Handbook

This subject explores the relationship between writing and ideology: the philosophical, cultural and political modes that affect creative production. In this subject, we will consider the implications of writing fiction in historical contexts as well as contemporary Australian society. Specifically, we will reflect on questions of textual power, exploring the relationship between ideology and textual structure, as well as the ways writers might resist textual control. We will also focus on questions of responsibility, investigating topics such as writers’ relationships with their culture, and the ethics of writing. We will explore these questions through two approaches: by analysing existing literary texts in the light of critical theory and by applying the ideas discussed to our own writing.