Figuring Innocence: The Child in Australian Culture - Einzelansicht

This course looks at the figure of the child in Australian culture of the 19^th and 20^th century as it emerges through films, novels, media coverage and the shifting political landscape of Australian children. Using common tropes such as ‘the lost child’, ‘the innocent child’ and ‘the deviant child’ as they emerge across different periods as focal points, this course will explore how these distinctive yet related figurations of the child are bound up with anxieties about national identity, race, citizenship, modernity and memory. Through this course you will encounter some important cultural texts which feature children, learn about some critical moments of Australian history and read theoretical texts on representations of the child drawn from various disciplines, from cultural and literary studies to childhood studies and sociology.