Dr Dianne Osland

Biography

My research career has taken two paths. While continuing to work in eighteenth-century fiction throughout my career, during the 1980s much of my time was devoted to the development of an experimental programme for the teaching of discursive writing at university level (an account of which appeared in Herdsa 5 [1986]:177--84). This developed into a highly successful course, resulting in the publication of Writing in Australia, co-written with colleagues who became involved in the teaching of the course. (This text has been through multiple reprints and has been used as a set text or recommended reference throughout Australian tertiary institutions, including RMIT, Monash, the University of Adelaide, the University of Sydney, the University of Wollongong, the University of Southern Queensland, Edith Cowan University, and the Australian Catholic University.) During the 1990s, a heavy administrative load (including four years as Head of the Department of English) limited opportunities for research, but from 2000 onwards, I have been able to concentrate more single-mindedly on the series of collaborative projects with CI Mitchell. There is a long lead-in time to this kind of research, which requires each investigator to acquire competence in the others area of expertise, but we are now in a position to capitalize on the collaborative relationship already formed. Genuinely collaborative research of this scope is unusual in literary studies, and CI Mitchell and I are fostering the development of such research partnerships through an annual postgraduate symposium for Newcastle and Macquarie students designed to broaden the research culture of both institutions and develop an understanding of the Humanities as a more cohesive research community.

Qualifications

• PhD, University of Adelaide, 1978
• Diploma in Education, University of Newcastle, 1973
• Bachelor of Arts (Honours), University of Newcastle, 1972

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Research

Research keywords

• Early Modern Fiction
• Eighteenth-Century Fiction
• Narrative Theory

Research expertise

My main research interests are in the areas of eighteenth-century fiction and narrative theory. I have published on eighteenth-century authors such as Fielding, Sterne, Richardson, Defoe, and Inchbald, in particular focusing on the representation of women and the way in which narrative and social modes interact in the depiction of female subjectivity. I am the co-author, with Dr Marea Mitchell of Macquarie University, of Representing Women and Female Desire from Arcadia to Jane Eyre, and am currently collaborating with Dr Mitchell on a second project examining changes in reading practices between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. My other research interests include the ethics of autobiography and the generic transformation of romance fiction.

Collaboration

Reading Practices in the Early Modern Period, Representation of Women in Fiction in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, Eighteenth-Century Fiction, Metaphor in Fiction, Ethics of Autobiography.

Fields of Research

Code	Description	Percentage
200599	Literary Studies Not Elsewhere Classified	100

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Administrative

Administrative expertise

I have developed a broad range of administrative expertise as subdean of the Faculty of Arts (in the 1980s), Head of the Department of English (1996-7, 1999), and currently as discipline convenor (English) and as Student Academic Conduct Officer for the School of Humanities and Social Science.

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Teaching

Teaching keywords

• Autobiography
• Discursive Writing
• Eighteenth-Century Literature
• Narrative Theory
• Victorian Fiction

Teaching expertise

During my career I have taught just about the entire span of literary periods in English, from medieval verse romances to contemporary literature, but my main areas of expertise lie in three specializations: (a) eighteenth-century fiction, (b) narrative theory and practice (including the generic distinctions of novel and romance and autobiography and fiction), and (c) discursive writing.

Teaching interests

Specific areas of responsibility

• Discipline Convenor – English
• English Honours Convenor
• School Student Academic Conduct Officer

Teaching interests

• Narrative Theory
• Eighteenth-Century Literature
• Autobiography
• Grammar and Style

Programs

Courses

• ENGL1002 - Romantic and Victorian
• ENGL3003 - Discursive Writing
• ENGL3004 - Autobiography and Fiction
• ENGL3006 - Writing the Self
• ENGL3140 - Eighteenth-Century Fiction
• ENGL3605 - The Victorian Novel
• ENGL3700 - Novel into Film