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Unit of study_

ICLS3101: Popular Fiction and Culture

2024 unit information

How do understandings of 'popular' fiction change over time and how do they compare across cultures? How are genres such as mystery, romance, crime or horror, reshaped by media such as manga or redefined in specific historical and political conditions, such as the German Wende? In this unit, students will study a variety of popular genres in different cultural and historical contexts. The unit will include consideration of the role of writer(s), audience reception and fan interaction. Students will develop detailed knowledge of literary production as an arena for the representation of widespread issues and the shaping of sentiment in society, and of popular fiction as a cultural industry.

Unit details and rules

Managing faculty or University school:

Arts and Social Sciences

Study level Undergraduate
Academic unit International Comparative Literature and Translation Studies
Credit points 6
Prerequisites:
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12 credit points at 2000 level from ICLS or English or 12 credit points at 2000 or 3000 level from Arabic Language and Cultures or Chinese Studies or French and Francophone Studies or Germanic Studies or Modern Hebrew or Indonesian Studies or Italian Studies or Japanese Studies or Korean Studies or Modern Greek and Byzantine Studies or Spanish and Latin American Studies
Corequisites:
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None
Prohibitions:
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None
Assumed knowledge:
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None

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. discuss in writing and in class the ins an outs of popular fiction and culture, and be able to compare and contrast these details across various popular genres of fiction and entertainment media.
  • LO2. understand and present in a written essay or creative project alternative the elements of popular of common culture that are reflected in popular fiction writing and other media types and productions and illustrate how they go hand in hand with popular literature, including translation of popular fictions from one culture/language into another.
  • LO3. apply a selection of relevant terms and methodology skills to the comparative analysis of popular fiction and culture.
  • LO4. produce independently materials and a final media project based on the unit task of designing a podcast episode for a popular fiction and culture podcast.
  • LO5. utilise their media literacy skills to add to their academic study and thereby develop a deeper sense of popular culture awareness.

Unit availability

This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.

The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.

Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 2 2024
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 1 2022
Normal day Remote
Semester 2 2023
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

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Modes of attendance (MoA)

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