Writing Self, Writing Place (11118.1)

Please note these are the 2026 details for this unit
Home
/
Find your course
/
Writing Self, Writing Place
Available teaching periods Delivery mode Location
View teaching periods On-campus
 Bruce, Canberra
EFTSL Credit points Faculty
0.125 3 Faculty Of Arts And Design
Discipline Study level HECS Bands
School Of Arts And Communications Level 2 - Undergraduate Intermediate Unit Band 2 2021 (Commenced Before 1 Jan 2021)
Band 4 2021 (Commenced After 1 Jan 2021)
Band 4 2021 (Commenced After 1 Jan Social Work_Exclude 0905)
Where does the concept of place meet ways of being in the world? How do we write about land, the environment, the city? How can the Indigenous Australian term, Country, contribute to ways of understanding story and self? This unit introduces students to different understandings and expressions of story in the context of lived experience, culture and place. Through the studies of various texts, students will be exposed to how other writers and artists have conceptualised and represented these intertwined ideas. Students will use these studies not only as a way of broadening their knowledge, but as a way of developing their own preferred writing practice.

Learning outcomes

After successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
1. Identify and critique different concepts of writing about place and self and how they manifest as literary genres;
2. Develop written work that creatively engages with country, place and self; and
3. Critically reflect on representations of lived experience, environment, place and self.


Graduate attributes

1. UC graduates are professional - employ up-to-date and relevant knowledge and skills
1. UC graduates are professional - communicate effectively
1. UC graduates are professional - use creativity, critical thinking, analysis and research skills to solve theoretical and real-world problems
1. UC graduates are professional - work collaboratively as part of a team, negotiate, and resolve conflict
1. UC graduates are professional - display initiative and drive, and use their organisation skills to plan and manage their workload
1. UC graduates are professional - take pride in their professional and personal integrity
2. UC graduates are global citizens - think globally about issues in their profession
2. UC graduates are global citizens - adopt an informed and balanced approach across professional and international boundaries
2. UC graduates are global citizens - understand issues in their profession from the perspective of other cultures
2. UC graduates are global citizens - communicate effectively in diverse cultural and social settings
2. UC graduates are global citizens - make creative use of technology in their learning and professional lives
2. UC graduates are global citizens - behave ethically and sustainably in their professional and personal lives
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - reflect on their own practice, updating and adapting their knowledge and skills for continual professional and academic development
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - be self-aware
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - adapt to complexity, ambiguity and change by being flexible and keen to engage with new ideas


Prerequisites

Must have passed 24 credit points.

Corequisites

None.

Incompatible units

None.

Equivalent units

None.

Assumed knowledge

None.
Availability for enrolment in 2026 is subject to change and may not be confirmed until closer to the teaching start date.
Year Location Teaching period Teaching start date Delivery mode Unit convener
2025 Bruce, Canberra Semester 1 03 February 2025 On-campus Dr Jennifer Crawford
2026 Bruce, Canberra Semester 1 16 February 2026 On-campus Dr Jennifer Crawford
The information provided should be used as a guide only. Timetables may not be finalised until week 2 of the teaching period and are subject to change. Search for the unit timetable.

Required texts

Required: 

Pascoe, Bruce. Dark Emu. Broome: Magabala Books, 2014

Neidjie, Bill. Story about Feeling.  Broome: Magabala Books, 1989.

Papertalk Green, Charmaine/ Nganajungu Yagu. Carlton South: Cordite Books, 2019. 

Additional required readings will be posted to Canvas. 

Recommended:

Brien, Donna Lee and Quinn Eades, editors. Offshoot: Contemporary Life Writing Methodologies and Practice. Eds. Donna Lee Brien and Quinn Eades. Crawley, University of Western Australia Publishing, 2018. Available in UC Library and for purchase online. 

Submission of assessment items

Extensions & Late submissions

In general, assignments for this unit must be set out according to the prescribed format and must:

Be typewritten or word processed

Be 12 point size typeface
Show page numbers
Show word count

Have 1.5 line spacing. 

Exceptions can be made for work which deliberately uses unconventional visual elements, or on occasions where students are asked to capture non-standard creative activity such as  hand-written or drawn pieces. 

Referencing requirements:

Where appropriate, students in this unit are expected to use a standard academic form for all referencing and annotating. MLA is the preferred form. Students not familiar with this should contact Study Skills at the Library or on Canvas.

Handing in assessment:

As stated above, assessment items will be submitted online via the unit's Canvas site, or, for work which requires a hard copy or performance, arrange delivery with your tutor. It is the student's responsibility to upload assignments in either .doc, .docx, or .pdf formats only. You should also closely monitor your student email account in the period following assignment submission in case your file has failed to open or is corrupt. In this case it is your responsibility to get a valid file or hardcopy to your tutor within twenty-four hours of an advice email being sent to your student email address. In case of lost or missing assignments, ensure that you always retain a hard copy of any assignment submitted.

 

Extensions:

Extensions will be authorised only by the convenor and only for a valid reason, such as illness. A medical certificate or other appropriate documentation must accompany requests for extensions. Lack of personal organisation or pressure of work are not considered valid reasons for an extension. Unless the unit convenor has given you an extension, you must submit each piece of assessable work by the due date.

Late submissions:

Students submitting work late will receive a reduction in available marks of 5% per day (e.g. if an assessment was submitted three days late a mark of 70% would be reduced to 55%, or put another way, if a student was awarded 21 out of 30 and submitted three days late their mark would be reduced to 16.5 out of 30), up to a maximum of seven days at which time the assignment will no longer be accepted, unless there are approved extenuating circumstances. Detailed information is found in section 9.12 of
the Assessment Policy and Procedures. Late submissions may result in reduced feedback being provided to students.

Returning assessment:

As all written assessments in this unit use online submission through the unit Canvas site, feedback will be similarly be made available through Canvas once all assignments have been marked and moderation is completed. Insofar as assignments are the property of students, the University/Faculty is not required to retain physical copies of assignments.

Artificial intelligence

Students are not permitted to use generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in assessments for this unit.

GenAI may only be used in authorised ways when completing assessments at UC. This means that GenAI can only be used for an assessment when:

  1. the Unit Convener has authorised GenAI use for that assessment
  2. the student uses GenAI in the way that the assessment instructions allow
  3. the student fully acknowledges their use of GenAI, with proper citations, references and a GenAIAcknowledgement Statement in line with the assessment instructions.

Where the assessment instructions do not specifically state that GenAI may be used and how, then its use is not permitted for that assessment. Students must still provide the required GenAI Acknowledgement Statement to indicate whether GenAI has or has not been used in the preparation of the assessment. If unsure, students should seek advice from the Unit Convener.

The GenAI for StudentsLinks to an external site. Library Guide provides further information, including how to reference GenAI.

Ethical Issues

 

Writers have great freedom in their work, but also clear constraints on what they may write and present to others. Consequently, while writing students may write any story that engages them, in the voice, from the perspective, and using the characterisation that they choose, they must also comply with the University of Canberra's Regulation of Student Conduct rules (which requires that students not engage in a course of behaviour offensive to a university authority, board or committee, to an officer or employee of the university, or to another student). Students and their work must also comply with Australian law, specifically the Office of Film and Literature Classification Code. This code prohibits the publication/dissemination of material that 'appears to purposefully debase or abuse for the enjoyment of readers/viewers, and which lacks moral, artistic or other values to the extent that they offend against generally accepted standards of morality, decency and propriety'.

Students must apply academic integrity in their learning and research activities at UC. This includes submitting authentic and original work for assessments and properly acknowledging any sources used.

Academic integrity involves the ethical, honest and responsible use, creation and sharing of information. It is critical to the quality of higher education. Our academic integrity values are honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility and courage.

UC students have to complete the Academic Integrity Module annually to learn about academic integrity and to understand the consequences of academic integrity breaches (or academic misconduct).

UC uses various strategies and systems, including detection software, to identify potential breaches of academic integrity. Suspected breaches may be investigated, and action can be taken when misconduct is found to have occurred.

Information is provided in the Academic Integrity Policy, Academic Integrity Procedure, and University of Canberra (Student Conduct) Rules 2023. For further advice, visit Study Skills.

Learner engagement

Attendence at live seminars and tutorials is required for students meet assessment requirements. Seminars will be digitally recorded BUT as seminar sessions are highly interactive and participatory, recordings should only be used as a back-up in occasional situations of unavoidable absence. Tutorials will not be recorded. 

Participation requirements

In order to be able to effectively pass this unit, students must attend and participate in the seminars and tutorials, complete readings and assigned tasks, and complete their assessments to the best of their ability. 

Required IT skills

Students participating in this unit will need the ability to use word processing software and email. You will need to be able to access the internet and to use the University's UCLearn (Canvas) and e-reserve systems.

In-unit costs

  • Cost of required texts if these are purchased rather than accessed at the library. 
  • Transport and incidental costs for visits to your chosen site in preparation for Assignments 1 and 2. 

Work placement, internships or practicums

None

Additional information

To pass the unit:

  • All assessment requirements must be submitted on or by the due date, unless an extension has been granted.
  • All work must be your own.
  • Assignments that have been assessed in another unit can not be presented for assessment again.

Next step

Apply now Enquire