INSIDE MY MOTHER

STANDARD ENGLISH, MODULE A: LANGUAGE, IDENTITY AND CULTURE

HSC ENGLISH STUDY DAY ETA TAMWORTH NSW

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY

OVERVIEW

LANGUAGE FEATURES & FORMS

HSC EXAMINATION

THANKS

MODULE DESCRIPTOR

CONTEXT �& BACKGROUND

POEMS & CONCEPTS

Slide 21-27

Slides 28-32

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Slide 33

Slides 4-6

Slides 7-11

Slides 12-20

MODULE A DESCRIPTOR

Module A: Language, Culture and Identity

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Language has the power both to reflect and shape individual and collective identity. In this module, students consider how their responses to written, spoken, audio and visual texts can shape their self-perception. They also consider the impact texts have on shaping a sense of identity for individuals and/or communities. Through their responding and composing students deepen their understanding of how language can be used to affirm, ignore, reveal, challenge or disrupt prevailing assumptions and beliefs about themselves, individuals and cultural groups.

Communicating ideas about identity.

Concepts found in ‘Inside My Mother’ and audience perceptions of identity.

What is your concept of identity?

Representation of individual identity and group / cultural identity.

MODULE A DESCRIPTOR

Students study one prescribed text in detail, as well as a range of textual material to explore, analyse and assess the ways in which meaning about individual and community identity, as well as cultural perspectives, is shaped in and through texts. They investigate how textual forms and conventions, as well as language structures and features, are used to communicate information, ideas, values and attitudes which inform and influence perceptions of ourselves and other people and various cultural perspectives.

The suite of six poems from Inside My Mother.

Poetic and literary devices.

Exploring ideas and context related to Inside My Mother.

Author perspective, Traditional Aboriginal perspective, Elder perspective,

Feminine perspective,

Modern / Western perspective.

How has language been used to persuade the reader?

MODULE A DESCRIPTOR

Through reading, viewing and listening, students analyse, assess and critique the specific language features and form of text. In their responding and composing students develop increasingly complex arguments and express their ideas clearly and cohesively using appropriate register, structure and modality. Students also experiment with language and form to compose imaginative texts that explore representations of identity and culture, including their own. Students draft, appraise and refine their own texts, applying the conventions of syntax, spelling and grammar appropriately and for particular effects.

Analyse techniques.

Write draft responses – show teachers, swap with peers!

Writing essays that have a strong thesis (argument) and use strong, formal language.

Using the poetic and literary devices and concepts that the writer uses.

ALI COBBY ECKERMANN INDIVIDUAL IDENTITY

• Born in 1963, Eckermann was stolen from her mother and adopted out to a white family in South Australia.
• Her peoples are Yankunytjatjara and Kokatha.
• She was abused when she was a child, became addicted to drugs and alcohol, gave away a baby she had at 18, and moved around the outback slowly learning about her own culture.
• While in rehab, Eckermann began to journal and write poetry.
• At 34, when the Bringing Them Home report was released in 1997, Eckermann was finally able to find her real mother.
• Her verse novels and poetry collections won major awards in 2013 and 2017.
• She started a Writer’s Retreat for Aboriginal writers in outback South Australia.

ALI COBBY ECKERMANN

Multiple identities – we can look at her poetry through the perspectives of multiple ‘communities’ that Eckermann lived as part of at different points in her life. Western Christian, Traditional Aboriginal, Woman (Daughter, Wife, Mother), Artist, Stolen Generation. All informed her eventual understanding of identity and culture.

COMMUNITY

IDENTITY

CONTEXT – CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES

FRONTIER VIOLENCE

BRINGING THEM HOME REPORT

STOLEN GENERATIONS

INTERGENERATIONAL TRAUMA

‘Frontier Wars’ between European settlers and Aboriginal peoples who pushed back against being dispossessed of their traditional lands.

In 1997, a Govt Royal Commission led to the publication of a report that collected the stories of the Stolen Generations for the first time.

Removal of Aboriginal children from their families from 1870-1970. Placed in Christian Missions, and adopted out to white families.

When people are traumatized and unable to heal, this trauma is passed on to the next generation through behaviour.

CONTEXT – CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES

NON-LINEAR TIME

KIN RELATIONSHIPS

CONNECTION TO COUNTRY

ANCESTORS

Traditional Aboriginal concept of time is not linear – this is why their belief system is best translated as ‘The Dreaming’ rather than ‘Dreamtime’… it is ongoing and continuous.

Elders, Mothers, Fathers, Sisters, Brothers, Daughters, Sons – not defined in the same way as Western culture.

Treatment of the natural world as a living, breathing thing to be respected in the same way as an elder.

Deep connection with traditional country as the home of ancestor spirits. Their presence is ongoing.

THE POEMS

TRANCE

UNEARTH

OOMBULGARRI

Ritual, Loss

Tradition, Connection

Happiness, Stereotypes

History, Ancestors

Trauma, Nature

Perspective, Loss

Dispossession, Home

Authority, Community

Trauma, Shame

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Inside My Mother: Poems 1-3

THE POEMS

EYES

LEAVES

KEY

Female empowerment,

Silence, Domesticity

Trauma, Emotions

Nature, Kinship

Connection, Estrangement,

Healing, Relationships

Intergenerational Trauma,

Perspective, Tradition

Relationships, History

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Inside My Mother: Poems 4-6

CONCEPTS

• Aboriginal Culture
• Western Perspective of Aboriginal culture
• Personal identity
• Cultural tension
• Community identity

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If you can connect some of the key ideas from the previous slides (or your own ideas about the poems) to one of the above ‘broad’ concepts then you have the beginnings of a personalised thesis.

Concept

Ideas

ABORIGINAL CULTURE

• Explored across multiple poems:
• Connection to country seen in relationship between old woman and nature in ‘Trance’, the poinciana in ‘Unearth’, the trauma of being disconnected from traditional homeland in ‘Oombulgarri’, and the sunlight of the outside world in ‘Key’.
• Chewing of pituri to gain access to ancestors in ‘Trance’ reflects Aboriginal spiritual beliefs, ongoing presence of ancestors in ‘Unearth’, connection between kin and nature in ‘Leaves’

WESTERN PERSPECTIVES �ON ABORIGINAL CULTURE

• Explored across multiple poems:
• Western misconceptions about remembrance of the dead in ‘Trance’, that things must be either natural or the ancestors in ‘Unearth’ (for Aboriginal people these events are both these things), the truth of history in ‘Unearth’, and Aboriginal women being passive or pointlessly angry in ‘Eyes’
• Pushing back against stereotypes - about Aboriginal peoples being emotionally simplistic in ‘Trance’, the image of the Aboriginal housewife in ‘Eyes’, and the way in which ‘Oombulgarri’ challenges what the reader believes about Aboriginal communities.

INDIVIDUAL IDENTITY

• Explored across multiple poems:
• The personal meaning that the old woman attaches to the ritual in ‘Trance’, personal growth and potential in ‘Eyes’, relationship between persona and father in ‘Leaves’, relationship between little girl and grandmother in ‘Key’
• The impact of trauma on individuals in ‘Unearth’, ‘Oombulgarri’ and ‘Key’, and the different kinds of femininity explored in ‘Eyes’.

CULTURAL TENSION

• Explored across multiple poems:
• Cultural view of what counts as sacred in ‘Trance’, conflicting beliefs between Western and Aboriginal cultures regarding deceased loved ones in ‘Trance’ and ‘Unearth’, and Aboriginal concept of shame in ‘Eyes’.
• Conflict from Australian history – the frontier violence of colonisation in ‘Unearth’, dispossession and government betrayal of community in ‘Oombulgarri’, intergenerational trauma arising from Stolen Generations in ‘Eyes’, ‘Leaves’, and ‘Key’, and loss of cultural heritage in ‘Key’.

COMMUNITY IDENTITY

• Explored across multiple poems:
• Value of family in ‘Trance’, ‘Leaves’ and ‘Key’, traditional role of women examined in ‘Trance’, ‘Eyes’, and ‘Key’.
• Shared cultural identity in ritual used in ‘Trance’, community response to historical violence seen in ‘Unearth’, and shared experience of community in ‘Oombulgarri’.

THESIS EXAMPLES

• Connecting ideas and concepts, and rephrasing into your own words, some examples of a draft thesis that could be developed to underpin an entire essay:
• Power of spiritual beliefs as a way to unite and preserve a shared culture (Aboriginal Culture + Community Identity + Tradition)
• The way in which language acts as a barrier to cultural understanding (Western Perspectives + Stereotypes + Cultural Tension)
• Family as a collective unit that reflects cultural identity (Community Identity + Relationships + Intergenerational Trauma)

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LANGUAGE FEATURES AND FORMS

• Literary Techniques

Eckermann uses deliberate word choices to convey meaning, generally focused on metaphor and symbolism.

• Sound Devices

Crafting distinct sounds in poetry; alliteration, repetition, rhyme, sibilance, etc., to communicate patterns that represent ideas. Designed for performance. The lack of rhyming or set rhythm indicates Eckermann’s choice of form – free verse poetry.

• Punctuation

Eckermann’s poetry very rarely includes punctuation. This ensures that each line is paced equally and has the same ‘weight’ in meaning. Deliberate pauses are created by very occasional use of commas – this adds extra emphasis to a few key ideas.

LANGAUGE FEATURES

Personification: A metaphorical figure of speech in which an idea, object or something else inanimate is given human attributes, or treated like a human character by the author.

Examples: Eckermann frequently uses personification to replicate human behaviour in the natural world, and to add character and depth to things like trees, the air, doors, fire. This allows us to develop a new understanding of the way in which Aboriginal people see the world around them.

LANGAUGE FEATURES

Imagery: In poetry, we think of imagery as any deliberate phrasing that is designed to evoke a sensory response. This can be figurative or descriptive language that helps us to visualise, hear, smell, taste, or feel something physical.

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Examples: The use of imagery by Eckermann helps to convey complicated ideas in ways that the reader will be able to recognise and understand. We have a familiarity with the way trees feel, what kitchens look like, and the colouring of dying leaves.

LANGAUGE FEATURES

Cultural Allusion: An allusion is a referece to something outside of the text. Allusions can be categorised in different ways, EG. Historical allusion, Literary allusion, Cultural allusion.

Examples: Eckermann includes specific references to Aboriginal culture in order to communicate connections to tradition and history. The use of these cultural allusions – the possum skin cloak, pituri, boomerangs - condense complex ideas into singular images.

LANGAUGE FEATURES

Plosive Consonants: These are letters that make an abrupt, forceful sound – B, P, T, D. This can be used in poetry to shock, grab attention, create an emotional reaction, or provoke a visceral (gut) response from the reader.

Examples: The plosive ‘b’ in particular is occasionally used by Eckermann for added impact. The poet uses the ‘b’ sound in quick succession to transport the reader into the feelings conveyed or felt by the persona in the poem.

LANGAUGE FEATURES

Motif: An image, sound, action, idea, phrase, word or anything else that repeatedly occurs throughout a poem. Used as a form of symbolism that suggests a message the author wants to convey.

Examples: Eckermann builds a thematic core in her poems by repeatedly referring to specific ideas – such as hands/holding in ‘Trance’, warriors and time in ‘Unearth’, tumbleweeds in ‘Oombulgarri’, eyes and questions in ‘Eyes’, nature in ‘Leaves’, and the girl standing at the door in ‘Key’.

LANGAUGE FEATURES

Comma: The comma has a lot more flexibility in poetry as it can be used anywhere – to signal a break between lines, or a pause in the middle of a line, or a way to separate ideas.

Examples: The comma is the only punctuation mark used in Eckermann’s poems within this suite. It can create a sharp or sudden pause in a poem that has an otherwise continuous and even pace, and encourages the reader to take a moment to reflect on something that has been said.

THE HSC EXAMINATION�

APPROACHING HSC QUESTIONS

QUESTION

EVIDENCE

THESIS

BODY PARAGRAPHS

First thing when looking at a question – think about what it is asking and then come up with your thesis (argument). The more clearly you take a position in response to the question, the stronger your thesis.

Support your ideas with examples from the text – explain and analyse how these examples provide evidence of the ideas. How do examples reinforce the same idea across more than one poem?

Link one of the concepts to your argument. Express this in 1-2 sentences in your introduction – this is your thesis statement.

Within your larger concept you should have 2-3 ideas that can be applied to the same three poems. Organise your body paragraphs as one per idea.

develop into

conceptual structure

support ideas

link back

to question

PREPARING FOR THE HSC EXAM

TYPES OF QUESTIONS

The Module A Essay Question can be sorted into one of three categories.

1. Specific to your Prescribed Text

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2. Specific to Poetry

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3. Generic (applies to all Prescribed

Texts)

PAST PAPERS: https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/11-12/resources/hsc-exam-papers

POTENTIAL SKILLS / UNDERSTANDINGS NEEDED

Strong responses to previous questions demonstrated:

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• How concepts from the Module Descriptor (cultural assumptions, community identity, individual identity) are represented in Inside My Mother.

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• How language is used to reinforce, disrupt, or communicate concepts and ideas.

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• More specifically, depending on question, being able to link poetry to:
• Indigenous culture
• Intergenerational trauma
• Stereotypes and prejudice,
• Impact of Australian historical events on identity and culture.
• Symbolism

PRACTISING FLEXIBILITY

7 MINUTE PARAGRAPHS

SYNTHESISE

DISCUSS

INVENT

Take past HSC questions or concepts from the text and write as much as possible in just 7 minutes.

Use pre-written quotes + analysis + ideas and rewrite into essay form to practise your ability to reconstitute information.

Debate whether your thesis is the truest meaning of the text. Do this with your peers – use examples to support your position.

Use Module C to explore the concepts and language features of Eckermann’s writing for your own discursive, persuasive and imaginative pieces.

THANKS!

Go to Lukebartolo.blogspot.com for a copy of this PowerPoint.