This course is designed to introduce students to concepts, critical approaches and methods that are central to gender studies in the Humanities. It will achieve this by focusing on a literary text, Charlotte Bronte's novel Jane Eyre. This text, which has been important in the development of feminist scholarship since the 1970s, has also attracted a non-academic readership, influencing media such as the popular romance and cinema. Using Jane Eyre and its extensive critical commentary and popular adaptations and spin-offs as a springboard, the unit will investigate such topics as gender, representation, sexuality, race, class, madness, marriage and the law. Other texts to be studied in conjunction with the novel will include Jean Rhys's 'prequel' to Jane Eyre, Wide Sargasso Sea, (1966) and Jane Campion's 1992 film The Piano and recent popular texts such as Jasper Fforde's The Eyre Affair (2001).
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
Upon successful completion of this course, students will have the knowledge and skills to:- undertake a sophisticated interdisciplinary analysis of a canonical literary text which embeds analysis in a larger argument;
- give several examples of changing interpretations of Jane Eyre over time, and explain how interpretation is shaped by socio-political and literary-theoretical concerns;
- analyse cinematic adaptations of Jane Eyre, Wide Sargasso Sea and related texts;
- provide a detailed explanation and critique of key concepts and methods of feminist literary criticism;
- use a wide range of appropriate critical concepts and methods for analyzing literature.
Indicative Assessment
Five short responses on critical readings, 300 words each (20%) [Learning outcomes 1, 2]Textual analysis, 750 words (25%) [Learning outcomes 5]
Final essay, 2500 words (45%) [Learning outcomes 1-5]
Tutorial preparation and participation (10%) [Learning outcomes 1-5]
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
130 hours of total student learning time made up from:a) 37 hours of contact over 12 weeks: 18 hours of lectures, 11 hours of tutorials and and 8 hours of film screenings
b) 93 hours of independent student research, reading and writing.
Requisite and Incompatibility
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 1
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees. Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2018 | $3180 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2018 | $4860 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
