Islands, Identity and the Literary Imagination
Kindle Edition
Anthem Press · Ebook · July 9, 2016
Australia is the planet’s sole island continent.
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- Who it’s for
- Island geography and Australian literature meet in a study of colonial imagination and modernity.
- Themes
- Island geography and Australian identity, Colonial imagination of islands, Islanders’ perspectives on spatial ideas
- Genres
- Australian & Pacific Lit Crit, Race & Culture in Literature, Literary Theory
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For younger readers: The Islands at the End of the World, The Steam Mole, Where Is Easter Island?
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Start with this bookAbout this book
Australia is the planet’s sole island continent. This book argues that the uniqueness of this geography has shaped Australian history and culture, including its literature. Further, it shows how the fluctuating definition of the island continent throws new light on the relationship between islands and continents in the mapping of modernity. The book links the historical and geographical conditions of islands with their potent role in the imaginary of European colonisation.
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It prises apart the tangled web of geography, fantasy, desire and writing that has framed the Western understanding of islands: their real and material conditions and their symbolic resonance from antiquity into globalised modernity. The book also traces how this spatial imaginary has shaped the modern 'man' who is imagined as being the island's natural inhabitant or mirror. Importantly, the book challenges these habits of thought by their relocation within larger topological and imaginary visions from islanders themsleves.
Island Geography
Island geography and Australian literature meet in a study of colonial imagination and modernity.
Come here for
- How island geography shapes Australian history, culture, and literature
- The colonial imaginary of islands and its changing meanings
Expect
- A challenge to the idea of man as the island’s natural inhabitant
- Islanders’ perspectives set against Western spatial ideas
Where it sits
| Australian & Pacific Lit Crit | 99% |
|---|---|
| Race & Culture in Literature | 22% |
| Literary Theory | 20% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Landscaping
- Australian & Pacific Lit Crit
- Authors
- Elizabeth McMahon
- Publisher
- Anthem Press
- Published
- July 9, 2016
- Format
- Ebook
- Theme
- Island geography and Australian identity · Colonial imagination of islands · Islanders’ perspectives on spatial ideas
- Reading lane
- Landscaping