University of Sydney Handbooks - 2018 Archive

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International and Comparative Literary Studies

International and Comparative Literary Studies

Major

A major in International and Comparative Literary Studies requires 48 credit points from this table including:
(i) 12 credit points of 1000-level units
(ii) 12 credit points of 2000-level units
(iii) 18 credit points of 3000-level units
(iv) 6 credit points of 3000-level Interdisciplinary Project units

Minor

A minor in International and Comparative Literary Studies requires 36 credit points from this table including:
(i) 12 credit points of 1000-level units
(ii) 12 credit points of 2000-level units
(iii) 12 credit points of 3000-level units

1000 level units of study

ICLS1001 World Literatures in Translation

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 2x1hr lectures/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week Assessment: 2x500wd in-class tests (20%), 1x1000wd report on cultural activity (20%), 1x500wd oral presentation (20%), 1x2000wd final essay (40%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
What is literature? How is it related to language and culture? What can we learn about different cultures and societies from the stories that they produced? With the shrinking of distances due to travel and technology in the modern age, do literatures of the world become more similar or more different? This unit reflects on these issues by looking at a range of exemplary literary works translated into English from Asian, European, and Middle Eastern languages, and examines them in the context of translation studies, national literatures, and different cultural and narrative traditions.
ICLS1002 Foundations of Comparative Literature

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 2x1hr lecture/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week Assessment: 1x 500wd oral presentation (20%), 2x 500wd in-class test (20%), 1x 1000wd report on cultural activity (20%), 1x 2000wd final essay (40%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit will provide students with foundational knowledge of the major theoretical approaches in the fields of international comparative literature, literary theory, postcolonial studies, and translation studies. Students will learn about the way in which literary representation is informed by, and in turn informs, international relations and cross-cultural negotiations. They will begin to develop proficiency in comparative analysis via examination of the different articulations of literary themes and ideas in different national contexts.

2000 level units of study

ICLS2621 Love in Different Languages

This unit of study is not available in 2018

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x1hr lecture/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: 12 Junior credit points from any of the following (Arabic Studies, Chinese Studies, English, European Studies, French Studies, Germanic Studies, Modern Hebrew, Indonesian Studies, Italian Studies, Japanese Studies, Korean Studies, Modern Greek & Byzantine Studies, Spanish & Latin American Studies, or History) Assessment: 1x1000wd Class presentation (10%), 2x2500wd Essays (90%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
What is the meaning of "love"? Is it the same for different individuals and cultures at different periods? How does it relate to the profound crisis of meaning in contemporary society? What is its relationship to desire, language and death? Why do the Greeks have three words for love and the English one? This unit of study explores the theme of love in a variety of national literatures including Arabic, English, Greek, French and Italian.
ICLS2622 World Literature 3: Twentieth Century

This unit of study is not available in 2018

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x1hr lecture/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: 18 Junior credit points from Table A, of which 12 credit points are from one subject area Assessment: 1x5 minute oral presentation and 1x1 page plan equivalent to 1000 words (10%), 2x2500wd essays (90%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
What are the great works of literature of the 20th century? How does history leave its mark on them? This unit introduces some exemplary literary works translated into English from Asian and European languages as well as works originally written in English. It studies them in the context of world history, national literatures and different narrative traditions.
ICLS2624 Great Books 1: The Human Condition

This unit of study is not available in 2018

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x1hr lecture/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: 12 Junior credit points from any of the following (Arabic Studies, Chinese Studies, English, European Studies, French Studies, Germanic Studies, Modern Hebrew, Indonesian Studies, Italian Studies, Japanese Studies, Korean Studies, Modern Greek & Byzantine Studies, Spanish & Latin American Studies, or History) Prohibitions: ICLS2625 Assessment: 1x5 minute Oral Presentation with one page written plan (equivalent to 1000wds) (10%), 1x2500wd Essay (45%), 1x2500wd Take-home exam (45%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
What are the great spiritual and philosophical works of world literature? How have they come to be so regarded? What is it that has made them so enduring and adaptable? What is their relevance to a postmodern society? This unit introduces, in English and from a contemporary perspective, some of the literary cornerstones of reflection on the human condition and seeks to reveal and understand some of their continuing power.
ICLS2626 Words and Pictures across Cultures

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x1hr lecture/week, 1x1hr tutorial/ week Prerequisites: At least 12 Junior credit points in any of the following: Arabic Studies, Chinese Studies, English, European Studies, French Studies, Germanic Studies, Modern Hebrew, Indonesian Studies, Italian Studies, Japanese Studies, Korean Studies, Modern Greek & Byzantine Studies, Spanish & Latin American Studies, Art History or 12 credit points at 1000 level in ICLS or 12 credit points at 1000 level in Italian Studies Prohibitions: ICLS2002 Assessment: 1xClass presentation (equivalent to 1000wds) (10%), 2x2500wd Essays (2x45%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This Unit will look at the interaction of literature and visual and performance arts in different countries in the 19th and 20th centuries. How do these art forms draw upon each other to represent and frame society and culture, and how does this influence our reading of them? These questions will be examined through examples from literature, theatre, painting, dance, photography, cinema and/or mixed media, and movements such as orientalism, realism, symbolism, modernism, postmodernism, pop art and abstract expressionism.
ICLS2633 Cities of the World

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Andrea Bandhauer Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x1-hr lecture/week, 1x1-hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: 18 Junior credit points from Table A of which 12 credit points are from one subject area or 12 credit points at 1000 level in ICLS or 12 credit points at 1000 level in Chinese Studies Assessment: 1xclass presentation (equivalent to 1000wds) (10%), 1x2500wd essay (45%), 1x2500wd take home exam (45%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
The 'city' is a diverse and controversial theme in world literature. It touches upon past and present, alienation and fulfillment, luxury and poverty, success and failure, anonymity and fame. There are modern and old cities, cosmopolitan and 'holy' cities. By examining how the cultural and historical transformation of urban living has been approached by writers of different cultural and national backgrounds, this unit of study offers a journey to different geographic locations but also a journey through time.
ICLS2634 Literature and Revolution

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Dr Mats Karlsson Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x1-hr lecture/week, 1x1-hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: 18 Junior credit points from Table A, of which 12 credit points are from one subject area or 12 credit points at 1000 level in ICLS or 12 credit points at 1000 level in Japanese Studies Assessment: 1x5 minute oral presentation with written one page plan equivalent to 1000 words (10%), 2x2500wd essays (2x45%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit surveys the connection between literature and revolution by investigating the ways in which literary texts and movements across the world have influenced radical responses to the status quo, questioning, and provoking a re-conceptualisation of prevailing values and traditions. But how and when do literary experiments become revolutionary? Are they the same in different cultures? Could a pattern of synergies connecting literary with political and social revolutions emerge from a historical as well as cross-cultural investigation?
ICLS2635 Science Fiction: The Future is Now

This unit of study is not available in 2018

Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Assoc Prof Vrasidas Karalis Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x1-hr lecture/week, 1x1-hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: At least 12 Junior credit points from any of the following: Arabic Studies, Chinese Studies, English, European Studies, French Studies, Germanic Studies, Modern Hebrew, Indonesian Studies, Italian Studies, Japanese Studies, Korean Studies, Modern Greek & Byzantine Studies, Spanish & Latin American Studies, History. Assessment: 1x5 minute oral presentation with written one page plan equivalent to 1000 words (10%), 2x2500wd essays (2x45%). Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Science Fiction is one of the most interesting explorations of human future. Yet it addresses a number of social, political and existential issues that refer to the present: dilemmas, phobias and hopes of a world traumatised by war, disease and internal contradictions. Through the comparative study of novels and movies, this unit explores how the future, from a promised land of a great utopia, has become the dreadful exile into a dark dystopia.
ICLS2637 Watching Stars: Film and the Star System

This unit of study is not available in 2018

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x1hr lecture/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: 12 Junior credit points from any of the following (Arabic Studies, Chinese Studies, English, European Studies, French Studies, Germanic Studies, Modern Hebrew, Indonesian Studies, Italian Studies, Japanese Studies, Korean Studies, Modern Greek & Byzantine Studies, Spanish & Latin American Studies, or History) Assessment: 1x1000wds equivalent Oral Presentation (20%), 2x 2500wd Essay (80%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit will investigate how film stars reflect national preoccupations and how they achieve national and transnational fame. It will examine and compare several major film stars from several cultures and will analyse their star image through, for example, their on-screen performance in film adaptations, their celebrity bodies and faces and their representations in the popular media. Students will be introduced to film star theories. Students will have to attend at least 4 film screenings.
ITLN2002 Love in Italian Culture

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 2x1hr seminar per week Prerequisites: 12 credit points at 1000 level in Italian Studies Assessment: 1x 1500wd 1 presentation (25%), 1x 1500wd 1 research bibliography (25%), 1x 3000wd 1 final essay (40%), x class participation (10%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
What is love? Italian authors throughout the centuries have provided many different interpretations. Drawing upon major works of Italian literature, this unit will explore a range of texts from the Middle Ages through to the 19th century that deal with love, its cultural and social contexts. The texts will be considered within the context of the visual culture of the time.

3000 level units of study

CHNS3611 Chinese for Specific Purposes 1

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x1hr lecture/week, 1x2hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: CHNS3602 or CHNS3604 Prohibitions: CHNS3605 or CHNS3606 Assessment: 1x1500wd written assignment (40%), 2x10 minute Oral Presentations (30%), 1x1000wd research project (20%), Classwork and Tutorial participation (10%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit of study is intended for students who have a sound intermediate competence of Modern Standard Chinese and wish to study the language for specific purposes. The unit provides training in basic knowledge of Chinese terms, etiquette and ethics in different professions, such as medicine, law, engineering and business. It will enhance students' practical communication skills in different social and professional contexts. It will also help them develop a general understanding of inter-professional knowledge in Chinese.
CHNS3633 Stories for a Modern China

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x2hr lecture/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: 12 Senior credit points each in either Chinese Studies or Asian Studies or 6 Senior credit points in ICLS Assessment: 1x1500wd in-class test (30%), 1x500wd essay proposal (10%), 1x1000wd tutorial project (20%), 1x1500wd essay (30%), class participation (10%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit examines a range of Chinese-language works of fiction, poetry, and drama in the Republican and early People's Republic, including works by key figures such as Lu Xun, Eileen Chang, and Lao She. Texts will be placed in the social and political context of the period, when literature was considered a key tool for the modernisation of China.
CHNS3651 Chinese Drama and Theatre

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 2x1hr lecture/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week. Prerequisites: 12 credit points from one of (CHNS1303 and CHNS1304) or (CHNS2611 and CHNS2612) or 12 credit points at 2000 level in International Comparative Literature and Translation Studies or Theatre and Performance Studies. Students with a prior grounding in classical Chinese may have prerequisites waived. Assessment: Tutorial participation (10%), 1x equivalent to 500wds oral presentation (20%), 2x equivalent to 2000wds 1 hr in-class test (30%), 1x 2000wd essay (40%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
The unit studies key aspects of Chinese performance art and performance literature. It explores the development of Chinese theatre from ritual to ritual drama to literary drama and examines how ritual/theatrical elements are integrated into musical drama, the dominant form of Chinese theatre known as xiqu as represented by Kun opera and Beijing opera.
GRMN3686 Art and Ideology: Theories of Culture

This unit of study is not available in 2018

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x2hr seminar/week Prerequisites: 12 Senior credit points in GRMN Assessment: 1xoral presentation (1500wd equivalent)(25%), 1x1500wd class protocol (25%), 1x3000wd research essay (50%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Is modern culture a force for good? How does culture shape our place in the modern world? This unit introduces students to the answers German thinkers have found to these questions since the mid-nineteenth century. Reading texts by major thinkers (Nietzsche, Marx, the Frankfurt School) in the original language, we will consider the relationship between art and ideology, culture and the unconscious, and aesthetics and mass culture. Students will learn how to critically analyse cultural products across a range of media, and to reflect on the uses and limits of theory in analysing culture.
ITLN3679 Filming Fiction: The Italian Experience

This unit of study is not available in 2018

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x1hr lecture/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: ITLN1612, or HSC Italian Beginners, HSC Italian Continuers Prohibitions: ITLN3706 Assessment: Tutorial participation (10%), 1xOral Presentation (equivalent to 1500wds) (20%), Written assignments (equivalent to 2000wds) (30%), 1x2500wd final Essay (40%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
An examination of the relationship between Italian cinema and fiction. Do they speak a common language? Do they employ comparable techniques? Who copies whom? This unit investigates these and other questions by analysing the adaptation of selected contemporary Italian novels into film.
ICLS3630 Literature and Society

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x1hr lecture/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: 12 Senior credit points International and Comparative Literature Studies or 12 credit points at 2000 level in ICLS Assessment: 1x5 minute Oral Presentation with written one page plan (equivalent to 1000wds) (10%), 2x2500wd Essays (2x45%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit will look at different approaches to studying the relationship between literary texts and their social contexts. It will explore patterns of literary production and audience reception. Topics covered will include the politics and economics of literature production and the roles of author and reader. These topics will be explored within the framework of global, trans-cultural and comparative literary studies.
ICLS3631 What is Literature? Crosscultural Views

This unit of study is not available in 2018

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x1hr lecture/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: 18 Junior credit points from Table A, of which 12 credit points are from one subject area Assessment: 1xTutorial presentation equivalent to 1000wds (10%), 2x 2500wd Essays (90%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day

Interdisciplinary project unit of study

FASS3999 Interdisciplinary Impact

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: 1hr lecture/performance event week for 5 weeks 2hr workshop per week for 10 weeks 2hr online learning modules for 5 weeks Prerequisites: 18 credit points at 2000 level Assessment: 1x 2000 wds equivalent Mapping knowledge exercise (30%), 1x 10 minutes Collaborative Presentation (30%), 1x 2000 wds equivalent Critical reflection essay (40%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Note: Department permission required for enrolment
Interdisciplinarity is a key skill in fostering agility in life and work. This unit provides learning experiences that build students' skills, knowledge and understanding of the application of their disciplinary background to interdisciplinary contexts. In this unit, students will work in teams and develop interdisciplinarity skills through problem-based learning projects responding to 'real world problems'.

Honours

Honours in International and Comparative Literary Studies requires 48 credit points from this table including:
(i) 12 credit points of 4000-level seminar units
(ii) 36 credit points of 4000-level thesis units

Honours seminar units

ICLS4113 Methods of Comparative Literature

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x2hr seminar/week Assessment: 1x 1500wds commentary piece (25%), 1x 1500wds presentation (25%), 1x 3000wds research paper (50%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This seminar will trace the history of Comparative Literature as it evolved first in Europe (Goethe's idea of Weltliteratur, the 'French School', and Auerbach's and Spitzer's philology school in Istanbul) then elsewhere (with particular focus on North and South America and North and South East Asia) with focus on new perspectives from postcolonial, feminist and gay/lesbian/queer studies.
ICLS4114 Comparative Literature Theories

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x2hr seminar/week Assessment: 1x 6000wd essay (100%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit will familiarise students with theoretical and methodological debates in comparative literature and their wider impact on the study of interactions between literature, culture and society.

Honours thesis units

ICLS4111 ICLS Honours Thesis 1

Credit points: 18 Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: 7 x half-hour supervision meetings/semester, on average. Mode of delivery: Supervision
In this unit you begin a substantial, independent research project in International Comparative Literature and Translation Studies. Regular meetings with a supervisor approved by the Program of International Comparative Literature and Translation Studies Honours Coordinator will guide your progress. You will develop a plan for researching and writing the thesis, submit an ethics application if appropriate, familiarize yourself with disciplinary conventions and standards, engage with relevant literature, theories and methodologies, and submit drafts at agreed times.
ICLS4112 ICLS Honours Thesis 2

Credit points: 18 Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: 7 x half-hour supervision meetings/semester, on average. Assessment: 1x 20000wd thesis (100%) Mode of delivery: Supervision
In this unit you complete and submit your substantial, independent research project in International Comparative Literature and Translation Studies. Regular meetings with a supervisor approved by the Program of International Comparative Literature and Translation Studies Honours Coordinator will guide your progress. You will continue to submit drafts at agreed times, and develop your expertise in relevant research methods and analytical skills as well as in the subject matter of your specialist topic.

Advanced coursework

The requirements for advanced coursework in International Comparative Literature Studies are described in the degree resolutions for the Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Advanced Studies.
24-36 credit points of advanced study will be included in the table for 2019.