ACL 1001: Reading Contemporary Fiction Lecture 12: Unit Overview

Topics Covered in ACL 1001 What is a text? What does it mean to ‘read,’ or critique a text? Literary Theory – commentary on literature and ideas about reading and writing ‘the canon of “great” English literature and its links to ideologies of class, ‘culture’ and value Ideologies of gender: Masculinity/Femininity Realist Fiction and its conventions Post- Modern Fiction and its experimentations Ideologies of ‘Race’, Ethnicity and National Identity Colonialism/postcolonialism

Novels Tony Birch Blood Siri Hustvedt, The Summer without Men Toni Morrison, Tar Baby Zadie Smith, White Teeth

Major Essay Choose a topic and develop a cogent response. What is your essay argument? You are required to write on both White Teeth and Tar Baby, giving equal weight to each. Quote directly from these primary texts to show where your idea is drawn from. Draw on theoretical material to answer the question. The long essay MUST include at least three references from academic texts found in and through the library (not internet sites), as well as material from the Unit Reader. Independent research

Major Essay Correct referencing (Harvard Style) http://guides.library.vu.edu.au/harvard Bibliography Don’t generalise, always back up opinions with refereed scholarly articles. Draft, draft and proofread

Resources Feminist Frequency http://www.feministfrequency.com/ Destroy the Joint http://www.facebook.com/DestroyTheJoint Sociological Issues http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/popular-posts/ TED Talks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTvSfeCRxe8