[English] Australian Literature Roundtable

Wed Aug 8 08:14:32 EST 2007

you can add robert drewe's The shark net which we do in yr 11 lit

douglas

On 07/08/2007, at 11:34 PM, Scott Bulfin wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> Further to my previous email, here is a list of Australian  
> Literature that is or has recently been on the VCE English and  
> Literature text lists.
>
> Perhaps you are teaching Australian Lit in the middie years? Do you  
> want to add to the list?
>
> Scott
>
>
> English:
> Behrendt, Larissa, Home
> Macauley, Wayne, Blueprints for a Barbed-Wire Canoe
> Winton, Tim, Minimum of Two
> Rayson, Hannie, Inheritance
> Kelly, Paul, Donʼt Start Me Talking: Lyrics 1984–2004
> Goldsworthy, Peter, Maestro,
> Farmer, Beverley, Collected Stories
> Slessor, Kenneth, Selected Poems
> Gaita, Raimond, Romulus, My Father
> Jindabyne (Director: Ray Lawrence)
> Malouf, David, Fly Away Peter
> Drewe, Robert, The Shark Net
> Flanagan, Arch and Martin, The Line
> Grenville, Kate, The Secret River
> Dawe, Bruce, Sometimes Gladness
> Murray-Smith, Joanna, Bombshells
> Witness (Director: Peter Weir)
> Look Both Ways (Director: Sarah Watt)
>
>
> Literature:
> Day, Gregory, The Patron Saint of Eels, ! Picador, 2005
> Grenville, Kate, The Idea of Perfection, Picador, 2000
> Mayes, Andrea, The Rose Notes, Penguin, 2005
> Enright, Nick, and Monjo, Justin, Cloudstreet (adapted from
> the novel by Tim Winton), Currency Press, 1999
> Parsons, Nick, De! ad Heart: The Play, Currency Press, 2003
> Nowra, Louis, Radiance, Currency Press, 2004
> Carey, Peter, Collected Stories, Vintage, Random House, 2005
> Drewe, Robert (ed.), The Penguin Book of the Beach, Penguin, 2001
> Mears, Gillian, A Map of the Gardens, Picador, 2002
> Bayet-Charlton, Fabienne, Finding Ullagundahi Island, Allen &  
> Unwin, 2002
> Li, Cunxin, Maoʼs Last Dancer, Penguin, 2003
> Wright, Judith, Half a Lifetime, Penguin, 2001
> Lawrence, Anthony, Skinned by Light, University of Queensland  
> Press, 2002
> Murray, Les Collected Poems, Black Inc., 2006
> McGirr, Michael, Bypass: The Story of a Road, Pan Macmillan, 2005
> Modjeska, Drusilla, Timepieces, Picador, 2002
> Astley, Thea, Hunting the Wild Pineapple, Penguin, 1981
> Rayson , Hannie, Hotel Sorrento, Currency Press, 2002
> Murray-Smith, Joanna, Honour, Currency Press, 2006
> McGahan, Andrew, ! The White Earth, Allen & Unwin, 2004
> de Kretser, Michelle, The Hamilton Case, Vintage, Random House, 2004
> Beveridge, Judith, Wolf Notes, Giramondo Publishing Company, 2003.
> Kinsella, John, Peripheral Light: Selected and New Poems, Fremantle  
> Arts Centre Press, 2003
>
> On 07/08/2007, at 10:40 PM, Stephen Loosley wrote:
>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> A speech today by Julie Bishop (Minister for Education, Science  
>> and Training, and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for  
>> Women's Issues)
>>
>> Australian Literature Roundtable - Dinner
>>
>> Monday 6 August 2007
>> Parliament House, Canberra
>> <http://www.dest.gov.au/Ministers/Media/Bishop/2007/08/ 
>> BOO02070807.asp>
>>
>> *******
>>
>> Last year, The Australian newspaper conducted an experiment.
>>
>> It submitted to publishers and literary agents, under a false  
>> name, a chapte! r of the novel The Eye of the Storm, by  
>> Australia’s first, and to date, only Nobel Laureate for  
>> Literature - Patrick White.
>>
>> The chapter was rejected by every one of them.
>>
>> One went so far as to refer the author to a book on how to write  
>> fiction.
>>
>> What does this experiment say about the state of literature, more  
>> par! ticularly Australian literature?
>>
>> Does it reveal what is going on in our publishing houses –
>>
>> Or perhaps in our Universities and schools?
>>
>> Tomorrow’s Roundtable will seek to examine the current state of  
>> Australian literature –
>> And consider how we can preserve and develop its place in the life  
>> of the nation.
>>
>> And it is timely.
>>
>> Next year we celebrate the centenary of the establishment of the  
>> Commonwealth Literary Fund by Alfred Deakin in 1908 – which was  
>> originally a benevolent fund for ageing or infirmed authors and  
>> their families.
>>
>> It was expanded by Prime Minister Menzies to encompass  
>> fellowships, support for publishers and literary journals.
>>
>> And in 1973, the fund was taken over by the Literature Board of  
>> the Australia Council.
>>
>> I hope that out of tomorrow’s deliberations, steps can be taken  
>> to maintain and build on the status of Australian literature.
>>
>> While this ! responsibility rests with many guardians of  
>> Australian literature, I do congratulate the Literature Board of  
>> the Australia Council for organising this roundtable.
>>
>> Our universities have an important role to play in nurturing our  
>> literature, as do the publishing houses.
>>
>> But it’s in our schools that most Australians first come across  
>> the nation’s literature.
>>
>> As the Minister for Education, I am keenly aware of the need to  
>> ensure our schools play their role in ensuring Australian  
>> literature is not overlooked by the nation.
>>
>> Young people have their first opportunity at school to examine the  
>> great works of the English-speaking world, and discover the  
>> characters and creatures of Western literature.
>>
>> The canon of Western literature forms the bedrock of our cultural  
>> inheritance and retains its value across the centuries.
>>
>> The lessons and values inherent in these great works give all  
>> generations an understanding of the cultural values that underpin  
>> our laws, institutions and society.
>>
>> This is why it is important for our schools to ensure young  
>> Australians are given the opportunity and encouraged to develop a  
>> knowledge and love of some of the classic works of Western  
>> literature, including Australian works.
>>
>> In teaching cl! assical literature, we open a window onto the  
>> triumphs and tragedies o f times gone by.
>>
>> More than just developing higher-order literacy skills, we share  
>> the history and the heritage of our past with future generations,  
>> and we hand down a sense of the ages.
>>
>> In this sense, William Shakespeare is just as relevant today as he  
>> was in Tudor times.
>>
>> Richard III and Julius Caesar, teach us an important lesson about  
>> the danger of despotism, whilst Macbeth is a thesis on betrayal.
>>
>> And in twentieth century English literature, George Orwell’s  
>> Nineteen-Eighty Four is the standard work on totalitarianism,  
>> while Animal Farm, through its parody of the Russian Revolution,  
>> demonstrates the corruption of ideas.
>>
>> These great works reveal the importance of the battle for  
>> individual liberty, the foundations of democracy and the role of  
>> social norms in the functioning of society.
>>
>> An excellent example of this last inheritance – the social norms  
>> of the day – is illustrated through the works of Jane Austen.
>>
>> Austen opened a door on late 18th and early 19th century England  
>> to provide a valuable insight into the social history of that age.
>>
>> Great literature also presents ideas with eloquence, and provides  
>> models and examples by which students can develop their ! skills  
>> of expression.
>>
>> English common law formed the foundation for our legal system,  
>> English literature has bequeathed to us a literary tradition from  
>> which we have moulded and developed our own.
>>
>>> From the early work of Watkin Tench, A Narrative of the  
>>> Expedition to Botany Bay, to the works of Peter Carey and Thomas  
>>> Keneally, Australian literature builds on and continues to add to  
>>> the works of the English-speaking world.
>>
>> Australian literature can be characterised by the emergence of a  
>> distinctly Australian voice and sense of identity.
>>
>> Every young Australian should share in this important heritage and  
>> schools should ensure students are given every opportunity to  
>> discover them.
>>
>> I am an unapologetic supporter of the view that the classical  
>> works should form a prominent part of English classes in  
>> Australian schools.
>>
>> As Peter Craven put it last year, “it’s important that we hang  
>> on to the idea that some pieces of work have got more going for  
>> them than others”.
>>
>> The protection of our literary past is not just about ensuring  
>> that enough students study Henry Kendall, Banjo Patterson and  
>> Xavier Herbert.
>>
>> School students should develop a love of literature and learn to  
>> interpre! t that literature through the prism of their personal  
>> values and throu gh the norms of our society.
>>
>> They shouldn’t be forced to interpret literature through  
>> particular political or ideological perspectives.
>>
>> Critical literacy is one of the more unfortunate developments in  
>> Australian school English classes in recent times.
>>
>> The idea that all texts must be continually seen in terms of cl!  
>> ass, gender and race can actually discourage students from reading  
>> literature.
>>
>> As Luke Slattery has noted, critical literacy has been embedded  
>> into most state and territory English syllabuses.
>>
>>
>> This problem was illustrated a few years ago when Sophie Masson  
>> wrote of her son - then studying HSC English - having to take  
>> Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and compare it! to an advertisement  
>> for a weight-lifting gym.
>>
>> As Sophie said: “If it wasn’t horrible, it would be hilarious”.
>>
>> Another example - a student in Queensland was asked to write a  
>> feminist critique of the German fairy tale Rapunzel.
>>
>> I quote: "Even the title Rapunzel is not left without the gender!  
>> assumption. For example, the story title Rapunzel is in fact the  
>> name of a vegetable, therefore reinforcing the gender roles of  
>> women as a vegetable, which can be linked with cooking chores  
>> deemed to be a woman's profession."
>>
>> That student received top marks.
>>
>> Give me a break! Why can’t The Brothers Grimm just be about a  
>> young maiden imprisoned in a tower where love and goodness  
>> triumphed over evil.
>>
>> This problem of how literat ure is taught, as opposed to how much  
>> is taught, is one of the most insidious problems in the teaching  
>> of Australian literature.
>>
>> An appreciation of the best literature should be an essential part  
>> of schooling.
>>
>> There is a legitimate concern that our core literary canon and our  
>> major contemporary writers no longer carry the weight they should  
>> within our education systems, and that there is a decreasing  
>> knowledge of core texts.
>>
>> Responsibility for the selection of literary works for school  
>> study remains with the state and territory government and non- 
>> government authorities.
>>
>> Nevertheless, the Australian Government can take a leadership role  
>> by identifying issues of national concern and by promoting higher  
>> educational standards and achieving greater national consistency  
>> in schools.
>>
>> The Australian Government’s aim is to make the content and  
>> standards of the curriculum delivered in Australian schools  
>> transparent and open to scrutiny by students, teachers, parents,  
>> and the community-at-large.
>>
>> Last year I released the report “Year 12 Curriculum Content and  
>> Achievement Standards” by the Australian Council for Educational  
>> Research.
>>
>> This report provides the first Australia-wide picture of what is  
>> expected of students taking five subjects: English, mathematics,  
>> chemistry, physics and Australian history in the final years of  
>> seconda! ry school.
>>
>> The study found significant differences between states in  
>> curriculum content, assessment and reporting of student results.
>>
>> The study found that there are 18 different senior English courses  
>> available for students wanting to continue to tertiary studies.
>>
>> Does this wide variation best serve the interests of students?
>>
>> It is a disturbing trend that in Queensland, for example, the  
>> number of students studying English or English Literature dropped  
>> from 93 per cent to 80 per cent of year 12 students over the past  
>> decade, while the number of students studying the softer option of  
>> English Communication rose from 2400 to 8500 students.
>>
>> The teaching of English is essential in all primary and secondary  
>> schools. A crucial aspect of the teaching of English should be the  
>> study of literature – particularly in the senior years.
>>
>> The Australian Government announced in this year’s Budget $13  
>> million to develop core curricula standards for Year 10, 11 and 12  
>> subjects by 2009 - for English, Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Biology  
>> and Australian History for Years 11 and 12, and for English,  
>> Maths, Science and Australian History for Year 10.
>>
>>> From 1 January 2009, States and territories will be required to  
>>> meet these core national standards.
>>
>> I want to see the study of Australian literature given greater  
>> prominence in schools across Australia.
>>
>> It is gratifying that many young people still love to read, we  
>> only have to look at the recent sales of the latest Harry Potter  
>> book to see that.
>>
>> However, we need to build upon this enthusiasm to also introduce  
>> students to Australian literature.
>>
>> The ability of the teacher is of crucial importance.
>>
>> A talented teacher can bring stories alive and fire the  
>> imagination, while others can make the same topic dreary.
>>
>> The Australian Government believes that our teachers deserve to be  
>> energised with quality professional development.
>>
>> Our new initiative, Australian Govern ment Summer Schools for  
>> Teachers, will include a specific two-week professional learning  
>> programme on the teaching of English, as well as other core subjects
>>
>> This should be an opportunity to remind teachers of the need to  
>> instil in our students an appreciation of Australian literature.
>>
>> We need to encourage publishers to look at the potential markets  
>> for Australian writers, domestically and internationally.
>>
>> I have been concerned to find that a large part of Australia’s  
>> literary heritage is out-of-print.
>> For example, I was looking for the Billabong series by Mary Grant  
>> Bruce as a gift for a nephew – and found they are out of print. I  
>> was brought up on these books!
>>
>> I was speaking to my brother just then and he was lamenting the  
>> fact that he can’t buy a copy of his childhood favourite  
>> “February Dragon” by Colin Thiele, for his little boy, he had  
>> read it so many times he knew it off my heart as a boy. Not  
>> available!
>>
>> We need to preserve our distinctly Australian voice and stories,  
>> our intellectual and cultural heritage.
>>
>> We must give children access to Australia’s inheritance.
>>
>> The living past and the lessons we can take from it should be  
>> nothing less than a unique and joyous learning experience.
>>
>> The authors, books and plays that students should study has always  
>> caught the imagination and encouraged debate.
>>
>> Tonight, I am pleased to announce that the Australian Government  
>> will donate $1.5 million as an endowment towards the establishment  
>> of a chair in Australian Literature at an Australian University.
>>
>> There are currently only two chairs – only one is permanent and I  
>> am seeking to esta! blish another permanent chair.
>>
>> I will be inviting universities to apply to host this position.
>>
>> I hope that this Roundtable can provide some guidance to not only  
>> Australia’s schools, but our universities on how we can ensure  
>> young people have access to Australian literature for generations  
>> to come.
>>
>> The Government is keen to consider practical ideas that aim to  
>> ensure that the nation’s literary tradition is fostered and  
>> apprec! iated.
>>
>> I look forward to your deliberations.
>>
>>
>> Media Contacts:
>> Ms Bishop’s Office: Murray Hansen 0417 886 155
>>
>>
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>
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