ALL381 - Nature, Climate, Transformation
Unit details
| Year: | 2023 unit information |
|---|---|
| Enrolment modes: | Trimester 1: Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Online Trimester 3: Online |
| Credit point(s): | 1 |
| EFTSL value: | 0.125 |
| Unit Chair: | Trimester 1: Emily Potter Trimester 3: Emily Potter |
| Prerequisite: | One English - Literature unit at second year level |
| Corequisite: | Nil |
| Incompatible with: | Nil |
| Typical study commitment: | Students will on average spend 150-hours over the teaching period undertaking the teaching, learning and assessment activities for this unit. |
| Scheduled learning activities - campus: | 1 x 1-hour class (online), 1 x 2-hour seminar per week |
| Scheduled learning activities - online: | 1 x 1-hour class (online) per week, 1 x 2-hour seminar or equivalent per week |
Content
Extreme weather events, choking pollution and the destruction of habitat, climate refugees and the struggle to end our reliance on fossil fuels: these are just some of the issues raised by writers who take nature, climate and the environment as the central focus of their work. In this unit students will engage with a variety of fiction and non-fiction texts to explore the ways in which writers are confronting the human exploitation of nature that has led to the current climate crisis, and advocating a transformation of the relationship between humans and the environment. Students will learn to identify key conventions and concerns of historical and contemporary ecocritical texts, as well as respond to prominent debates and discourses around environmental politics and activism, including the role of literary texts.
| ULO | These are the Learning Outcomes (ULO) for this unit. At the completion of this unit, successful students can: | Deakin Graduate Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
| ULO1 | Recognise and understand historical and contemporary literary representations of nature and the environment, and the conventions of ecocritical literature in English across a variety of written texts | GLO1: Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities |
| ULO2 | Identify and critically engage with key concepts related to ecocritical thought and critical environmentalism through the interpretation of literary texts | GLO4: Critical thinking |
| ULO3 | Analyse how literary texts represent and interact with contemporary debates and discourses related to the environment, and discuss the transformative impacts this has on the relationship between humans and nature | GLO8: Global citizenship |
| ULO4 | Express ideas effectively, and construct and elaborate cogent arguments through textual examples and critical references, communicated in written form | GLO2: Communication |
Assessment
| Assessment Description | Student output | Grading and weighting (% total mark for unit) | Indicative due week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment 1 - Online Quiz | 1000 words or equivalent | 25% | Week 5 |
| Assessment 2 - Research and Writing Exercise | 1400 words or equivalent | 35% | Week 8 |
| Assessment 3 - Essay | 1600 word or equivalent | 40% | Week 11 |
The assessment due weeks provided may change. The Unit Chair will clarify the exact assessment requirements, including the due date, at the start of the teaching period.
Learning Resource
The texts and reading list for the unit can be found on the University Library via ALL381
Note: Select the relevant trimester reading list. Please note that a future teaching period's reading list may not be available until a month prior to the start of that teaching period so you may wish to use the relevant trimester's prior year reading list as a guide only.
Unit Fee Information
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