ENL2003 The Art of Storytelling

Contents

• Staffing
• Requisites
• Synopsis
• Objectives
• Topics
• Texts
• Reference materials
• Student workload
• Assessment details
• Important assessment information
• Assessment notes
• Production date
• PDF version

STAFFING

REQUISITES

SYNOPSIS

Storytelling is considered to be a universal cultural practice. The study of narrative forms and structures thus contributes to a general understanding of how people make sense of themselves and their world. This course enables students to expand on concepts and skills from introductory English courses, providing more detailed strategies for analysing narratives in a variety of different textual forms, including novels, films and new media. Analyses of texts will be organised around key concepts of Narrative Time and Narrative Distance, enabling students to identify structural commonalities across the different types of narrative texts and to pinpoint specific characteristics of each form. Consideration will also be given in each case to historical and cultural contexts, to highlight the relationship between text and context, but also to demonstrate the more general validity of narrative analysis.

OBJECTIVES

On successful completion of this course students should be able to:

1. Employ an advanced vocabulary of critical narratology in the analysis of narrative texts;
2. Identify structural commonalities among narratives in novels, films and new media;
3. Demonstrate understanding of specific formal characteristics of novels, films and new media relevant to narrative analysis;
4. Critically examine the relationship between a narrative text and the cultural and historical contexts in which it is produced and received;

TOPICS

TEXT and MATERIALS required to be PURCHASED or accessed

ALL textbooks and materials are available for purchase from USQ BOOKSHOP (unless otherwise stated). Orders may be placed via secure internet, free fax 1800642453, phone 07 46312742 (within Australia), or mail. Overseas students should fax +61 7 46311743, or phone +61 7 46312742. For costs, further details, and internet ordering, use the 'Textbook Search' facility at http://bookshop.usq.edu.au click 'Semester', then enter your 'Course Code' (no spaces).

DVD, "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", 2004, Michel Gondry (dir.), United International Pictures

Film, "Groundhog Day", 1993, Harold Ramis (dir.), Columbia Tristar

Film, "The Others", 2001, Alejandro Amenabar (dir.), Cruise/Wagner Productions

Film, "The Usual Suspects", 1995, Bryan Singer (dir.), PlyGram Filmed Entertainment

Multimedia, "Afternoon, A Story", Michael Joyce, Eastgate Systems Inc.

Conrad, Joseph 1988, Heart of darkness, 4th edn, Norton, New York.
(Norton Critical Edition, edited by Armstrong, Paul B.)

Faulkner, William 2004, As I lay dying, Vintage Classics.

James, Henry 1999, The turn of the screw, 2nd edn, Norton, New York.
(Norton Critical Edition, edited y Esch, Deborah & Warren, Jonathan)

REFERENCE MATERIALS

Reference materials are materials that, if accessed by students, may improve their knowledge and understanding of the material in the course and enrich their learning experience.

Corrigan, Timothy 1999, Film and literature: an introduction and reader, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ.

Herman, D, Jahn, M & Ryan, M (eds.) 2005, Routledge encyclopedia of narrative theory, Routledge, New York.

Herman, David 1999, Narratologies: new perspectives on narrative analysis, Ohio State University Press, Columbus, OH.

Kindt, Tom & Muller, Hans-Harald 2003, What is narratology?: questions and answers regarding the status of a theory, Walter de Gruyter, New York.

Lothe, Jakob 2000, Narrative in fiction and film, Oxford University Press, New York.

Milner, Andrew 2002, Contemporary cultural theory: an introduction, 3rd edn, Routledge, New York.

Monaco, James 2000, How to read a film, 3rd edn, Oxford University Press, New York.

Murray, Janet 1998, Hamlet on the holodeck: the future of narrative in cyberspace, MIT Press, Cambridge, MASS.

Prince, Gerald 2003, A dictionary of narratology (Rev. ed), University of Nabraska Press, Lincoln.

Punday, Daniel 2003, Narrative bodies: toward a corporeal narratology, Palgrave MacMillan, New York.

Ryan, Marie-Laure 2001, Narrative as virtual reality, John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.
(Electronic version also)

Wolf, Mark & Perron, Bernard (eds.) 2004, The video game theory reader, Routledge, New York.

STUDENT WORKLOAD REQUIREMENTS

ASSESSMENT DETAILS

NOTES

1.

This assessment is aligned with Objectives 1 - 4.

2.

This assessment is aligned with Objectives 1 - 4.

3.

Students will be advised of the exam date when the timetable has been finalised.

IMPORTANT ASSESSMENT INFORMATION

1. Attendance requirements:
   There are no attendance requirements for this external course. However, it is the student's responsibility to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration.
2. Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
   To successfully complete an individual assessment item, a student must achieve at least 50% of the marks or a grade of at least C-. This statement must be read in conjunction with Statement 4 below.
3. Penalties for late submission of required work:
   If students submit assignments after the due date without extenuating circumstances and without prior approval, then a penalty of a maximum of 5% of the assigned mark may apply for each working day late, up to a maximum of 10 working days, at which time a mark of zero can be recorded for that assignment.
4. Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
   To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must achieve at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course.
5. Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
   The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the aggregate of the weighted marks obtained for each of the summative assessment items in the course.
6. Examination information:
   The exam for this course is a CLOSED examination, and candidates are allowed to bring only writing and drawing instruments into the examination.
7. Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
   Any deferred or supplementary examinations for this course will be held during the next examination period.
8. University Regulations:
   Students should read USQ Regulations 5.1 Definitions, 5.6 Assessment, and 5.10 Academic Misconduct for further information and to avoid actions which might contravene University Regulations. These regulations can be found at the URL http://www.usq.edu.au/corporateservices/calendar/part5.htm

ASSESSMENT NOTES

This version produced 27 May 2008.