RATIONALE

VCE Literature provides opportunities for students to develop their awareness of other people, places and cultures and explore the way texts represent the complexity of human experience. Students examine the evolving and dialogic nature of texts, the changing contexts in which they were produced and notions of value. They develop an understanding and appreciation of literature, and an ability to reflect critically on the aesthetic and intellectualaspects of texts.

The study of Literature enables students to consider the power and complexity of language, the ways literary features and techniques contribute to meaning and the significance of form and structure. They develop their capacity to read and interpret texts and reflect on their interpretations and those of others, and in turn reflect on their personal experience and the experiences of others, cultivating an awareness that there are multiple readings of texts and that the nature of language and text is dynamic. They are encouraged to be independent, innovative and creative, developing the ability to read deeply and widely and to establish and articulate their views through creative and analytical responses.

Aims

This study enables students to:

• develop an enjoyment of language and literature through reading deeply, widely and critically

• appreciate the stylistic and aesthetic qualities of texts and develop an understanding of and sensitivity to nuances in the English language

• read closely, developing the ability to engage in detailed critical analysis of the key literary features of individual texts and to make relevant connections between them

• demonstrate an understanding that the context and perspective of both author and reader influence the reading experience

• develop the capacity for critical thinking and understanding of the relationship between literature and society

• develop an understanding of literary criticism

• develop the capacity to engage with and contest complex and challenging ideas to develop their own interpretation informed by a range of literary criticism

• develop the capacity for creativity and self-expression, and the ability to write confident analytical and creative responses to texts.

Structure

The study is made up of four units:

Unit 1: Approaches to literature

Unit 2: Context and connections

Unit 3: Form and transformation

Unit 4: Interpreting texts

END-OF-YEAR EXAM: x1 Essay and x1 Close Analysis

Unit 2: Context and connections

In this unit students explore the ways literary texts connect with each other and with the world. They deepen their examination of the ways their own culture and the cultures represented in texts can influence their interpretations and shape different meanings. Drawing on a range of literary texts, students consider the relationships between authors, audiences and contexts. Ideas, language and structures of different texts from past and present eras and/or cultures are compared and contrasted. Students analyse the similarities and differences across texts and establish connections between them. They engage in close reading of texts and create analytical responses that are evidence-based. By experimenting with textual structures and language features, students understand how imaginative texts are informed by close analysis.

Unit 3: Form and transformation

In this unit students consider how the form of a text affects meaning, and how writers construct their texts. They investigate ways writers adapt and transform texts and how meaning is affected as texts are adapted and transformed. They consider how the perspectives of those adapting texts may inform or influence the adaptations. Students draw on their study of adaptations and transformations to develop creative responses to texts.

YEAR 12 LITERATURE HAS AN EXCURSION TO A THEATRE PRODUCTION AND THE STATE LIBRARY

Unit 4: Interpreting texts

In this unit students develop critical and analytic responses to texts. They consider the context of their responses to texts as well as the ideas explored in the texts, the style of the language and points of view. They investigate literary criticism informing both the reading and writing of texts. Students develop an informed and sustained interpretation supported by close textual analysis. For the purposes of this unit, literary criticism is characterised by extended, informed and substantiated views on texts and may include reviews, peer-reviewed articles and transcripts of speeches. Specifically, for Unit 4 Outcome 1, the literary criticism selected must reflect different perspectives, assumptions and ideas about the views and values of the text/s studied.

CAREER TARGET

English Career Target

or

Use Literature as prerequisite for a university course of your choice!

[see Ms.Anderson for more information]