Elective 2: History and Memory

HSC Advanced English

Module c – Representation and Texts

What do you actual ly have to do in this module?

The syllabus says…“This module requires students to explore various representations of events, personalities or situations. They evaluate how medium of production, textual form, perspective and choice of language influence meaning. The study develops students’ understanding of the relationships between representation and meaning.” http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_hsc/pdf_doc/english-syllabus-from2010.pdf

Fine… ok… great… What does all this actually mean?

This module requires students to explore various representations of events, personalities or situations.

Explore ? =

Representations ? =

Events ? =

Personalities ? =

Situations ? =

• search / investigate / open up / go into / delve into / pull apart and see how something (a text) works / discover the details of something and see how it’s “built”

• interpretations / images / illustrations / points-of-view / demonstrations / accounts of / versions / descriptions / depictions

• proceedings / actions / individual experiences / local incidents / national occasions / international processes / global events / personal celebrations and/or tragedies

• diffferent people / characters / traits / natures / behaviours / individualities / personas / temperaments / dispositions / VIPs / public figures / famous person / celebrities

• circumstances / states of mind / state of affairs / positions / settings / locations / status quo

various representations of events, personalities or situations.

Hero or villain?

Various representations of personalities from history and memory

Various perspectives of ideas, values, attitudes and culture in history and memory

Various perspectives of ideas, values, attitudes and culture in history and memory

They evaluate how medium of production, textual form, perspective and choice of language influence meaning.

Evaluate ? = assess / estimate / judge the value of / calculate / weigh up / appraise / gauge

Medium ? = method / mode / / type of material / form / vehicle (eg: hard copy – paper – digital – interactive – static image – visual – multi media)

Production ? = construction / creation / invention / assembly / manufacture

Textual form ? = how a text is composed / text-type

Perspective ? = viewpoint / standpoint / point of view / perception / angle / take / outlook

Influence ? = change / effect / control / manipulate / persuade / impel / talk into / win over / sway

Meaning ? = ideas / understanding / what the composer really means / what the responder understands the text really means (for different audiences) / intended purpose

» evaluate how medium of production, textual form, perspective and choice of language influence meaning.

Weigh-up How the techniques / processes of

Film, print, digital, audio

Documentary? Animation? Youtube vid? Article? novel? Website?TV show? Poster?

Dominant? Resistant? Subversive? Marginalised? Disenfranchised? Popular? Cultural? Christian? Non-Christian? Post-modern? Feminist? Capitalist? Marxist?

Formal? Colloquial? Idioms – simile – metaphor – modality – dialogue – imagery – symbols – motifs – audio effects – camera angles, shot types and movement – contrast – irony – satire – persuasive – positive or negative tone – emotive language – factual language – stereotypes – cliches – catch phrases – journalese -

Show specific ideas, events, people, values, attitudes about history and memory.

History

» Record of the past» Chronicle of events» Encarta dictionary states that history is:

1. Study of past events. The branch of knowledge that records and analyses past events

2. Record of events. A chronological account of past events of a period or in the life or development of a people, an institution, or a place

Memory ?» Recollection of individual experiences» Retention of knowledge and specific, individual

interpretation of events» Encarta Dictionary states that memory is:

1. “The ability to retain knowledge. The ability of a mind of a person to retain learned information and knowledge of past events and experiences – and to retrieve this information.”

2. “Retained impression of an event. The knowledge or impression that somebody retains of a person, event, period, or subject.”

TEXTS OF THEIR OWN CHOOSING WHICH PROVIDE A

VARIETY OF REPRESENTATIONS OF THAT EVENT, PERSONALITY OR SITUATION.

These texts are to be drawn from avariety of sources, in a range of genres and media.

TO BE CONTINUED… WATCH THIS SPACE

Students explore the ways in which different media present information and ideas to understand how various textual forms and their media of production offer different versions and perspectives for a range of audiences and purposes.

Students develop a range of imaginative, interpretive and analytical compositions that relate to different forms and media of representation. These compositions may be realised in a variety of forms and media.

Elective 2: History and Memory

In their responding and composing, students consider their prescribed text and other texts which explore the relationships between individual memory and documented events. Students analyse and evaluate the interplay of personal experience, memory and documented evidence to broaden their understanding of how history and personal history are shaped and represented.

Notes from the marking centreSection III – Module C: Representation and TextGeneral comments Many stronger responses demonstrated an awareness of the constructedness of texts and

how the choice of form and its associated language features connected with the composer’s purpose and context. A carefully constructed thesis was developed through skilful analysis and seamless integration of the prescribed text and well-chosen text or texts of own choosing. Judiciously selected textual evidence was used to support the evaluation of the form and its distinctive features.

Weaker responses were largely descriptive and limited in scope. Some understanding of the act of representation through form was evident; however, the treatment of the prescribed text and the text or texts of own choosing was superficial and inconsistent. Some of these responses did present a simple line of argument, but it was not developed further through the textual references. Generally, the text or texts of own choosing were not used to make connections with the prescribed text and to demonstrate understanding of conflicting perspectives or history and memory.

In stronger responses, candidates concentrated on the concepts of ‘History and Memory’ and communicated a judgement about how effective particular texts were in representing these concepts through their textual form, contributing to their illumination. They then justified these judgements through effective comparison of textual features and ideas.

Examination rubric –

In your answer you will be assessed on how well you:_________________________________________________demonstrate understanding of and evaluate the

relationship between representation and meaning organise, develop and express ideas using language

appropriate to audience, purpose and form _________________________________________________

In your answer you will be assessed on how well you: ___________________________________________________________________

■ demonstrate understanding of and evaluate the relationship between representation and meaning

■ organise, develop and express ideas using language appropriate to audience, purpose and form ___________________________________________________________________Question 11 — Elective 2: History and Memory (20 marks) To what extent has textual form shaped your understanding of history and memory? In your response, make detailed reference to your prescribed text and at least ONE other related text of your own choosing.

The prescribed texts are: • Multimedia – Smithsonian National Museum of American History September 11 website, http://americanhistory.si.edu/september11/

1.History and Political ContextFew fundamentalist movements in the Islamic world gained lasting political power. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, fundamentalists helped articulate anticolonial grievances but played little role in the o struggles for independence after World War I. Western-educated lawyers, soldiers, and officials led most independence movements, and clerical influence and traditional culture were seen as obstacles to national progress. After gaining independence from Western powers following World War II, the Arab Middle East followed an arc from initial pride and optimism to today’s mix of indifference, cynicism, and despair. In several countries, a dynastic state already existed or was quickly established under a paramount tribal family. Monarchies in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Morocco, and Jordan still survive today. Those in Egypt, Libya, Iraq, and Yemen were eventually overthrown by secular nationalist revolutionaries.

2.

The secular regimes promised a glowing future, often tied to sweeping ideologies (such as those promoted by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser’s Arab Socialism or the Ba’ath Party of Syria and Iraq) that called for a single, secular Arab state. However, what emerged were almost invariably autocratic regimes that were usually unwilling to tolerate any opposition—even in countries, such as Egypt, that had a parliamentary tradition. Over time, their policies— repression, rewards, emigration, and the displacement of popular anger onto scapegoats (generally foreign)—were shaped by the desire to cling to power.

The bankruptcy of secular, autocratic nationalism was evident across the Muslim world by the late 1970s.At the same time, these regimes had closed off nearly all paths for peaceful opposition, forcing their critics to choose silence, exile, or violent opposition. Iran’s 1979 revolution swept a Shia theocracy into power. Its success encouraged Sunni fundamentalists elsewhere.