 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/en
glish-syllabus-from2010.pdf
 Fine… ok… great… What does all this actually mean? 
 Explore ? =
• 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”
 Representations ? =• interpretations / images / illustrations / points-of-view /
demonstrations / accounts of / versions / descriptions /
depictions
 Events ? =
• proceedings / actions / individual experiences / local incidents /
national occasions / international processes / global events /
personal celebrations and/or tragedies
 Personalities ? = • diffferent people / characters / traits / natures / behaviours /
individualities / personas / temperaments / dispositions / VIPs /
public figures / famous person / celebrities
 Situations ? =
• circumstances / states of mind / state of affairs / positions /
settings / locations / status quo
Hero or
villain?
 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
Documentary? Animation?
Youtube vid? Article? novel?
Website?TV show? Poster?
Film, print, digital,
audio
Dominant? Resistant? Subversive? Marginalised?
Disenfranchised? Popular? Cultural? Christian? NonChristian? 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.
» Record of the past
» Chronicle of events
» Encarta dictionary states that history is:
» Recollection of individual experiences
» Retention of knowledge and specific, individual
interpretation of events
» Encarta Dictionary states that memory is:
These texts are to be drawn from a
variety of sources, in a range of genres and media.
 TO BE CONTINUED… WATCH THIS SPACE 
In their responding and composing, students
consider their prescribed text and other texts
which
Students
to broaden their understanding of how
history and personal history are shaped and
represented.
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 Context
Few 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.