Curtin University’s 2016 English and Literature Conference attracted a record crowd this week, further cementing the university’s strong reputation among Western Australia’s English and Literature sector.
About 6,500 Year 12 students and teachers from more than 90 public and private schools attended the sold-out event, which featured 35 lectures presented by Curtin academics and tertiary and secondary education specialists on topics from the Year 12 English and Literature syllabus.
This year’s conference, which marked 30 years since its inception, aimed to help students better prepare for their end-of-year WACE exams.
It was hosted by the School of Media, Culture and Creative Arts and the Department of Communication and Cultural Studies at Curtin.
One of the more popular lectures each year, especially among teachers, was by Curtin Adjunct Senior Lecturer Ann McGuire and this year was no different.
Dr McGuire, who has been involved with the conference since its inception, delivered two lectures — Understanding Genre and Frankenstein: Representation and Reception.
“The Genre lecture focused on reading genres across media, for example fantasy adventure in a television series like Game of Thrones and the computer game, World of Warcraft, with the aim of helping students write about genre in an exam,” she said.
“The Frankenstein lecture looked at why the novel has lasted and is still being filmed and staged.
“The focus of the lectures, as of the conference as a whole, is to reinforce the good work teachers are doing in the schools,” Dr McGuire said.
Humanities Pro Vice-Chancellor, Associate Professor Steve Mickler said the annual conference’s good standing among the education sector had seen its attendance numbers skyrocket in recent years.
He said Curtin was extremely proud to host the conference, which this year sold out in just three days.
“The attendance numbers and pace at which it sells out highlights the strong ongoing links between Curtin and its English and Literature peers across the State,” Associate Professor Steve Mickler said.
The event is hosted and run by staff in the School of Media, Culture and Creative Arts.
Further information can be found at http://humanities.curtin.edu.au/schools/mcca/ccs/elconference/.
