End of Week 3 & Autumn begins?

Hi All,

so we have reached the end of the third week and summer is still here today, but the weekend – I have heard- will finally bring Autumn with it!

So what has been cooking in Oz Lit, in 19th C. Lit & in Shakespeare & the Renaissance?

In Oz Lit we are about to add to our experience of prize winning indigenous author Kim Scott a raft of indigenous authors (and authors who write about our relation to the indigenous experience) who amplify and support his wonderful perceptions about our Australian culture. It is a complex story and one that has not yet unravelled or clarified itself. We all, as individuals, have a part to play in this unravelling. From my point of view the most important idea/ experience to emerge from all this writing is that while there is much to be sorry about, we must recognize the power, beauty and significance of what we have learned about the indigenous experience through literature, art and music.

Here for example is Yothu Yindi’s amazing song “Treaty” which relates powerfully to the concerns in Oodgeroo Noonuccal’s “Charter of Rights” (663 in our Anthology): [click on the image for the song!]

Blog Topics for OZ Lit for Week 4 include (and don’t forget your first peer review must happen this coming week- and be bold: say what you think, give supportive but constructive feedback- agree or disagree with your peer’s point of view- make this the starting point for an interesting discussion.):

1/ What is the one most important idea or experience that you have discovered in the writings of indigenous authors (other than Kim Scott) or in the writings of authors about the indigenous experience.

2/ What do you think about Yothu Yindi’s call for “Treaty”? Is this a way forward for us all in this country?

3/ Write a poem or piece of creative prose that expresses your sense of how we should “grow” our relationship to indigenous Australians?

If you want to check out what is happening in other literature units then simply click on the links at the top of this blog.