Writing History: People, Places and Times
LPW602
Overview
To enrol in this unit, you must be accepted into a course from the provider.
Read before you start
Level of study: What does Postgraduate mean?
Postgraduate
EFTSL: What does EFTSL mean?
0.125
Delivery Method: What does delivery method mean?
Fully Online
Prerequisites: What are the prerequisites?
Duration:
13 weeks
Government loans available:
FEE-HELP FEE-HELP
Domestic student fee:
$1,750.00 (AUD)
International student fee:
$1,975.00 (AUD)
Description
Writing history is extremely popular in Australia, with many people interested in their familial, colonial, immigrant or convict past. Many people are re-visiting their cultural roots. In this unit, you develop ideas about writing history, which includes models of writing about people, places and times, of using letters and visuals, of a sense of place and belonging and of editing. We also provide strategies as to how you might enrich your own writing and reading skills in this area.
Please note: Assessment values are indicative only; details will be advised at the start of the unit.
Enrolment Restriction
In order to enrol in this unit, you must be accepted into one of the following courses:
- Graduate Diploma of Arts in Writing
- Master of Arts (Writing)
- Graduate Diploma in Professional Communication
If you wish to seek approval to enrol in this unit without being accepted in a course, please contact OUA regarding the process.
Prerequisites
Mandatory prerequisites
You must have successfully completed the following unit(s) before starting this unit:
- LPW500 — Critical Friends: The Real and Virtual Support of Writers
If you have completed equivalent study at another university, please contact a Student Advisor for advice.
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this unit students ahould be able to:
- demonstrate a theoretical and practical understanding of writing histories
- articulate insights into the range and types of histories it is possible to produce
- utilise skills in interviewing and recording techniques
- utilise their interest in family, local or social histories to produce a historical record for publication in print and/or online
- apply appropriate research strategies for writing historical fiction
- understand the process of accessing appropriate networks for historical research, including indigenous networks
- identify alternative sites for publication of family and local histories
- create and analyse personal histories as a new model of writing about people, places and times
- write for publication in the genre of reminiscence, memoir or an historical documentation of particular times and places
- have insights into the ethical requirements of writing about people, places and times.
Topics
This unit addresses the following topics.
| Number | Topic |
|---|---|
| 1 | Writing personal reminiscences |
| 2 | Gathering stories: Indigenous Dreamings |
| 3 | Who owns the story? |
| 4 | The local and the global |
| 5 | Autobiography as family history |
| 6 | Editing the family history |
| 7 | Publishing histories |
| 8 | Writing local history |
| 9 | Writing about people: The ethics of personal and family histories |
| 10 | Research history for fiction writing |
Study Resources
This unit is delivered using the following methods and materials:
Print based materials
- Welcome Letter
Online materials
- Printable format materials
Textbook information for this unit is currently being updated and will be available soon. Please check back regularly for updates. Alternatively, visit the Unibooks website and enter the unit details to search for available textbooks.
Relevant Courses
This unit is a core requirement in the following courses:
- Graduate Diploma of Arts in Writing, Swinburne University of Tnlgy
- Master of Arts (Writing), Swinburne University of Tnlgy
- Graduate Diploma in Professional Communication, Curtin University
This unit may be eligible for credit towards other courses:
- Many undergraduate courses on offer through OUA include 'open elective' where any OUA unit can be credited to the course. You need to check the Award Requirements on the course page for the number of allowed open electives and any level limitations.
- In other cases, the content of this unit might be relevant to a course on offer through OUA or elsewhere. In order to receive credit for this unit in the course you will need to supply the provider institution with a copy of the Unit Profile in the approved format, which you can download here. Note that the Unit Profile is set at the start of the year, and if textbooks change this may not match the Unibooks textbook list.
