Literature

The Master of Letters consists of 50 per cent coursework (24 units of credit at 6 units of credit per course) and 50 per cent dissertation (24 units of credit). Coursework normally consists of 4 courses or equivalent, based on assessment for each of not fewer than 5000 words or equivalent, in reading courses relevant to the discipline area. The word length of the dissertation will be no fewer than 15 000 words, and no more than 20 000 words.

Contemporary Australian Fiction

Credit: 6 Units of credit (12.5%)

Term: Terms 1 & 2

Contact: Dr John Fitzsimmons

Description: The aim of this course is to show how Australia as a nation is imagined through various contemporary works of fiction. Students will explore the ways in which Australian identities are constituted, changed and challenged by these texts, through a variety of critical perspectives and contexts of reception.

Shakespeare: the Movie 

Credit: 6 Units of credit (12.5%)

Term: Terms 1 & 2

Contact: Dr John Fitzsimmons

Description: This course will introduce students to the study of Shakespeare in a contemporary context and to provide them with opportunities to explore different ways in which the Bard can and has been read. At the end of the course students should be able to recognise the notion that the works of Shakespeare do not produce "universal" truths so much as generate culturally determined possibilities, both of the time of writing and of reading (which may be hundreds of years apart). Students should be able to situate filmic renderings of Shakespeare's plays as generative instances of these possibilities rather than as so many attempts to recreate a lost origin with varying degrees of fidelity. Students will also explore issues raised by the films including those associated with comedy, tragedy, race, gender, class, notions of divine being, war, authority, ambition, death, subjectivity, identity, and (post)colonialism.

Modern and Contemporary Poetry

Credit: 6 Units of credit (12.5%)

Term: Terms 1 & 2

Contact: Dr John Fitzsimmons

Description: The aim of this course is to examine both Modern and Contemporary Poetry in the context of contemporary theoretical perspectives. In this course, poetry is regarded as a discursive practice rather than simply as an aesthetic experience, a practice which problematizes orthodox humanist notions such as the transparency of language, the fixity of meaning, the unity of the self, and poetry's alleged non-ideological access to universal truth. Students will be expected to demonstrate advanced skills in reading poetry, and an appreciation of modernist/postmodernist debate as this relates to poetry.

Postmodern Fiction

Credit: 6 Units of credit (12.5%)

Term: Terms 1 & 2

Contact: Dr John Fitzsimmons

Description: This aim of this course is to explore postmodernism by examining a selection of recent theoretical issues (for example, Ihab Hassan uses the term catena - a chain of connected subjects - to describe postmodernism as a term which suggests indeterminacy, fragmentation, de-canonization, selflessness, the unrepresentable, hybridization, carnivalization, and participation) in conjunction with a selection of postmodern texts. Students will also examine various challenges to postmodernism (for instance, Terry Eagleton's suggestion that postmodernism constitutes a self-serving legitimation of political impotence).

Theoretical Approaches: Literary and Cultural Studies

Credit: 6 Units of credit (12.5%)

Term: Terms 1 & 2

Contact: Dr John Fitzsimmons

Description: This course provides students with a series of readings focused around various theoretical approaches to both literary and cultural studies within the framework of what is called the "New Humanities". It is designed to enhance the students' existing knowledge of theoretical approaches within these disciplines and provides an opportunity to extend their competence in both theoretical argumentation and analysis of specific texts and cultural forms. The course recognises the affiliations between literary and cultural studies, as well as their differences, and encourages students to explore potential congruencies through selected writings.

Reading Course

Credit: 6 Units of credit (12.5%)

Term: Terms 1 & 2

Contact: Dr John Fitzsimmons

Description: The content and format of reading courses will be negotiated. Its purpose is to provide students with the opportunity to explore in depth, as a guided reading project, some aspect of literature of interest to the student. Assessment will be negotiated with tutor, but usually not less that 5000 words or equivalent.