International and Comparative Literary Studies
Unit outlines will be available through Find a unit outline two weeks before the first day of teaching for 1000-level and 5000-level units, or one week before the first day of teaching for all other units.
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 core 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 core units
(ii) 12 credit points of 2000-level units
(iii) 12 credit points of 3000-level units
1000-level core units of study
ICLS1001 World Literatures in Translation
Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Refer to the unit of study outline https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x1hr lecture/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week Assessment: 3x1000wd equivalent in-class quizzes (30%), 1x500wd essay outline (10%), 1x2000wd final essay (40%), 1x500wd equivalent in-class oral presentation (10%), x participation (10%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit explores how the practice of comparative literary studies is related to language and culture. With the shrinking of distances due to travel and technology in the modern age, what makes different literary traditions across the world similar or different? This unit reflects on these issues by looking at a range of exemplary literary works translated into English from Asian, European or 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 Teacher/Coordinator: Refer to the unit of study outline https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x1hr lecture/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week Assessment: 1x1000wd oral presentation (10%), 2x1000wd in-class test (30%), 1x1000wd essay outline activity (20%), 1x2000wd 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.
2000-level units of study
ICLS2621 Love in Different Languages
This unit of study is not available in 2021
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x1hr lecture/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: 12 credit points at 1000 level from any of the following majors: Arabic Studies or Chinese Studies or English or European Studies or French Studies or Germanic Studies or International and Comparative Literature and Translation Studies or Modern Hebrew or Indonesian Studies or Italian Studies or Japanese Studies or Korean Studies or Modern Greek and Byzantine Studies or Spanish and 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? 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.
ICLS2624 Great Books 1: The Human Condition
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 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 translation 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.
Textbooks
Refer to the unit of study outline https://www.sydney.edu.au/units
ICLS2626 Words and Pictures across Cultures
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 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: 1x1000wd equivalent presentation (10%), 2x2500wd essays (45% each) 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.
Textbooks
Refer to the unit of study outline https://www.sydney.edu.au/units
ICLS2633 Cities of the World
This unit of study is not available in 2021
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x1-hr lecture/week, 1x1-hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: 12 credit points at 1000 level from any of the following majors: Arabic Studies or Chinese Studies or English or European Studies or French Studies or Germanic Studies or International and Comparative Literature and Translation Studies or Modern Hebrew or Indonesian Studies or Italian Studies or Japanese Studies or Korean Studies or Modern Greek and Byzantine Studies or Spanish and Latin American Studies or History or CHNS2601 or CHNS2001 or CHNS3601 or CHNS3000 Assessment: 1x1000wds equivalent in-class oral presentation (10%), 2x2500wd research essays (90%) 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.
ICLS2635 Science Fiction: The Future is Now
This unit of study is not available in 2021
Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Assoc Prof Vrasidas Karalis Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x1-hr lecture/week, 1x1-hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: 12 credit points at 1000 level in International and Comparative Literary Studies or 12 credit points at 1000 level in Film 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
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 2021
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x1hr lecture/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: 12 credit points at 1000 level in International and Comparative Literary Studies or 12 credit points at 1000 level in Film Studies 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.
CHNS2004 Introduction to Chinese Literature
Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Refer to the unit of study outline https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x2hr lecture/week , 1x1hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: 12 credit points at 1000 level in Chinese Studies or 12 credit points at 1000 level in Asian Studies or 12 credit points at 1000 level in ICLSor CHNS2601 or CHNS2001 or CHNS3601 or CHNS3000 Assessment: 1x Tutorial participation (10%), 2x 30min in-class written tests equivalent to 1000wds total (40%), 12x 100wds journal (12%), 1x 300wd essay proposal (10%), 1x equivalent to 500wd oral presentation (8%), 1x 1500wd essay (20%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit will provide a survey of Chinese literature in cultural context from its earliest beginnings to the present day, including poetry, literary prose, drama, and fiction. All readings will be in English translation, with the additional option of consulting the original Chinese.
3000-level units of study
ICLS3000 Representations of War Culture
Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Refer to the unit of study outline https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x1hr lecture/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: 12 credit points at 2000 level from any of the following majors: Arabic Language and Cultures or Asian Studies or Chinese Studies or English or European Studies or Film Studies or French and Francophone Studies or Germanic Studies or International and Comparative Literature and Translation Studies or Modern Hebrew or Indonesian Studies or Italian Studies or Japanese Studies or Korean Studies or Modern Greek and Byzantine Studies or Spanish and Latin American Studies Assessment: 1x2000wd creative module task (40%), 1x1000wd presentation (20%), 2x1500wd module essay (40%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit surveys different cinematic representations of war. The genre of war film is popular, reminding viewers that war is a constant in society and that the experience of war will continue to create critical debate. The unit includes different national cinemas of war film and will focus on such aspects as the effects of war on society and the significance of the individual in armed conflict.
ICLS3100 Global Chinese Literatures
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x1hr lecture/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: 12 credit points at 2000 level from any of the following majors: Arabic Language and Cultures or Asian Studies or Chinese Studies or English or European Studies or French and Francophone Studies or Germanic Studies or International and Comparative Literature and Translation Studies or Modern Hebrew or Indonesian Studies or Italian Studies or Japanese Studies or Korean Studies or Modern Greek and Byzantine Studies or Spanish and Latin American Studies Prohibitions: CHNS3111 Assessment: 1x2000wd in-class test (30%), 1x500wd essay proposal (10%), 1x1500wd tutorial presentation (20%), class participation (10%), 1x2000wd essay (30%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This unit examines a global range of Chinese-language literatures from the last forty years and from various regions of Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the West, including Australia. Literary texts will be placed in social and political contexts. The unit is taught in English.
Textbooks
Refer to the unit of study outline https://www.sydney.edu.au/units
ICLS3631 What is Literature? Crosscultural Views
This unit of study is not available in 2021
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x1hr lecture/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: 12 credit points at 2000 level from the International and Comparative Literary Studies major Assessment: 1x1000wd equivalent Tutorial presentation (10%), 2x 2500wd Essays (90%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Adopting a comparative cross-cultural approach, this unit considers different cultures' responses to the
questions: what is literature? what is its purpose? what value does it have? Drawing upon literatures in both English and translation from different parts of the world and different periods in history, this unit explores conceptions of literary theory, criticism and interpretation within traditional, modern and postmodern settings. Notions such as authorship, textual integrity, literature and identity, and literature and history, will be considered.
questions: what is literature? what is its purpose? what value does it have? Drawing upon literatures in both English and translation from different parts of the world and different periods in history, this unit explores conceptions of literary theory, criticism and interpretation within traditional, modern and postmodern settings. Notions such as authorship, textual integrity, literature and identity, and literature and history, will be considered.
CHNS3633 Topics in Chinese Literature 2
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x1hr lecture/week, 2x1hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: 12 credit points at 2000 or 3000 level in Chinese Studies or Asian Studies or 6 credit points at 2000 or 3000 level in International and Comparative Literary Studies 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 20th Century 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 their period, when literature was considered a key tool for the modernisation of Chinese society.
Textbooks
Refer to the unit of study outline https://www.sydney.edu.au/units
CHNS3651 Chinese Drama and Theatre
This unit of study is not available in 2021
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 2x1hr lecture/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week. Prerequisites: 12 credit points at 1000 level in Chinese Studies or 12 credit points at 1000 level in Asian Studies or 12 credit points at 1000 level in ICLS 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.
JCTC3603 Representing the Holocaust
Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x1hr lecture/week, 1x2hr tutorial/seminar Prerequisites: 12 credit points at 2000 level in the Jewish Civilisation Thought and Culture major International and Comparative Literature Studies major English Studies major or European Studies major Assessment: class participation (10%), 1x1000wd textual analysis (20%), 2x250wd discussion post (10%), 1x1000wd research essay proposal (20%), 1x2000wd research essay (40%) Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Few historical events have inspired as many literary and artistic interpretations as the Holocaust. This unit will explore and critically assess how a broad range of forms, including but not limited to literature, film, fine arts, museums and memorials represent the Holocaust. In addition to a critical evaluation of these diverse artistic representations, the historical development of these forms will be considered as well as their national and transnational contexts.
Textbooks
Refer to the unit of study outline https://www.sydney.edu.au/units
Interdisciplinary project unit of study
If you are completing two majors and both of your majors are from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, please select the Interdisciplinary Impact unit of study for your first major, and the Industry and Community Project unit of study for your second major.
If you are completing two majors but only one of your majors is from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, please select the Interdisciplinary Impact unit of study for that major.
If you are completing one major only and that major is from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, please select the Interdisciplinary Impact unit of study for your major.
ICLS3999 Interdisciplinary Impact
Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Refer to the unit of study outline https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Session: Intensive December,Semester 1,Semester 2 Prerequisites: Completion of at least 90 credit points Prohibitions: Interdisciplinary Impact in another major Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
Note: Department permission required for enrolmentin the following sessions:Intensive December
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'.
ICLS3998 Industry and Community Project
Credit points: 6 Teacher/Coordinator: Refer to the unit of study outline https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Session: Intensive February,Intensive July,Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: Refer to the unit of study outline https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Prerequisites: 72 credit points Corequisites: Interdisciplinary Impact in any major. Assessment: Refer to the unit of study outline https://www.sydney.edu.au/units Mode of delivery: Normal (lecture/lab/tutorial) day
This interdisciplinary unit provides students with the opportunity to address complex problems identified by industry, community, and government organisations, and gain valuable experience in working across disciplinary boundaries. In collaboration with a major industry partner and an academic lead, students integrate their academic skills and knowledge by working in teams with students from a range of disciplinary backgrounds. This experience allows students to research, analyse and present solutions to a real¿world problem, and to build on their interpersonal and transferable skills by engaging with and learning from industry experts and presenting their ideas and solutions to the industry partner.