Australian Literature

About the minor

The Australian Literature minor, which runs through the Department of English, will give you a broad understanding of the history and characteristics of Australian literature in its international contexts. It will offer you the chance to become better acquainted with writing in and about Australia, as well as Australian writers in their various national and international contexts. The Australian literature minor introduces you to a wide range of literary and cultural works – poems, plays, novels and films – from colonial times to the present day, including works by Indigenous authors.

You will encounter the richness, breadth and depth of Australian Literature through a critical engagement with some of the innovative and influential works that have shaped Australia’s cultural heritage. Australian Literature at the University of Sydney teaches students to express advanced theoretical concepts with insight, clarity and rigour, whilst engaging with the literature and ideas that have contributed to the nation's distinctive intellectual and artistic formations. Through class discussion and presentations, essay writing and exams, you will hone critical skills central to the Australian Literature minor. You will also learn how to read works closely and make sophisticated connections between Australian writing and the wider culture.

Requirements for completion

A minor in Australian Literature requires 36 credit points from the Unit of Study table including:
(i) 12 credit points of 1000-level units
(ii) 12 credit points of 2000-level units
(iii) 12 credit points of 3000-level units

First year

First year in the Australian Literature minor allows you to explore the wider context of English before moving on to more focused study of Australian texts in your second and third year. It introduces you to a diverse range of English units, from global, gothic, and American literatures, to studies of language, narrative and the ‘fictive’ self, as well as film studies and creative writing. Some units include Australian texts as part of their curriculum. The completion of any two will enable you to undertake the Australian Literature minor. In dynamic lectures and tutorials you will learn fundamental skills in the reading and analysis of texts that will equip you for further study in Australian Literature, while acquiring confidence and proficiency in oral and written assignments.

Second year

Second year in the Australian Literature minor introduces you to key genres and periods in Australian culture in units focusing on Australian gothic, Australian theatre and film, the revolutionary writing of the 1960s and beyond, and Australian postmodernism. These units develop your knowledge of the history and variety of Australian texts; from the colonial era to the present day, and introduce you to critical and theoretical approaches that will prepare you for further study. In class and in well-tailored assessment tasks you will advance your fluency in writing and analysis, and engage inclusively and collaboratively with your peers.

Third year

Third year in the Australian Literature minor builds on the skills you have acquired in first and second year, and rounds off your study of Australian texts, the national and international contexts that shape them, and the cultural and historical milieux in which they circulate and are read. Third-year units are generally taught in seminar mode, taking advantage of staff expertise in specialist areas. These include Australian nature writing, Australian modernism, Australian literature as a world literature, Indigenous ecopoetics, and the in-depth study of selected major Australian authors.

Working closely with staff and with their peers in small groups, students more directly shape the learning experience. You will progress your knowledge of critical theory and practice in order to be able to apply your disciplinary skills in diverse and interdisciplinary ways. Assessments are designed to test your superior research and writing abilities.

Contact/further information

Department website: sydney.edu.au/arts/australian_literature/
School of Literature, Art and Media Wesbite: http://sydney.edu.au/arts/slam

Undergraduate Coordinator: Dr Isabelle Hesse
Phone: +61 2 9351 6859
Email:

Example pathways

Learning outcomes

1. Demonstrate knowledge of a range of literary and other texts within Australian and Indigenous Australian cultures, and an understanding of the importance of their social, historical and geographical contexts.
2. Demonstrate knowledge of distinct genres or varieties of literary forms and writing practices, and how these have been developed and adapted within Australian and Indigenous Australian contexts.
3. Demonstrate knowledge of changing theories, methods, and concepts in literary and textual studies, including the changing national and international perspectives within which Australian and Indigenous Australian texts have been read.
4. Read, understand and interpret complex literary and other texts.
5. Locate, assess and use appropriate critical resources.
6. Construct coherent, evidence-based arguments.
7. Communicate coherently in a range of critical and/or creative forms.
8. Apply relevant skills and knowledge to recognise and reflect on the significance of Australian and Indigenous Australian texts in imagining and interpreting the world, the nation, and national and cultural identities.