The Art & Practice of the Personal Essay

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2016:

85 Hours

Admission into 101AA Ph.D.- Arts or DR-PHILART Doctor of Philosophy in Arts.

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

This 12-hour seminar series will examine writing that explores complex ideas and issues in personal, engaging, and creative ways. These seminars will examine rhetorical, narrative, and poetic strategies of the personal essay as a contribution to public intellectual discourse, as well as the kinds of occasions that give rise to the essay (personal crises, social issues, shifts in sensibility in a society, ethical dilemmas). Some essayists we might read: Montaigne, Swift, A.D. Hope, Annie Dillard, Kate Jennings, Joan Didion, David Foster Wallace. Possible texts: Best Australian Essays: a ten year collection (black Inc 2011), The New New Journalism (Vintage 2005). This is relevant to humanities researchers directly, but could be useful to science and social science researchers who wish to explore and extend their prose techniques.

On successful completion of this subject, students should be able to:

• show enhanced knowledge of the topic or area of scholarship taught in the module;
• have a grasp of techniques and skills required to reflect upon their own research work in relation to the content of the module; and
• engage with relevant leading-edge research in Arts today.

1. One 2,500-word essay (100%), due within four weeks of completion of teaching.

Hurdle Requirement: Students are required to attend a minimum of 80% of classes in order to pass this subject.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.