ENGL2676: Semester 1, 2023

Units ENGL2676 Semester 1 2023 [Normal day]

Unit outline_

ENGL2676: Climate Fictions

Semester 1, 2023 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Climate change raises fundamental challenges for the reading, writing and study of literature. This unit investigates the ways in which 'climate' features in, or shapes, fictional texts across place and time, into the present era, attending also to the texts, knowledges and perspectives of First Nations peoples. Can climate fiction shape public debate Are its forms implicated in fossil-fuel-driven capitalism We will ask how novels, films among other types of texts engage cultural, popular and scientific discourses to represent and imagine the environmental, social justice, existential, intercultural and interspecies implications of climate change at regional, national and planetary levels.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	English and Writing
Credit points	6
Prerequisites ?	12 credit points at 1000 level including 6 credit points from English
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Meg Brayshaw, meg.brayshaw@sydney.edu.au
Guest lecturer(s)	Peter Minter, peter.minter@sydney.edu.au
	Isabelle Hesse, isabelle.hesse@sydney.edu.au
	Louise Katz, louise.katz@sydney.edu.au
	Briohny Doyle, briohny.doyle@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Assignment	Research Project See Canvas	55%	Formal exam period Due date: 13 Jun 2023 at 23:59	2500 words
Outcomes assessed:
Participation	Online Activities See Canvas	10%	Multiple weeks	Variable
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Reading Journal See Canvas	35%	Week 07 Due date: 06 Apr 2023 at 23:59	2000 words
Outcomes assessed:

Assessment summary

Reading Journal: This assignment will require you to produce a series of short written responses that illustrate your critical and/or creative engagement with texts and topics covered up to and including week 7.
Research Project: This assignment will require you to develop a meaningful argument through reasoned, critical analysis of texts and topics covered in this unit.
Participation: This assignment is a pass/fail task based on your completion of at least 4 of the online activities.

See Canvas for full descriptions of each assessment.

Assessment criteria

Please see Canvas for marking rubrics for each assessment task.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

5% per calendar day late

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Introduction: what is climate fiction and what can it do?	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 02	Climate change as spectacle: The Day After Tomorrow (2004), directed by Roland Emmerich	Lecture (1 hr)
	Climate change as spectacle: The Day After Tomorrow (2004), directed by Roland Emmerich	Tutorial (1 hr)
	Online Activity: The Day After Tomorrow	Independent study (1 hr)
Week 03	Anthropocene fictions	Lecture (1 hr)
	Anthropocene fictions	Tutorial (1 hr)
	Online Activity: Anthropocene fictions	Independent study (1 hr)
Week 04	Gun Island by Amitav Ghosh	Lecture (1 hr)
	Gun Island by Amitav Ghosh	Tutorial (1 hr)
	Online Activity: Reading Journal preparation	Independent study (1 hr)
Week 05	Writing climate fiction	Lecture (1 hr)
	Writing climate fiction & reading journal workshop	Tutorial (1 hr)
	Online Activity: writing climate fiction	Independent study (1 hr)
Week 06	Animal fictions	Lecture (1 hr)
	Animal fictions	Tutorial (1 hr)
	Online Activity: Animal fictions	Independent study (1 hr)
Week 07	Petrofiction: Oil on Water by Helon Habila (online only)	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 07	Petrofiction: Oil on Water by Helon Habila	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 08	Online Activity: Oil on Water	Independent study (1 hr)
	Ministry for the Future, by Kim Stanley Robinson (Part 1)	Lecture (1 hr)
	Ministry for the Future, by Kim Stanley Robinson (Part 1)	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 09	Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson (Part 2)	Lecture (1 hr)
	Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson (Part 2)	Tutorial (1 hr)
	Online Activity: Ministry for the Future	Independent study (1 hr)
Week 10	First Nations' speculative fictions	Lecture (1 hr)
	First Nations' speculative fictions	Tutorial (1 hr)
	Online Activity: First Nations' speculative fictions	Independent study (1 hr)
Week 11	Climate realism: Still Life (2006), directed by Jia Zhangke	Lecture (1 hr)
	Climate realism: Still Life (2006), directed by Jia Zhangke	Tutorial (1 hr)
	Online Activity: Still Life (2006)	Independent study (1 hr)
Week 12	Spring by Ali Smith	Lecture (1 hr)
	Spring by Ali Smith	Tutorial (1 hr)
	Online Activity: Research Project preparation	Independent study (1 hr)
Week 13	Conclusions	Lecture (1 hr)
Week 13	Conclusions & research project workshop	Tutorial (1 hr)

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

There are four novels you are required to read for this unit:

Amitav Ghosh, Gun Island (John Murray, 2019).
Helon Habila, Oil on Water (Penguin, 2011)
Kim Stanley Robinson, Ministry for the Future (Orbit, 2020).
Ali Smith, Spring (Penguin, 2019).

There are two films you are required to view:

Roland Emmerich, dir. The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
Jia Zhangke, dir. Still Life (2006).

Screenings will be held on campus in week 1 (The Day After Tomorrow) and week 10 (Still Life).The Day After Tomorrow is available on paid streaming platforms. Still Life is available on DVD to borrow from Fisher library.

All other readings are available via Canvas.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. Comprehend a range of ways in which imaginative texts, past and present, represent climate and climate change
LO2. Understand key concepts relevant to the representation of climate and climate change in literature and culture generally, applying these to both personal reflections on and close analysis of selected texts;
LO3. Combine the reasoned, critical analysis of representations of climate change with awareness of wider implications in sustained personal, imaginative and/or scholarly writing;
LO4. Engage in ethical and inclusive communication with peers both online and face-to-face.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

This is the first time this unit has been offered.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links