The Turbulent Years: Australian Literature 1960-1988 Course/Class July 8, 2011

What is Australian Literature? Does it really exist? By introducing some of the major texts and writers of the period, this course will plunge participants into the turbulent decades between 1960 and 1988 when Australia found itself divided by the Vietnam War and reeling under the impact of US global influence. While the main focus will be on fiction and poetry, it will also include some drama. The aim is to encourage participants to develop reading skills and to acquire an awareness of issues that have been central to the development of recent Australian literature. These include freedom from British models and publishing, the question of Australian identity, anti-Modernism, Vietnam, the American cultural invasion, spirituality and loss of values, feminism, and the emergence of gay rights. Other issues to be discussed will include the re-writing of Australian history from postcolonial and Indigenous perspectives and the changing representation of gender and sexuality in Australian writing. The sessions will be a combination of entertaining lectures and friendly open tutorials. Details of this event may be subject to change. Please visit http://www.cce.usyd.edu.au/course/tyal for more information or to register.

Official Website: http://www.cce.usyd.edu.au/course/tyal