ALL381 - Nature, Climate, Transformation
Unit details
| Year | 2025 unit information |
|---|---|
| Enrolment modes: | Trimester 1: Burwood (Melbourne), Online Trimester 3: Online |
| Credit point(s): | 1 |
| EFTSL value: | 0.125 |
| Unit Chair: | Trimester 1: Rachel Fetherston Trimester 3: Rachel Fetherston |
| Prerequisite: | One English - Literature unit at second year level |
| Corequisite: | Nil |
| Incompatible with: | Nil |
| Educator-facilitated (scheduled) learning activities - on-campus unit enrolment: | 1 x 1-hour online lecture per week 1 x 2-hour on-campus seminar per week |
| Educator-facilitated (scheduled) learning activities - online unit enrolment: | 1 x 1-hour online lecture per week 1 x 2-hour online seminar per week or approximately 2-hours of online learning tasks and discussions per week |
| Typical study commitment: | Students will on average spend 150-hours over the teaching period undertaking the teaching, learning and assessment activities for this unit. This will include educator guided online learning activities within the unit site. |
Content
Extreme weather events, choking pollution and the destruction of habitat, climate refugees and the struggle to end our reliance on fossil fuels: these are just some of the issues raised by writers who take nature, climate and the environment as the central focus of their work. In this unit students will engage with a variety of fiction and non-fiction texts to explore the ways in which writers are confronting the human exploitation of nature that has led to the current climate crisis, and advocating a transformation of the relationship between humans and the environment. Students will learn to identify key conventions and concerns of historical and contemporary ecocritical texts, as well as respond to prominent debates and discourses around environmental politics and activism, including the role of literary texts.
Learning Outcomes
| ULO | These are the Unit Learning Outcomes (ULOs) for this unit. At the completion of this unit, successful students can: | Alignment to Deakin Graduate Learning Outcomes (GLOs) |
|---|---|---|
| ULO1 | Identify and critically engage with key concepts related to ecocritical thought and critical environmentalism through the interpretation of literary texts | GLO1: Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities GLO4: Critical thinking |
| ULO2 | Interpret and explain historical and contemporary literary representations of nature and the environment, and the conventions of ecocritical literature in English across a variety of written texts | GLO1: Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities |
| ULO3 | Critically analyse how literary texts including works by First Nations people, represent and interact with contemporary debates and discourses related to the environment, and discuss the transformative impacts this has on the relationship between humans and nature | GLO1: Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities GLO4: Critical thinking GLO8: Global citizenship |
| ULO4 | Express ideas effectively, and construct and elaborate cogent arguments through textual examples and critical references, communicated in written form | GLO2: Communication |
Assessment
| Assessment Description | Student output | Grading and weighting (% total mark for unit) | Indicative due week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment 1: Research and Writing Exercise | 1400 words or equivalent | 35% | Week 6 |
| Assessment 2: Online Quiz | 1000 words or equivalent | 25% | Week 9 |
| Assessment 3: Essay | 1600 word or equivalent | 40% | Week 11 |
The assessment due weeks provided may change. The Unit Chair will clarify the exact assessment requirements, including the due date, at the start of the teaching period.
Learning resource
The texts and reading list for ALL381 can be found via the University Library.
Note: Select the relevant trimester reading list. Please note that a future teaching period's reading list may not be available until a month prior to the start of that teaching period so you may wish to use the relevant trimester's prior year reading list as a guide only.
Unit Fee Information
Fees and charges vary depending on the type of fee place you hold, your course, your commencement year, the units you choose to study and their study discipline, and your study load.
Tuition fees increase at the beginning of each calendar year and all fees quoted are in Australian dollars ($AUD). Tuition fees do not include textbooks, computer equipment or software, other equipment or costs such as mandatory checks, travel and stationery.
For further information regarding tuition fees, other fees and charges, invoice due dates, withdrawal dates, payment methods visit our Current Students website.