Australian Children’s Literature and Postcolonialism: A Review Essay
The theme of land and country is resonant in Australian children’s literature with Aboriginal subject matter. The textual and visual narratives present counter-discourse strategies to challenge the colonial ideology and dominant valuation of Australian landscape. This paper begins by examining the c...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina
2016-06-01
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| Series: | Ilha do Desterro |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://periodicos.ufsc.br/index.php/desterro/article/view/43247 |
| _version_ | 1818116957628530688 |
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| author | Daozhi Xu |
| author_facet | Daozhi Xu |
| author_sort | Daozhi Xu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The theme of land and country is resonant in Australian children’s literature with Aboriginal subject matter. The textual and visual narratives present counter-discourse strategies to challenge the colonial ideology and dominant valuation of Australian landscape. This paper begins by examining the colonial history of seeing Australia as an “empty space”, naming, and appropriating the land by erasing Aboriginal presence from the land. Then it explores the conceptual re-investment of Aboriginal connections to country in the representation of Australian landscape, as reflected and re-imagined in fiction and non-fiction for child readers. Thereby, as the paper suggests, a shared and reconciliatory space can at least discursively be negotiated and envisioned. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T04:30:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e7b06331342e4fe9ae2f77f84f733b69 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0101-4846 2175-8026 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T04:30:46Z |
| publishDate | 2016-06-01 |
| publisher | Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ilha do Desterro |
| spelling | doaj.art-e7b06331342e4fe9ae2f77f84f733b692022-12-22T01:20:53ZengUniversidade Federal de Santa CatarinaIlha do Desterro0101-48462175-80262016-06-0169219320610.5007/2175-8026.2016v69n2p19325428Australian Children’s Literature and Postcolonialism: A Review EssayDaozhi Xu0The University of Hong KongThe theme of land and country is resonant in Australian children’s literature with Aboriginal subject matter. The textual and visual narratives present counter-discourse strategies to challenge the colonial ideology and dominant valuation of Australian landscape. This paper begins by examining the colonial history of seeing Australia as an “empty space”, naming, and appropriating the land by erasing Aboriginal presence from the land. Then it explores the conceptual re-investment of Aboriginal connections to country in the representation of Australian landscape, as reflected and re-imagined in fiction and non-fiction for child readers. Thereby, as the paper suggests, a shared and reconciliatory space can at least discursively be negotiated and envisioned.https://periodicos.ufsc.br/index.php/desterro/article/view/43247australian children’s literaturepostcolonial narrativesaboriginal custodianshipconnectedness to countrya reconciliatory space |
| spellingShingle | Daozhi Xu Australian Children’s Literature and Postcolonialism: A Review Essay Ilha do Desterro australian children’s literature postcolonial narratives aboriginal custodianship connectedness to country a reconciliatory space |
| title | Australian Children’s Literature and Postcolonialism: A Review Essay |
| title_full | Australian Children’s Literature and Postcolonialism: A Review Essay |
| title_fullStr | Australian Children’s Literature and Postcolonialism: A Review Essay |
| title_full_unstemmed | Australian Children’s Literature and Postcolonialism: A Review Essay |
| title_short | Australian Children’s Literature and Postcolonialism: A Review Essay |
| title_sort | australian children s literature and postcolonialism a review essay |
| topic | australian children’s literature postcolonial narratives aboriginal custodianship connectedness to country a reconciliatory space |
| url | https://periodicos.ufsc.br/index.php/desterro/article/view/43247 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT daozhixu australianchildrensliteratureandpostcolonialismareviewessay |