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Unit Synopsis
This unit examines contemporary theoretical concepts and issues in the context of the history of literary theory. You will explore the ethical and ideological implications of different critical perspectives and reading practices including liberal humanism, psychoanalysis, Marxism, structuralism, deconstruction, and feminism. You will discover how literary theory has contributed to shaping and critiquing contemporary culture, and will, in turn, enable you to make your own informed contributions to ongoing debates in literary fields and broader social contexts.
Details
| Level | Postgraduate |
|---|---|
| Unit Level | 8 |
| Credit Points | 6 |
| Student Contribution Band | SCA Band 1 |
| Fraction of Full-Time Student Load | 0.125 |
| Pre-requisites or Co-requisites |
- Completion of 36 credit points in the English and Cultural Studies major for CA10 or CB94; or
- Completion of 24 credit points in the English minor in CC13; or
- Completion of 24 credit points in the Secondary Teaching minor in CG85; or - Completion of 24 credit points in CC10. (Note: For CC10, the pre-req would be for cp in the course overall, not in a minor/major) Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework). |
| Class Timetable | View Unit Timetable |
| Residential School | No Residential School |
Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2024
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Postgraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Assessment Tasks
| Assessment Task | Weighting |
|---|---|
| 1. Written Assessment | 20% |
| 2. Written Assessment | 40% |
| 3. Written Assessment | 40% |
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).
Past Exams
All University policies are available on the Policy web site, however you may wish to directly view the following policies below.
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of policies are available on the Policy web site .
Term 1 - 2025 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 25.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 44.44% response rate.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Source: Teaching staff evaluation
There is opportunity for greater scaffolding of unit content which allows students to build their familiarity and confidence with literary theory.
Build on the knowledge learned throughout the unit and also in earlier, lower level units.
Attempts have been made to scaffold theoretical content into first and second-year level units to greater prepare students for this unit.
Source: Teaching staff evaluation
Students would benefit from having access to a glossary.
Build a glossary of key terms.
A glossy of key terms is under development.
Source: Student feedback and teaching staff evaluation
Review the assigned textbook and readings to ensure equity of access for all students.
Ensure the recommended textbook is available for all students.
Textbook allocations for this unit were revised.
Source: Student Evaluation Survey
Assessment instructions and guidance need to be revised for greater clarity
Review assessment instructions and general unit navigation to enhance clarity and understanding.
In Progress
Source: Student Evaluation Survey
Some students found the quantity of content to be higher than they were able to engage with in each week
Engage a learning designer to assist in a review of the unit's learning materials and approach, with a particular focus on refining scope.
In Progress
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Interrogate historical theoretical concepts and issues of literary and cultural studies to critique contemporary theories which affirm and contest these methods and their assumptions
- Appraise key theorists and texts in literary criticism and theory, and interpret their methods and ideas in literary texts and cultural practices
- Analyse and evaluate significant critical debates surrounding key texts and concepts, as well as theoretical problems associated with how texts make meaning
- Critically interpret the positions taken by various theorists, and discuss some of their social, ethical and political implications.
N/A
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment | • | • | ||
| 2 - Written Assessment | • | • | ||
| 3 - Written Assessment | • | • | ||
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Knowledge | • | • | • | |
| 2 - Communication | • | • | • | • |
| 3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills | • | • | ||
| 5 - Self-management | • | • | ||
| 6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility | • | • | ||
| 8 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | • | |||
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | |