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LIT 856 – Picture Books

2018 – S2 External

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit Convenor
Nerida Wayland
By appointment - please email to arrange time.
Toby Davidson
Credit points Credit points
4
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Admission to MChildLit or MCrWrit or GradDipChildLit or GradDipCrWrit or MEChild or MA in Children's Literature
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
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. The unit examines the different ways in which pictures and words represent reality, construct narrative and communicate ideology, as well as focussing in more 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.

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.
  • 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 Hurdle Due
Participation and Engagement 10% No Weeks 1-13
Seminar Paper 35% No 31 August, 2018
Self-assessment 5% No 31 August, 2016
Final Essay 50% No 11 November, 2018

Participation and Engagement

Due: Weeks 1-13
Weighting: 10%

Students' participation and engagement will be evaluated on a weekly basis. Please check the LIT 856 Unit Handbook for further details about how this grade will be calculated.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • 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.

Seminar Paper

Due: 31 August, 2018
Weighting: 35%

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 2500 words in length.

In conjunction with this seminar paper, students must submit a self-evaluation of their performance in this task.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • 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.

Self-assessment

Due: 31 August, 2016
Weighting: 5%

In conjunction with their seminar paper, students must submit a self-evaluation of this paper.

They must use the Assessment Rubric document (listed in the Weekly Guide, which is available from the iLearn site) to grade their own performance in this paper. Students must evaluate their performance in each individual assessment criterion (please do so by highlighting the relevant box on the rubric).

The purpose of this task is to ensure that students are fully aware of and engage with the set of criteria used to grade their essays.

Students who generally evaluate themselves correctly (i.e. they evaluate their performance similarly to the examiner) will receive 5 marks. Students who are generally incorrect in their self-evaluation will receive no marks for this exercise.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • 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.

Final Essay

Due: 11 November, 2018
Weighting: 50%

Please select one of the topics listed in the LIT 856 Handbook (available from the iLearn site) for your final essay of approximately 3000 words. For your primary corpus, focus on no more than three picture books. Do not use any of the picture books that you referred to in your seminar paper.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Acquire a broad overview of the different types of picture books produced for children.
  • 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.

Delivery and Resources

REQUIRED READING

These books can be found online via the university library:

  1. Kress, Gunther and Theo van Leeuwen, Reading Images: The Grammar of Visual Design
  2. Nodelman, Perry, Words About Pictures: The Narrative Art of Children's Picture Books

RECOMMENDED TEXTS

The six picture books listed below are a 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:

  1. Jeffers, Oliver, Lost and Found
  2. Pinfold, Levi, Black Dog
  3. Tan, Shaun, The Red Tree
  4. Tregonning, Mel, small things
  5. Saunders, K. & Ottley, M., the incredible freedom machines
  6. Scieska, J. & Barnett, M. & Myers, M., Battle Bunny

WEEKLY READING

A number of picture book texts are listed each week. In addition to the six books mentioned above, you will also need to access at least one additional text out of the 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.

Additional required readings will be available via iLearn.

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 Schedule

Week 1: What is a Picture Book?

Secondary Reading

  • Kress and Van Leeuwen, Reading Images, Chapter 1
  • Nodelman, Words About Pictures, Chapter 1

Picture Books

  • Tan, The Red Tree **
  • Tregonning, small things **
  • Baker, J. Belonging
  • Browne, A., Zoo
  • Gleeson & Greder, An Ordinary Day
  • Weisner, D., Free Fall  

Week 2: Picture Books and the Representation of Reality

Secondary Reading

  • Stephens, John. 'Modality and Space in Picture Book Art: Allen Say's Emma's Rug', CREATA, 1 (2000): 44-59.
  • Kress and Van Leeuwen, Reading Images, Chapter 5

Picture Books

  • Pinfold, Black Dog**
  • Saunders & Ottley, the incredible freedom machines**
  • Ahlberg, A. & J., Peepo!
  • Bruna, Dik (any of his Miffy texts)
  • Carle, Eric, The Very Hungry Caterpillar
  • Gleeson, L. & Greder, A., Big Dog
  • Keeping, C. Sammy Streetsinger
  • Say, Allen, The Sign Painter
  • Van Allsburg, The Stranger
  • Weisner, D., Hurricane
  • Weisner, D., June 29, 1999

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.

Week 3: Picture Books and the Construction of Narrative

Secondary Reading

  • Nodelman, ‘Something Fishy Going On: Child Readers and Narrative Literacy’ in Geoff Bull and Michele Anstey (eds) Crossing the Boundaries (available from the LIT 856 iLearn site)
  • Stephens, ‘Language, Discourse and Picture Books’, Children’s Literature Association Quarterly, 14, 3: 106-110

Picture Books

  • Jeffers, Oliver, Lost and Found**
  • Tan, The Red Tree**
  • Allen, Pamela, Who Sank the Boat?
  • Browne, Anthony, Changes
  • Burningham, John, The Baby
  • French, Jackie, Diary of a Wombat
  • Holzwarth, W. & Erlbruch, Wolf, The Story of the Little Mole who Knew it was None of his Business
  • Keeping, Charles, Inter-City
  • Smith, Lane, It's A Book
  • Teague, David, The Secret Shortcut

Discussion Topic:

On their own, pictures and words each first allow a number of different narrative possibilities; together, they make each other more specific. Compare how pictures and words interact to construct narrative significance in the picture books listed above.  

Week 4: Composition and Layout

Secondary Reading

Kress and Van Leeuwen, Reading Images, Chapter 2

Picture Books

  • Pinfold, Black Dog**
  • Saunders & Ottley, the incredible freedom machines**
  • Treggoning, small things**
  • Adams, Pigs and Honey
  • Baker, Jeannie, Mirror
  • Rosen, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt
  • Say, Tree of Cranes
  • Solotareff, Don’t Call Me Little Bunny

Discussion Topic:

Pictorial structures are never merely formal; they have a deeply important semantic dimension. Compare how aspects of composition and layout in the picture books listed contribute to thematic significance.  

Week 5: Point of View

Secondary Reading

  • Nikolajeva and Scott, How Picturebooks Work, Chapter 4 (available via Ilearn site)
  • Kress and Van Leeuwen, Reading Images, Chapter 4

Picture Books

  • Tan, The Red Tree**
  • Blabey, Aaron, Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley
  • Browne, Anthony, Zoo or The Shape Game
  • Crew, First Light
  • Geraghty, The Hunter
  • Oliver, Narelle, Home
  • Parker, D. & Ottley, M., Parachute
  • Smith, Lane, It's A Book
  • Van Allsburg, Two Bad Ants
  • Wild & Harris, The House of Narcissus

Discussion Topic:

Compare visual and linguistic strategies for constructing point of view in two of the picture books listed. How do these strategies contribute to the texts’ significance? How do they position readers?  

Week 6: Style and Genre

Secondary Reading

  • Mallan, In the Picture, Chapter 3 (available via iLearn site)
  • Nodelman, Words About Pictures, Chapter 2

Picture Books

  • Jeffers, Oliver, Lost and Found**
  • Scieszka & Barnett & Myers, Battle Bunny**
  • Burningham, Oi! Get off our Train
  • Digby, Desmond, Waltzing Matilda
  • Hodges and Hyman, The Kitchen Knight
  • Ingpen, Robert, Clancy of the Overflow, Click go the Shears, or The Afternoon Treehouse
  • Keats, The Snowy Day (or any other Ezra Keats picture book)
  • Gleeson, Libby and Armin Greder, The Great Bear
  • Morimoto, My Hiroshima, Kojuro and the Bears
  • Noyes and Keeping, The Highwayman
  • Spudvilas, Anne, Woolvs in the Sitee
  • Van Allsburg, The Wretched Stone

Discussion Topic:

In a comparison of two of the listed books, examine whether verbal and pictorial styles might be said to constitute a ‘genre’. (Select two books which arguably belong to the same genre or to different genres.)  

Week 7: Time and Space

Secondary Reading

  • Bradford and Baccolini, 'Journeying Subjects: Spatiality and Identity in Children's Texts', Contemporary Children's Literature and Film: Engaging with Theory (2011): 36-56 (available via iLean site)
  • Nodelman, Words and Pictures, Chapter 6

Picture Books

  • Pinfold, Black Dog**
  • Saunders & Ottley, the incredible freedom machines**
  • Tan, The Red Tree**
  • Treggoning, small things**
  • Barnett & Klassen, Extra Yarn
  • Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are
  • Waddell, The Hidden House
  • Wild & Spudvilas, Jenny Angel

Discussion Topic:

Stories, which are about movement and change, necessarily take place in time, whereas most pictures depict only how things look at one moment separated from the flow of time. Compare how words and pictures imply temporal and spatial relations in the picture books listed.

Week 8: Symbolic Codes, Relay and Irony

Secondary Reading

  • Nodelman, Words About Pictures, Chapter 7
  • Lewis, David, Reading Contemporary Picture Books, Chapter 2 (available via iLearn site)

Picture Books

  • Jeffers, Oliver, Lost and Found**
  • Scieszka & Barnett & Myers, Battle Bunny**
  • Agee, The Incredible Painting of Felix Clousseau
  • Browne, The Tunnel
  • Hutchins, Rosie’s Walk
  • Keeping, Through the Window
  • Macauley, Short Cut
  • McNaughton, Suddenly
  • Oakley, Once upon a Time: A Prince’s Fantastic Journey
  • Riddle, The Great Escape from City Zoo, The Tip at the End of the Street
  • Say, Emma’s Rug
  • Scieszka and Smith, Seen Art
  • Van Allsburg, The Garden of Abdul Gasazi

Discussion Topic:

The most successful picture books seem to be those in which a unity on a higher level emerges from pictures and texts which are noticeably fragmentary -- whose differences from each other are a significant part of the effect and meaning of the whole.

Discuss this claim, referring to the picture books listed.

Week 9: Humour and Play

Secondary Reading

Lehr, Susan. S., 'Lauren Child: Utterly and Absolutely Exceptionordinarily', Postmodern Picturebooks: Play, Parody, and Self-Referentiality (2008): 164-179 (available via iLearn site)

Picture Books

  • Scieszka & Barnett & Myers, Battle Bunny**
  • Blabey, Aaron, Noah Dreary
  • Child, Lauren, Beware of the Storybook Wolves
  • Daywalt, Drew & Jeffers, Oliver, The Day the Crayons Quit
  • Duddle, Jonny, The Pirates Next Door
  • Klassen, John, This Is Not My Hat
  • Novak, B.J., The Book With No Pictures
  • Smith, Lane, It's A Book
  • Tullet, Hervé, Press Here, Help! We Need A Title!

Discussion Topic:

How does the comedy employed in each picture book encourage readers to interrogate the ways in which the text (and society) operates, and position them to respond both creatively and critically?  

Week 10: Picture Book Retellings

Secondary Reading

  • Sipe, Lawrence. R., 'First Graders Interpret David Wiesner's The Three Little Pigs: A Case Study', Postmodern Picturebooks: Play, Parody, and Self-Referentiality (2008): 223-237 (available via iLearn site)

Picture Books

Fairytale retellings

1.                            

  • Browne, Anthony, Into The Forest
  • Child, Lauren, Beware of the Storybook Wolves
  • Coady, Red Riding Hood
  • Forward and Cohen, The Wolf’s Story
  • Fox, Diane & Christyan, The Cat, The Dog, Little Red, The Exploding Eggs, The Wolf, and Grandma's Wardrobe
  • Hyman, Little Red Riding Hood

2.                            

  • French, Snow White in New York
  • Poole, Snow White

3.                            

  • Scieszka, J. & Smith, L. The True Story of the Three Little Pigs
  • Wiesner, The Three Pigs
  • Kelly & Tincknell, Guess who’s coming to Dinner?
  • Watley, Wait! No Paint!

Selkie Stories

  • Cooper, The Selkie Girl
  • Gerstein, The Seal Mother
  • McClure, Selki
  • Yolen, Greyling

Discussion Question:

The dual codes of the picture book dramatically increase the possibilities for retelling and reshaping stories, through the pictures, the verbal language or a combination of both. In a comparison/contrast of two or three books from one of the groups above, examine how words and pictures can reshape a story and its meanings. (There are many picture book versions of popular fairy tales and folktales, so you may substitute the list with other versions.)  

Week 11: Metafictional and Experimental Picture Books

Secondary Reading

  • McCallum, Robyn. ‘Metafictions and Experimental Work’, International Companion Encyclopedia of Children’s Literature, (ed. Hunt) pp395-407 (availiable via iLearn)
  • Moss, Geoff, ‘Metafiction, Illustration and the Poetics of Children’s Literature’, Literature for Children, (ed. Hunt) pp.44-66.

Picture Books

  • Scieszka & Barnett & Myers, Battle Bunny**
  • Treggoning, small things**
  • Britt, Fanny & Arsenault, Isabelle, Jane, the Fox & Me
  • Browne, A. Bear Hunt, Through the Magic Mirror
  • Burningham, J. Come Away from the Water, Shirley
  • Dodson, E. Badly Drawn Dog
  • Macaulay, D. Black and White, Why the Chicken Crossed the Road
  • Novak, B.J., The Book With No Pictures
  • Schwarz, Viviane, There are Cats in This Book
  • Tullet, Hervé, Press Here, Help! We Need A Title!
  • Van Allsburg, C. The Mysteries of Harris Burdick
  • Watts, Frances, Parsley Rabbit's Book About Books

DiscussionTopic:

“Metafiction involves games in which conventions of the real (and the reader’s understanding of those conventions) are flouted and overthrown.”

Examine this claim with reference to the picture books listed for this week, comparing how the books employ: frame-breaking devices; mise en abyme and self-reflective devices; genre-mixing and parody; narrative discontinuities. What textual (verbal) metafictive elements are used? How are pictorial elements (perspective, framing, vectors, layout, etc.) used metafictively?

Week 12: Picture Books and Ideology

Secondary Reading

  • Stephens, John, ‘Primary Scenes: the Family and Picture Books’, Chapter 5 in Language and Ideology in Children’s Fiction (available via iLearn site)
  • Flanagan, Victoria, 'Similarity or Difference: The Problem of Race in Australian Picture Books', Bookbird (2013), 51.2: pp.13-22 (available via iLearn site)

Picture Books

  • Baker, Jeannie, Mirror, Belonging
  • Barnett & Klassen, Extra Yarn
  • Blabey, Aaron, Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley, Noah Dreary
  • Browne, A. Piggybook
  • Burningham, J., Oi! Get Off our Train
  • Cole, B., Prince Cinders
  • Cole, B., Mummy Laid an Egg
  • Doh, Anh & Suzanne, The Little Refugee
  • Duddle, Jonny, The Pirates Next Door
  • Graham, B., Spirit of Hope
  • Lofthouse, Liz & Robert Ingpen, Ziba Came on a Boat
  • Loh, M. & Rawlins, D., The Kinder Hat
  • Miller, David, Refugees
  • Say, Allen, Tree of Cranes
  • McCrea, F., Cry Me a River
  • Moss, Thylias, & Pinkney, Jerry, I Want To Be
  • Parker & Ottley, Parachute
  • Pinfold, Black Dog**
  • Saunders & Ottley, the incredible freedom machines**
  • Tan, Shaun, The Arrival, The Red Tree**
  • Treggoning, small things**
  • Van Allsburg, C., The Widow’s Broom
  • Van Allsburg, C., Just a Dream
  • Wheatley, Nadia & Rawlins, Donna, My Place

Discussion Topic:

Societies or groups within societies share bundles of ideas or assumptions about the world, about how it is or should be organised, and about the place and role of people in it. Such a bundle of ideas is known as an ideology.

Following is a list of picture books that have been categorised according to ideological discourses. Choose a group and explore the operation of ideology in these books:

  • Gender:

Browne, A. Piggybook

Cole, B., Prince Cinders

Van Allsburg, C., The Widow's Broom

 

  • Ethnicity/Multiculturalism:

Baker, Jeannie, Mirror

Doh, Anh & Suzanne, The Little Refugee

Loh, M. & Rawlins, D., The Kinder Hat

Baillie, A. and Wu Di, Old Magic

Lofthouse, Liz and Robert Ingpen, Ziba Came on a Boat

Miller, David, Refugees

Tan, Shaun, The Arrival

Wheatley, Nadia & Rawlins, Donna, My Place

 

  • Ecology

Baker, Belonging

Burningham, J., Oi! Get Off our Train

Foreman, One World

Van Allsburg, C., Just a Dream

 

  • Family

Cole, B., Mummy Laid an Egg

Garden & Wooding, Molly’s Family

Loh, M. & Rawlins, D., The Kinder Hat

Pinfold, Levi, Black Dog

Rosen, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt

Say, Allen, Tree of Cranes

 

  • Social Values

Blabey, Aaron, Noah Dreary

Duddle, Jonny, The Pirates Next Door

Graham, B., Spirit of Hope

Loh, M. & Rawlins, D., The Kinder Hat

 

  • Subjectivity/Identity

Barnett & Klassen, Extra Yarn

Blabey, Aaron, Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley

Moss, Thylias, & Pinkney, Jerry, I Want To Be

Parker & Ottley, Parachute

Say, Tree of Cranes or Grandfather's Journey

Saunders & Ottley, the incredible freedom machines

Tan, The Red Tree

Tregonning, small things

 

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Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Undergraduate students seeking more policy resources can visit the Student Policy Gateway (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/student-policy-gateway). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

If you would like to see all the policies relevant to Learning and Teaching visit Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/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/study/getting-started/student-conduct​

Results

Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.

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Graduate Capabilities

PG - Capable of Professional and Personal Judgment and Initiative

Our postgraduates will demonstrate a high standard of discernment and common sense in their professional and personal judgment. They will have the ability to make informed choices and decisions that reflect both the nature of their professional work and their personal perspectives.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Assessment tasks

  • Participation and Engagement
  • Self-assessment

PG - Discipline Knowledge and Skills

Our postgraduates will be able to demonstrate a significantly enhanced depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content knowledge in their chosen fields.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Acquire a broad overview of the different types of picture books produced for children.
  • 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

  • Participation and Engagement
  • Seminar Paper
  • Final Essay

PG - Critical, Analytical and Integrative Thinking

Our postgraduates will be capable of utilising and reflecting on prior knowledge and experience, of applying higher level critical thinking skills, and of integrating and synthesising learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments. A characteristic of this form of thinking is the generation of new, professionally oriented knowledge through personal or group-based critique of practice and theory.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • 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

  • Participation and Engagement
  • Seminar Paper
  • Self-assessment
  • Final Essay

PG - Research and Problem Solving Capability

Our postgraduates will be capable of systematic enquiry; able to use research skills to create new knowledge that can be applied to real world issues, or contribute to a field of study or practice to enhance society. They will be capable of creative questioning, problem finding and problem solving.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcome

  • Develop skills in analysing the pictorial and verbal codes used to construct thematic significance in picture books.

Assessment tasks

  • Participation and Engagement
  • Seminar Paper
  • Final Essay

PG - Effective Communication

Our postgraduates will be able to communicate effectively and convey their views to different social, cultural, and professional audiences. They will be able to use a variety of technologically supported media to communicate with empathy using a range of written, spoken or visual formats.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Attain a conceptual language with which to analyse and discuss pictorial and verbal codes used in picture books to communicate meanings and ideologies.
  • Develop skills in analysing the pictorial and verbal codes used to construct thematic significance in picture books.

Assessment tasks

  • Participation and Engagement
  • Seminar Paper
  • Final Essay

PG - Engaged and Responsible, Active and Ethical Citizens

Our postgraduates will be ethically aware and capable of confident transformative action in relation to their professional responsibilities and the wider community. They will have a sense of connectedness with others and country and have a sense of mutual obligation. They will be able to appreciate the impact of their professional roles for social justice and inclusion related to national and global issues

This graduate capability is supported by:

Assessment tasks

  • Participation and Engagement
  • Self-assessment

Requirements and Expectations

To complete LIT 856 students must:

  • Attend and participate in seminars (if internal)
  • Participate in online discussions and make at least 6 posts over the teaching period (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 Class Participation for External Students External students must participate in online discussions via the LIT 856 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 postings 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 6 posts* over the semester.

Please make sure that your posts 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.