easy task, but these philosophers show how difficult it is satisfactorily to specify what makes a sentence meaningful. Indeed, one philosopher -- Kripke -- even declares meaning to be a myth.
20 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials
Prerequisite: Any course(s) in Philosophy or Psychology to the value of at least 12 units, or courses to the value of 12 units from the following: Introduction to the Study of Language LING1001/2001, Cross-Cultural Communication LING1021, Semantics LING2008; Anthropology of Emotion ANTH2034, Human Society and Animal Society PRAN2024.
Syllabus: An examination of philosophical problems concerning the nature of mind and of the mind-body relation. Different approaches to the character of the mental will be discussed, such as behaviourism, forms of materialism and reductionism, and especially recent work on functionalism.
Proposed assessment: Two 1,500 word essays and tutorial participation.
This course can be counted as a Group B course towards a degree of Bachelor of Science.
20 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials
Prerequisite: Completion of Philosophy, Science, or Mathematics courses to the value of at least 12 units.
Syllabus: In this course, we will address a range of philosophical problems raised by scientific knowledge and its status. For example, does science have a special, privileged status if compared to other claims to knowledge? Is there some method, or other feature, which distinctively characterises science, and, say, brings with it a special kind of authority or reliability? What are we to make of changes in scientific knowledge, or scientific revolutions? Is the change of scientific theories -- or could it be -- in any way distinctively rational, and does this matter? What are we to make of the specific content of scientific theories, where these might -- if interpreted literally -- seem to call into question knowledge of other kinds?
Proposed assessment: One 2,500 word essay, plus other components chosen from shorter written exercises, an end-of-course examination, and tutorial participation.
This course can be counted as a Group B course towards a degree of Bachelor of Science.
20 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials
Prerequisites: Any philosophy courses to the value of at least 12 units
Syllabus: 'Enlightenment' is a label for an immensely influential European movement that flourished in the eighteenth century. Enlightenment thinkers generally believed in the unity and autonomy of human reason; they were opposed to clericalism and argued for religious toleration. As a form of philosophical thought that emphasises rationality, innovation, intellectual progress, and critique, the enlightenment project is an object of much present-day philosophical debate.
This course will focus on some of the most important philosophical texts from the eighteenth century. It will cover a number of areas: epistemology, philosophy of mind, ethics, philosophy of religion, and aesthetics. Authors to be discussed include John Locke, Christian Wolff, Francis Hutcheson, David Hume, the French philosophes, and Immanuel Kant. Attention will also be given to twentieth century re-examinations and critiques of the Enlightenment project (eg Horkheimer/Adorno, Dialectic of the Enlightenment).
Proposed assessment: One 2,500 word essay, plus other components chosen from shorter written exercises, an end-of-course examination, and tutorial participation.
20 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials
(a) any Philosophy courses to the value of at least 12 units
(c) Introduction to Religion A RELS1002 and Introduction to Religion B RELS1003
(d) with the permission of the lecturer, any two courses permitted to be taken towards the Bachelor of Arts degree.
Syllabus: Selected texts from Plato, Plato's predecessors, Plotinus, Ficino, and other authors in the Platonic tradition. This material will be studied from a philosophical as well as from a more general cultural perspective. All the main aspects of Platonism will be dealt with, including the theory of Forms, the theory of value, the theory of value, the theory of the soul. Topics to be covered will include cognition, love, the good, beauty, virtue, the ideal state and cosmology.
Proposed assessment: One 2,500 word essay, plus other components chosen from shorter written exercises, an end-of-course examination, and tutorial participation.
26 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials
Course offered jointly by the Departments of Mathematics and Philosophy. Offered also as a first-year course MATH1007 (see the entry of the Mathematics Department).
Prerequisite: Completion of any philosophy courses to the value of at least 12 units.
Syllabus: This course aims at providing a conceptual understanding of some of the many faces of the Universe. It treats mathematics in its broadest sense as implied by 'mathema' -- knowledge, understanding and perception. General issues relating to the nature of mathematics and science and of space and time will be discussed. The course will be divided into the following four sections: Mathematics and Science; Shape and Form; From Theology to Cosmology; and Self Organising Systems. The various sections will be introduced in a historical context emphasising the evolution of thought leading to current understanding. Topics to be covered include ancient mathematics, Pythagoras and the music of the spheres, the nature of numbers and of mathematical knowledge; geometry and the physical world, unity in shapes and forms, minimal surfaces and soap films, fractal dimensions, strange attractors and applications; the nature of gravity and black holes, time travel and backward causation, determinism and free will, mathematical models of the universe, scientific realism; neural nets, cooperative adaptation and learning, cellular automata, and self replicating systems.
Proposed assessment: One 2,500 word essay, plus other components chosen from shorter written exercises, an end-of-course examination, and tutorial participation.
20 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials
Prerequisites: One Philosophy course; or RELS1002 Introduction to Religion A and RELS1003 Introduction to Religion B or with permission of the lecturer
Syllabus: This course will be concerned with a range of philosophical issues relating to rights. It will include: (a) discussion in the history of philosophy about the origins and early character of ideas concerning rights, including ideas about rights and their relation to natural law; (b) discussion of a range of arguments about the existence and status of rights, including attempts to 'justify' them; (c) discussion about what the character of rights and correlative obligations should be, and who should be the bearers of these obligations; (d) discussion of current controversies about rights -- such as aboriginal land rights, or rights and 'Asian values'. Our prime concern will be with philosophical consideration of normative issues -- i.e. about what rights should be -- and issues about rights and customary or positive law (national or international) will be discussed in that context.
Proposed assessment: Reflective journal and one essay or project (which may be collaborative).
20 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials
Prerequisites: Completion of courses to the value of at least 12 units in Philosophy, Political Science, Anthropology or Sociology.
Syllabus: This course will examine some of the major attempts to conceptualise power in classical and contemporary political philosophy. Our focus will fall on the implications of these different models for the relation between the subject and power. We will examine the polarities under which power is theorised as either a negative, repressive force; or, more positively, as a force which engenders social order and cohesion. Against both of these traditions we will look at those theories derived from Nietzsche and Marx that refuse to label power as either 'good' or 'evil' and examine instead its rationality (Honneth) or empirical effect (Foucault). Questions to be examined include: whether power is necessarily external and opposed to the freedom of individuals, whether it is the 'property' of individuals or governing institutions such as the state, and how to measure the political implications and descriptive value of these differing approaches to the questions of power.
Proposed assessment: One 2,500 word essay, plus other components chosen from shorter written exercises, an end-of-course examination, and tutorial participation.
This course may be counted towards a Philosophy or Gender, Sexuality and Culture major.
This course may be taken as part of a BA (Policy Studies) and is a designated course for the BA (European Studies).
20 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials
Prerequisites: Completion of courses to the value of at least 12 units in Philosophy or permission of lecturer.
Syllabus: This course will be based around a key text by Ludwig Wittgenstein: the Philosophical Investigations. We shall examine the important contributions made by Wittgenstein to the philosophy of language and the philosophy of mind. We will look at Wittgenstein's move away from his earlier (Tractarian) conception of language, towards a less essentialist conception; normativity and the rule-following considerations; the impossibility of private meaning; the relation between the 'inner' (eg sensations) and the 'outer' (eg behaviour); and Wittgenstein's 'therapeutic' conception of philosophy. We also attempt to place Wittgenstein in the context of 20th century philosophy.
Proposed assessment: Two 1,500 word essays and tutorial participation.
Offered in 2002 and in alternate years
20 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials
Prerequisite: One philosophy course or Introduction to Religion A RELS1002 and Introduction to Religion B RELS1003
Syllabus: After an initial examination of some of the personal reactions of members of the class to issues such as commodification, self-interest, ethical subjectivism and cultural relativism, and at philosophical issues to which they give rise, the course will engage with some significant contemporary approaches to the understanding of ethical theory. We will look, in turn, at utilitarianism, deontological ethics, and virtue ethics. In each case, we will look at some of the (recent) historical background to these views, at philosophical issues to which they give rise, and to some of the contemporary debate about them. We will also look at issues concerning the epistemology of ethics and (briefly) at some meta-ethics, at issues of feminism and ethics, and at anti-theoretical approaches to ethics.
Proposed assessment: tutorial attendance, reflective journal and essay.
This course is required for Philosophy Honours
Offered in 2002 and succeeding years
One 2.5-hour seminar session a week
Prerequisites: Permission of the Honours Convener.
Syllabus: Part A of the Third Year Honours Seminar is devoted to the philosophy of Immanuel Kant (1724-1804). The main focus will be on Kant's major and most influential work, the Critique of Pure Reason (1st ed. 1781; 2nd ed. 1787). Kant's Critique has been immensely influential in subsequent philosophical thought, both on the European continent and in English-speaking countries. Therefore, attention will also be given to twentieth-century discussions of Kant's philosophy.
This course may be taken as part of a BA (European Studies).
This course is required for Philosophy Honours
Offered in 2002 and succeeding years
One 2.5 hour seminar session a week
Lecturer: Professor Campbell and Dr Thiel
Prerequisites: Permission of the Honours Convener.
Syllabus: Part B of the Third Year Honours Seminar consists in a close study of the philosophy of Hegel. The major focus will be on Part One of his Encyclopaedia of the Philosophical Sciences, his so-called Lesser Logic. But we may also look at other writings of Hegel, such as The Phenomenology of Spirit, or his Lectures on the Philosophy of History.
This course may be taken as part of a BA (European Studies).
PHIL2086 Aristotle and Aristotelians
PHIL2090 Theories and Interpretation
PHIL3054 Philosophy of Mathematics
Honours Convener: Dr Udo Thiel
Intending honours students should first read the general statement 'The degree with honours' in the introductory section of the Faculty of Arts entry.
The course for the degree with honours in the Honours School of Philosophy extends over four years.
In the first three years it comprises courses to the value of 144 units, of which ten courses to at least the value of 60 units must be in philosophy. The non-philosophy courses must include completion of a major (42 units) from outside the honours school. The philosophy courses will normally consist of:
First year: Fundamental Ideas in Philosophy: A Historical Introduction PHIL1004 and either Contemporary Issues in Philosophy PHIL1003 or Logical Thinking ARTS1000
Second year: Philosophy later-year courses to the value of at least 24 units, including Ideas, Causality and Personal Identity PHIL2099 and Origins of Analytic Philosophy PHIL2100
Third year: Philosophy later-year courses to the value of at least 24 units, including the two parts of the Third Year Honours Seminar (12 units) -- Third Year Honours Seminar Part A PHIL3068 and Third Year Honours Seminar Part B PHIL3069.
In special circumstances this course structure may be modified with the approval of the Honours Convener. For example, first-year philosophy courses may not be required of students who have entered later-year philosophy courses via other prerequisites. In certain circumstances second-year or the third-year prescribed honours components may be replaced by other courses in philosophy.
Students will normally enter the Honours School in Philosophy at the beginning of their second year. However, it is possible to enter at a later stage in certain circumstances.
Intending honours students in philosophy should consult the Honours Convener about their proposed courses at an early stage.
For admission into fourth year, students, subject to the discretion of the Head of School, must have achieved a grade of Credit or higher in philosophy courses to the value of at least 60 units, including Ideas, Causality and Personal Identity PHIL2099, Origins of Analytic Philosophy PHIL2100, and the Third Years Honours Seminars PHIL3068 and PHIL3069. At least two later-year Philosophy courses must be at Distinction level.
Philosophy IV (final honours) consists of an integrated course of study as prescribed by the Honours Convener.
The course of study of Philosophy IV will normally involve participating in one of the Fourth Year Honours Seminars, regular supervision of the sub-thesis and further course work equivalent to 12 units.
Normally, each course of the further course work gives rise to a major essay.
The common fourth-year honours seminar involves intensive discussion and lectures on topics of common interest to several strands in current philosophical literature.
Assessment will be based on (i) a sub-thesis (10,000-15,000 words) on a chosen topic, (ii, iii) two other major essays, and (iv, v) an essay for each semester's work in the Fourth Year Honours Seminar. The final honours grade will be based on these five pieces of work, weighted 4,2,2,1,1 respectively.
Honours courses of four years' duration that combines philosophy with some other subject may be arranged in consultation with other disciplines (including English). Interested students should consult the Honours Convener.
Such courses, normally of five years' duration, are available for those who wish to do more extended honours work in philosophy and in some other subject. Those interested should consult the Honours Convener.
This course is available and may be completed in six years. Details of the course of study may be obtained by consulting the Honours Convener.
These degrees can be taken in the discipline. For information consult the Graduate School Handbook. A good honours degree is normally required for admission to these degrees. A graduate with a pass degree in philosophy who wishes to proceed to the degree of Master of Philosophy may undertake a Master of Philosophy qualifying course.
Convener: Mr Robert Barnes, (History), BA Qld&Oxf., ThM Harv.
Religious Studies is an interdisciplinary program. It operates in association with the Faculty of Asian Studies major in Asian Religions, but is administratively separate and attached to the School of Humanities.
Religion is a phenomenon known to human societies of all times and places, and it is intimately connected with the social organisation, psychology, literature and art of those societies. The critical study of religion can therefore take the form either of the study of religious concepts, patterns of behaviour, and linguistic or artistic forms of expression common to a variety of societies; or of the study of the religious aspects of a particular society. Both of these forms of study are exemplified in the religion courses offered in this program.
The major in Religious Studies comprises Introduction to Religion A and Introduction to Religious Studies B followed by approved later-year courses to the value of 30 units (i.e. a minimum of 42 units).
Students may take RELS1002 Introduction to Religion A and RELS1003 Introduction to Religion B as individual courses; one is not a prerequisite for the other.
Students enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts in a combined program may take up to 12 units (2 courses) from Faculties other than the two in the combined program, when those 12 units are required to complete the major.
Students are required to submit written work by the due dates, to attend workshops and tutorial classes, and to present any prescribed tutorial exercises. Students are expected to possess copies of the prescribed texts.
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Medieval Church 1198-1378 HIST2114 |
Two lectures and one tutorial a week
Syllabus: Methods in the study of religion. The question of religious evolution. 'Historic' religions. The three Semitic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), studied from the point of view of their historical relationships and of their present situation in the world. Contemporary religious revivalism and fundamentalism. Women and religion.
Assessment: It is proposed that assessment be on the basis of: an assignment on research methods, one essay of about 2000 words, one test, and tutorial performance. This will be finalised after discussion with students at the beginning of the semester.
Syllabus: Anthropological and philosophical approaches to religion. An introduction to Indian and Chinese religious traditions. A discussion of 'Eastern' and 'Western' views of religion from a philosophical perspective. Religion and ideology in today's world.
Assessment: There will be two examinations, one at mid semester and one at the end of the course, each of which will count for 45% of the final grade. The final 10% will be assessed on the basis of tutorial performance. This will be finalised after discussion with students at the beginning of the semester.
Three contact hours a week (lectures/workshops and tutorial). Lectures will be taped
Prerequisites: History first year courses to the value of twelve units, or permission of the Convener.
Syllabus: This course studies the central institution in the civilisation of Western Europe during the high middle ages, the Church. It begins with the accession to the papal throne of Innocent III, whose pontificate sees the supreme authority in the Western Church at the height of its power. It examines the challenges to papal power in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and ends with the Great Schism, which permanently compromised papal authority. The problems of the relations of the Church with the secular rulers of Western Europe are a continuing theme of the course. So too is the reforming program launched by the Fourth Lateran Council, whose successes and failures are evaluated through an examination of the writings of various 14th-century authors (including Dante, Boccacio, and Langland). Religious dissent and its forcible suppression through the machinery of the Inquisition will also be studied, and the relationship between heresy and orthodox popular piety examined. In general the focus is on understanding the role of religion and the institutional Church in medieval society, and exploring the ways in which religious belief and practice were shaped by their changing social context.
Proposed assessment: Based on written work, tutorial participation, and optional examination.
This course can be counted towards a History or Religious Studies major.
Prerequisite: Two courses in any one of the following: Anthropology, Archaeology (ARCH or PREH), Art History, Classical and European Languages, English, Drama, Film, History, Music, Philosophy, Religious Studies, and Gender, Sexuality and Culture.
Syllabus: There are three facets to this study: the stories themselves; the Greek, Roman, and subsequent contexts and the ways in which the stories have been presented; the various attempts in recent years to account for the enduring appeal of these myths. The ancient myths and legends as a form of history, their prevalence in art, the narrative techniques used, and some religious, philosophical and poetic dimensions will be addressed. While the primary focus is on the classical sources, the various interests and disciplinary backgrounds that members of the class may bring to the subject will be integral to the course.
Proposed assessment: Based on tutorial work, a 1,500 essay and a one-hour test.
Incompatibility: ANCH1012 Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome
This course can be counted towards a Classics, History, or Religious Studies major.
20 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials
Prerequisite: Completion of at least 12 units of Philosophy, or RELS1002 Introduction to Religion A and RELS1003 Introduction to Religion B.
Syllabus: An examination of the interactions between Christian thinking and the Western philosophical tradition, as they jointly evolved. Topics will be chosen from the following: developments in the idea of God and their impact upon the metaphysical inheritance of Plato and Aristotle; articulation of the idea of creation and its implications for the possibility of scientific knowledge; different approaches to the question of the existence of God; the idea of revelation; the relative contributions of faith and reason; the logical relations of statements of religious belief to scientific and historical statements; characteristics of religious language.
Proposed assessment: One 2,500 word essay, plus other components chosen from shorter written exercises, an end-of-course examination, and tutorial participation.
This course may be counted towards a Philosophy or Religious Studies major.
Prerequisites: Any twelve first year units from the Faculty of Arts or Faculty of Asian Studies.
Syllabus: The course will consider anthropological approaches to the analysis of religion and society in India. It will examine contemporary ethnographic studies of village and urban life giving particular attention to caste, gender and family relations. It will also examine the manner in which the religious ideology of the subaltern classes complements and contradicts that of the Brahmanic elite through a close examination of oral traditions and popular religious practices. Finally, students will be introduced to some to the contemporary debates about approaches to the analysis of Indian society and culture.
Proposed assessment: One essay, tutorial work and tutorial participation.
22 hours lectures, 11 hours tutorials
Prerequisites: Two first year courses to a value of 12 units in Anthropology; or Sociology; or Religious Studies.
Syllabus: What is religion? What is the place of ritual in religious practice? Does religious symbolism involve a distinctive mode of thought about the world?
Anthropologists have extensively studied the religious beliefs, rituals and symbolism of different societies; their findings present challenges to conventional understandings of religion. Further, the specificities of contemporary western cosmologies -- religious and secular -- are thrown into relief and questioned by the lives of people in circumstances very different from our own.
The course presents ethnographic data, on small- and large-scale religions, from different parts of the world within the framework of anthropological theories of religion.
Proposed assessment: To be advised.
This course can be counted towards an Anthropology or Religious Studies major.
Ancient Israel: History, Religion and Archaeology HIST2137
Art and Architecture of Asia: Continuity and Change ARTH2059
Art and Architecture of Southeast Asia: Tradition and Transformation ARTH2056
Historical Jesus & Christian Origins HIST2138
How to Live in the Real World: `Practical Learning' in East Asia ASIA2264
Islam: History and Institutions ASIA2162
Medieval Church, 1198-1378 HIST2114
Modern Islamic Thought: West to Southeast Asia ASIA2816
Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome ANCH2012
Philosophical Issues in Christian Thought PHIL2066
Religion and Politics in Australia POLS2081
Religion and Politics in India, 1193-1858 ASIA2161
Religion and Politics in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh 1858-present ASIA2163
Religion and Social Movements in Southeast Asia ASIA2173
Religion and Society in India ANTH2033
Religion in Modern East Asia ASIA2265
Religion, Ritual and Cosmology ANTH2004
Details of the above courses may be found in the entries for the Faculty of Arts; Schools of Archaeology and Anthropology, Humanities and Social Sciences, and in the entries for Faculty of Asian Studies for ASIA courses.
Convener: Dr Geoffrey Borny, BA Durham, DipEd Syd., PhD NSW
Theatre Studies courses focus on the examination of changing theatrical conventions that relate to the performance of dramatic texts. Using a combined theoretical and practical approach, the courses concentrate on European, American, British and Australian drama/theatre. Play texts are studied as potential performance texts. While the historical performance conventions of staging and acting are examined, students also study how to apply modern acting, directing and design conventions to plays written in earlier periods. A variety of approaches to acting, directing and design are explored. Practical workshops help to clarify how these conventions work in the theatre.
Theatre Studies cooperates closely with English and students will find the two majors highly complementary.
All courses are semester-long and have a value of 6 units. Later-year courses are most commonly offered in alternate years. The main exception is Page to Stage II: Directing DRAM2005 which is offered annually.
All courses are offered subject to staff availability and sufficient enrolments.
Students are required to submit written work by the due dates, to attend all lectures, workshops and tutorial classes, and to present any required tutorial and workshop exercises. Students are expected to possess copies of the prescribed texts.
Methods of assessment will be discussed with students enrolled in each course before they are finalised.
It is not possible to give full details of courses or full lists of recommended reading in the entries in this Handbook. Prospective students are encouraged to approach the School of Humanities, Undergraduate Administrator for a copy of the Theatre Studies brochure. In addition, the Coordinators responsible for each course will be pleased to provide further information.
The requirements for the major are a minimum of 42 units consisting of two first year core courses, Page to Stage I DRAM1005 and Introduction to the Western Theatrical Tradition DRAM1006, plus a minimum of five later-year courses to the value of 30 units from those named below in LIST A.
LIST A Theatre Studies Courses
DRAM1005 Page to Stage I: Acting (Core Course)
DRAM1006 Introduction to the Western Theatrical Tradition (Core Course)
DRAM2005 Page to Stage II: Directing
DRAM2011 Experience of Theatre I
DRAM2012 Experience of Theatre II
DRAM2014 Experience of Theatre III
DRAM2001 Modern European Theatre
DRAM2008 Modern Australian Drama
DRAM2009 Post-War British Drama
DRAM2010 Design and the Theatre
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Introduction to the Western Theatrical Tradition DRAM1006 (Core Course) |
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Offered in 2002 and in succeeding years
Three and a half hours per week: one lecture, one tutorial and one 1.5 hour workshop.
Syllabus: This course will concentrate on various ways in which actors work on translating literary play texts into performance texts. A number of different acting theories will be examined. The appropriateness of these different approaches to acting to the performance of various kinds of play-texts selected from different historical periods will be assessed. Acting exercises will be prepared and performed in workshop sessions.
Proposed assessment: Two 1,500-2,000 word essays plus workshop assignments and tutorial contribution.
Offered in 2002 and in succeeding years
Three and a half hours per week: one lecture, one tutorial and one 1.5 hour workshop
Prerequisite: Page to Stage I: Acting DRAM1005 or any one first year English course, or with permission of the Convener of Theatre Studies.
Syllabus: This course is designed to be a general introduction to the western theatrical tradition. It is intended to provide students with a clear picture of the major dramatic and theatrical developments in terms of playwrighting, acting and staging that have taken place since the fifth century BC. The course will examine key dramatic texts from the fifth century Greeks to the present day. The theatrical representation of these plays will be historically contextualised and workshops will involve students in an examination of appropriate performance styles.
Proposed Assessment: Two 1,500-2,000 word essays plus workshop assignments and tutorial contribution.
This course can be counted towards a Theatre Studies or English major.
Offered in 2003 and alternate years subject to staff availability, alternating with Modern Australian Drama DRAM2008
Three and a half hours per week: one lecture, one tutorial and one 1.5 hour workshop
Prerequisite: DRAM2005 Page to Stage II
Syllabus: The aim of this course is to provide opportunity for an exploration of the development in theatre history of the phenomenon of the stage designer. The structure of the course will be an historical overview which will focus on the work of specific designers and influential figures who have contributed to the theory and practice of set and costume design and to the creation of the twentieth century concept of the stage designer. The course will also cover basic design principles as they pertain to various types of stage spaces and to the human body. Students will be given opportunity to put theory into practice through the construction of a scenographic model.
Proposed assessment: One 2,000-word essay, practical component and tutorial and workshop contribution.
Offered in 2002 and every third year, alternating with DRAM2012 Experience of Theatre II and DRAM2014 Experience of Theatre III.
Three and a half hours per week: one lecture, one tutorial and one 1.5 hour workshop
Prerequisite: 12 units in the Theatre Studies major
Syllabus: The course will involve the students in the whole process of production. They will perform, design, stage-manage, etc, a play that will be directed by one of the Theatre Studies staff. The play will be chosen from the canon of twentieth century drama and it is intended that it be relevant to one of the other later-year courses (eg Post-War British Drama DRAM2009, Modern Australian Drama DRAM2008 etc).
Proposed assessment: One 2,000 word essay, one tutorial presentation and workshop assessment
Not offered in 2002. Offered in 2003 and every third year, alternating with DRAM2011 Experience of Theatre I and DRAM2014 Experience of Theatre III
Three and a half hours per week: one lecture, one tutorial and one 1.5 hour workshop
Prerequisite: 12 units in the Theatre Studies major
Syllabus: The course will involve students in the whole process of production. They will perform, design and stage manage, etc, a play that will be directed by one of the Theatre Studies staff. The play will be chosen from plays written before 1900 and will explore the particular problems involved in presenting plays whose performance conventions are different from those normally employed in modern theatre.
Proposed assessment: One 2,000 word essay, tutorial presentation and workshop assessment.
Not offered in 2002. Offered in 2004 and every third year, alternating with DRAM2011 Experience of Theatre I and DRAM2012 Experience of Theatre II.
Three and a half hours per week: one lecture, one tutorial and one 1.5 hour workshop
Prerequisite: 12 units in the Theatre Studies major
Syllabus: The course will involve students in the whole process of production. They will perform, design and stage-manage, etc, a play that will be directed by one of the Theatre Studies staff. The play will be chosen from plays written in the period from 5th century B.C. to the end of the Middle Ages and will explore the particular problems involved in presenting plays from this period to a modern audience.
Proposed assessment: One 2,000 word essay, tutorial presentation and workshop assessment.
Offered in 2002 and in alternate years subject to staff availability, alternating with DRAM2010 Design and the Theatre
Three and a half hours per week: one lecture, one tutorial and one 1.5 hour workshop
Prerequisite: DRAM1005 Page to Stage I plus one other course in the Theatre Studies major or DRAM1006 Introduction to the Western Theatrical Tradition plus one other course in the Theatre Studies major or DRAM1005 Page to Stage I and DRAM1006 Introduction to the Western Theatrical Tradition
Syllabus: This course aims to provide students with an introduction to some of the major developments in Australian drama and theatre in the twentieth century. Works by Seymour, Lawler, White, Kenna, Hewett, Buzo, Nowra, Williamson, Romeril, Hibberd, Gow and Davis will be studied both theoretically and practically. The plays chosen represent the wide range of subject matter and theatrical form that is evident in the modern Australian dramatic repertoire. In order to contextualise the plays studied, some examination will be given to more important elements of the stage history of Australia covering the last 50 years.
Proposed assessment: One 2,000 word essay, tutorial presentation and workshop assessment.
This course can be counted towards a Theatre Studies or Australian Studies major.
Not offered in 2002. Offered in 2003 and in alternate years, alternating with DRAM2009 Post-War British Drama
Three and a half hours per week: one lecture, one tutorial and one 1.5 hour workshop
Prerequisite: Twelve first year units in the Faculty of Arts
Syllabus: The course consists of a study of the major developments in theatre and theatrical writing in Europe since the middle of the 19th century through the analysis of representative plays by Ibsen, Chekhov, Strindberg, Jarry, Pirandello, Brecht, Lorca, Beckett, and Ionesco in the context of contemporary performance and production techniques.
Proposed assessment: Two 1,500-2,000 word essays plus workshop assignments and tutorial contribution.
Offered in 2002 and in succeeding years.
Three and a half hours per week: one lecture, one tutorial and one 1.5 hour workshop
Prerequisite: DRAM1005 Page to Stage I or DRAM1006 Introduction to the Western Theatrical Tradition
Syllabus: This course follows on directly from DRAM1005 and concentrates on the rise and development of the modern theatre director. Students will examine the tasks that face a director when working on translating a play text into a performance text. Directing exercises will be prepared and performed in workshop sessions.
Proposed assessment: Two 1500-2000 word essays plus workshop assignments and tutorial contribution.
Offered in 2002 and in alternate years, alternating with DRAM 2001 Modern European Theatre
Three and a half hours a week: one lecture, one tutorial and one 1.5-hour workshop
Prerequisite: DRAM1005 Page to Stage I or DRAM1006 Introduction to the Western Theatrical Tradition
Syllabus: This course aims to provide an introduction to major developments in post-war British theatre. The course will focus on plays by Osborne, Pinter, Brenton, Churchill, Stoppard, Orton and Shaffer. In order to contextualise the plays studied, the course will also consider such important theatrical institutions as the Royal Court theatre, the RSC's Other Place and the Royal National Theatre of Great Britain and will examine the contributions made by innovators such as Joan Littlewood and John McGrath.
Proposed assessment: Two 1500-2000 word essays plus workshop assignments and tutorial contribution.
Intending honours students should first read the general statement 'The degree with honours' in the introductory section of the Faculty of Arts entry. To be eligible for admission to Theatre Studies IV, students have
(a) achieved Credit or above in the two core courses DRAM1005 and DRAM1006 and an average of Credit or above in their Theatre Studies major
(b) completed the requirements for a BA degree. This must include a Theatre Studies major plus an additional course from the Drama List A and two later year courses from either List A or List B cognate courses. No more than 12 of these 60 units shall be at first-year level.
LIST A Theatre Studies Courses
DRAM1005 Page to Stage I: Acting (Core Course)
DRAM1006 Introduction to the Western Theatrical Tradition (Core Course)
DRAM2005 Page to Stage II: Directing
DRAM2011 Experience of Theatre I
DRAM2012 Experience of Theatre II
DRAM2014 Experience of Theatre III
DRAM2001 Modern European Theatre
DRAM2008 Modern Australian Drama
DRAM2009 Post-War British Drama
DRAM2010 Design and the Theatre
ARTS2001 Speaking and Persuading
ENGL2009 Theories of Literature and Criticism
ENGL2058 Theories of Imitation and Representation
ENGL2067 Classic Novel into Film
ENGL2069 Modern Novel into Film
ENGL2066 Australian Film: Ned Kelly to Mad Max
FREN2023 French Cinema from the `Nouvelle Vague' to the Nineties
FILM1001 Introduction to Film Studies
FILM2003 European Cinemas, European Societies
FILM2004 Postwar European Cinema: Films and Directors
FILM2005 Moving Pictures: Cinema and the Visual Arts
HIST2113 Shakespeare's England
ITAL3009 Postwar Italian Cinema
(a) a 15,000 word thesis on an approved topic to be submitted before the end of October of the preceding year and to count for 30% of total assessment;
(b) two drama honours courses to be taken, in the first semester. Each course will count for 20% of the total assessment and will be assessed by essay work and seminar papers; and
(c) a fully mounted production lasting no more than 50 minutes, to be cast, designed and directed by each honours student or the complete design of a production including costumes and set designs with the construction of a set model. These productions will normally be mounted in the second semester. Each student will also submit a written analysis (3000 words) of the production and take part in a viva voce examination on the production with the staff of Theatre Studies. Each production will have a budget of $300.
Students are expected to consult with the Honours Adviser in December 1998 about their thesis topic, and are required to seek approval for their topic and arrange supervision with a member of staff no later than early January, when work on their thesis should commence.
Students may combine honours in Theatre Studies with honours in another discipline. A Combined Honours course must be agreed and arranged through the relevant Conveners, and intending candidates should consult those Conveners at the beginning of their second year of study and take into account the honours requirements in both subjects. Honours schools which would most appropriately be combined with Theatre Studies include History, Art History and Visual Studies, Classical and Modern European Languages and Philosophy.
In particular students may take combined Honours in English and Theatre Studies.
(Graduate Diploma and Master of Letters courses are under review)
The Graduate Program in Literature, Screen and Theatre Studies offers students expert supervision in a wide range of research fields. In the literary area we have special strengths and research interests in British, Australian, American, Commonwealth and Comparative Literature, Postcolonial and Gender Studies, Literary Theory, and literature-related studies in Classical and Modern European languages. Within screen studies, our main area of interest and expertise is the adaptation of literary and dramatic texts. For students wishing to specialise in theatre studies, supervision can be offered in various aspects of drama and theatre studies, including theatre history, text and performance.