Students
ENGL707 – Picture Books
2014 – S1 Evening
General Information
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| Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Victoria Flanagan
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|---|---|
| Credit points |
Credit points
4
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| Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
Admission to MRes
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| Corequisites |
Corequisites
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| Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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| Unit description |
Unit description
A broad aim of this unit is to survey the range of picture books produced for children and, in doing so, to examine the range of possible ways in which words and pictures can be combined to create narrative and to generate meaning. More specifically, it promotes students' research abilities by encouraging them to explore the different ways in which pictures and words represent reality, construct narrative and communicate ideology. The unit will also focus in detail on aspects such as textual layout and composition; visual and verbal point of view strategies; strategies for depicting time, space, movement and stasis; style; and genre.
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Important Academic Dates
Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Acquire a broad overview of the different types of picture books produced for children.
- Synthesise and analyse information from a variety of sources, and be aware of the various ways in which the literature is oriented by cultural assumptions, practices and ideologies.
- Think critically and make informed and logical judgments of the arguments of others to arrive at reasoned and meaningful arguments and positions, and formulate and apply ideas to new contexts.
- Demonstrate the ability to apply accumulated knowledge and skills to make decisions in the context of professional practice and/or scholarship.
- Demonstrate high standards of ethical conduct in research activities and relationships.
- Attain a conceptual language with which to analyse and discuss pictorial and verbal codes used in picture books to communicate meanings and ideologies.
- Gain an understanding of some aspects of literary theory currently used in discussions of picture books, especially narrative theory, metafiction, intertextuality and postmodernism.
- Develop skills in analysing the pictorial and verbal codes used to construct thematic significance in picture books.
Assessment Tasks
| Name | Weighting | Due |
|---|---|---|
| Seminar paper | 30% | 21 March 2014 |
| Research Proposal | 20% | 9 May 2014 |
| Major essay | 50% | 13 June 2014 |
Seminar paper
Due: 21 March 2014
Weighting: 30%
Students must submit a seminar paper on the Week 2 discussion topic:
Words, pictures and picture books are merely parts of a vast and complex system of significance that define our reality for us.
In a comparison/contrast of two different picture books, examine the functions of modality in the production of meaningful worlds.
This paper should be approximately 2000 words in length.
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Synthesise and analyse information from a variety of sources, and be aware of the various ways in which the literature is oriented by cultural assumptions, practices and ideologies.
- Think critically and make informed and logical judgments of the arguments of others to arrive at reasoned and meaningful arguments and positions, and formulate and apply ideas to new contexts.
- Demonstrate the ability to apply accumulated knowledge and skills to make decisions in the context of professional practice and/or scholarship.
- Attain a conceptual language with which to analyse and discuss pictorial and verbal codes used in picture books to communicate meanings and ideologies.
- Gain an understanding of some aspects of literary theory currently used in discussions of picture books, especially narrative theory, metafiction, intertextuality and postmodernism.
- Develop skills in analysing the pictorial and verbal codes used to construct thematic significance in picture books.
Research Proposal
Due: 9 May 2014
Weighting: 20%
Students must select one of the Final Essay topics (listed in the Weekly Guide, available for download from the iLearn site) and submit a brief research proposal which outlines how they will approach this topic, which secondary sources they will use for constructing a theoretical frame, and how they will apply this frame to their primary texts.
The objective in writing a research proposal is to describe what you will do, how you will do it and what you expect will result. A clean, well thought-out, proposal forms the backbone for the thesis itself.
This proposal should be approximately 700 words in length.
Proposals will be evaluated according to:
- Originality and innovation.
- Demonstrated awareness of research context (i.e. how does the proposal contextualise this essay against existing research?).
- Articulation of scope (Does the proposal accurately outline the framework of the essay? – its boundaries, primary corpus, etc.)
- Theoretical orientation (Does the proposal articulate a coherent and relevant theoretical framework for its main argument?)
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Acquire a broad overview of the different types of picture books produced for children.
- Think critically and make informed and logical judgments of the arguments of others to arrive at reasoned and meaningful arguments and positions, and formulate and apply ideas to new contexts.
- Demonstrate the ability to apply accumulated knowledge and skills to make decisions in the context of professional practice and/or scholarship.
- Demonstrate high standards of ethical conduct in research activities and relationships.
- Attain a conceptual language with which to analyse and discuss pictorial and verbal codes used in picture books to communicate meanings and ideologies.
- Gain an understanding of some aspects of literary theory currently used in discussions of picture books, especially narrative theory, metafiction, intertextuality and postmodernism.
Major essay
Due: 13 June 2014
Weighting: 50%
Please choose one of the topics listed in your ENGL 707 Weekly Guide for your final essay. This essay should be approximately 2500 words. For your primary corpus, focus on no more than three picture books. (Do not use any books that you referred to in your seminar paper.)
Your essay will be graded according to the rubric provided in the ENGL 707 Weekly Guide.
Further details about this assessment task are available in the Weekly Guide.
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Acquire a broad overview of the different types of picture books produced for children.
- Synthesise and analyse information from a variety of sources, and be aware of the various ways in which the literature is oriented by cultural assumptions, practices and ideologies.
- Think critically and make informed and logical judgments of the arguments of others to arrive at reasoned and meaningful arguments and positions, and formulate and apply ideas to new contexts.
- Demonstrate the ability to apply accumulated knowledge and skills to make decisions in the context of professional practice and/or scholarship.
- Demonstrate high standards of ethical conduct in research activities and relationships.
Delivery and Resources
REQUIRED READING:
- Kress, Gunther and Theo van Leeuwen, Reading Images: The Grammar of Visual Design
- Nodelman, Perry, Words About Pictures: The Narrative Art of Children's Picture Books
RECOMMENDED TEXTS:
(If you are an external student, the four picture books listed below are a basic selection that you can refer to each week. It is also expected that you use your local library to locate some of the others listed under each topic):
- Carle, Eric, The Very Hungry Caterpillar
- Jeffers, Oliver, Lost and Found
- Rosen, Michael, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt
- Tan, Shaun, The Red Tree
WEEKLY READING:
A number of picture book texts are listed each week. In addition to the four books mentioned above, you will also need to access at least one additional text out of books listed for each weekly topic (for the purpose of making comparisons). You can source your texts from good online second-hand booksellers or public libraries.
UNIT WEBPAGE AND TECHNOLOGY USED AND REQUIRED:
Online units can be accessed at: http://ilearn.mq.edu.au PC and Internet access are required. Basic computer skills (e.g., internet browsing) and skills in word processing are also a requirement.
Please consult teaching staff for any further, more specific requirements.
UNIT REQUIREMENTS AND EXPECTATIONS:
To complete ENGL 707 students must:
- Attend and participate in seminars (if internal).
- Make at least 8 online posts on the iLearn Discussions Forum (if external)
- Complete all prescribed assessment tasks.
- Reach a satisfactory level of achievement in the prescribed assessment tasks.
*Absence from more than two seminars without written explanation (medical or counselling certificate) will disqualify a student from passing the unit. University regulations also stipulate that a student must attempt every part of assessment in order to be eligible to pass a unit of study.
Notes on Participation for External Students:
External students must participate in online discussions via the ENGL 707 iLearn site. External students should read the weekly texts and prepare the seminar discussion topics in advance, then post responses to the seminar questions and respond to the posts of other students, to facilitate an active discussion such as would occur in a face-to-face seminar. Students are also encouraged to raise other relevant points of interest in their online discussions. Be prepared to question the opinions of others, to have your opinions challenged and to participate actively in discussion. Students are expected to make at least 8 posts* over the semester. Please make sure that your postings do not exceed 500 words, as it is harder for others to respond to postings that are excessively long and detailed.
*A “post” is defined as a discursive response relevant to unit interests of at least 50 words: a short paragraph of at least 4 sentences.
Policies and Procedures
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html
Assessment Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy.html
Grading Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grading/policy.html
Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html
Grievance Management Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grievance_management/policy.html
Disruption to Studies Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html The Disruption to Studies Policy is effective from March 3 2014 and replaces the Special Consideration Policy.
In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.
Student Code of Conduct
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/
Student Support
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.
Student Services and Support
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
Student Enquiries
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
IT Help
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://informatics.mq.edu.au/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.