Beyond the Dark : Dystopian Texts in the Secondary English Classroom

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Cover image courtesy of publisher.

y Beyond the Dark : Dystopian Texts in the Secondary English Classroom selected work criticism

Editors: Patricia Dowsett , Ellen Rees , Alex Wharton .

Issue Details: First known date: 2020... 2020 Beyond the Dark : Dystopian Texts in the Secondary English Classroom

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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Dystopian texts represent worlds that are both strange and strangely familiar. This seeming paradox is just one of the ways these works functions as useful and engaging narratives for exploring English concepts in secondary classrooms. Accompanied and guided by their teachers, students can not only engage with the fiction, but also imagine what the world could really be like and how they might change the way it actually is.

'Reading and studying dystopian works offers a vehicle for navigating and negotiating a sometimes disturbing and often disconcerting world - of find power and personal agency in situations of powerlessness, in finding warmth, human connection and self-sacrifice in a world that can seem callous, selfish and devoid of humanity, of finding light beyond the dark.

'This publication is intended as a guide for English teachers as they develop learning sequences for their students that ask them to investigate worlds both imaginary and real. Using contemporary Australian, along with some classic dystopian fiction, it shares insights and provides practical strategies for teaching a broad range of dystopian texts in contemporary classrooms.'

Source: Back cover.

Notes

Only literary material within AustLit's scope individually indexed. Other material in this work includes:
- 'Dystopias and the Digital : The Role of Technology in Dystopian Texts and Worlds', by Alex Wharton (176-197).
- 'A Summary of Dystopian Conventions', by Ellen Rees (215-217).

* Contents derived from the Kensington Gardens, Burnside area, Adelaide - South / South East, Adelaide, South Australia,:Australian Association for the Teaching of English , 2020 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.

Foreword, Philip Mead , single work criticism (p. viii-x)

Light Beyond the Dark : An Introduction, Patricia Dowsett , Ellen Rees , Alex Wharton , single work criticism (p. 1-7)

'Dystopia' : A History of the Genre in (and) Australia, Amy Schoonens , single work criticism (p. 8-34)

"For the Times They are a-changin'" : Developing Meaningful and Timely Reading Strategies for the Dystopian Genre, Kirsten Hudson , single work criticism (p. 35-63)

'It Affects Us' : Teaching Dystopian Texts Sensitively, Alex Wharton , single work criticism (p. 64-84)

Dark Lands : Setting as a Generic Feature of Dystopian Fiction, Ellen Rees , single work criticism (p. 85-103)

Resistant Heroes or Resourceful Runaways? An Exploration of Character in Young Adult (YA) Dystopian Texts, Pamela Powell , single work criticism (p. 104-126)

Nature and Its Elements : Reading Patterns in Dystopian Texts, Patricia Dowsett , single work criticism (p. 127-159)

The Australian 'Waste Land' : The Gender Politics of Bodies and Places in Mad Max Fury Road and The Natural Way of Things, Ellen Rees , single work criticism (p. 160-175)