Aboriginal Australians

Author: Muecke S & S

Stock information

General Fields

  • : $17.99 AUD
  • : 9780500301142
  • : Thames & Hudson Ltd
  • : Thames & Hudson Ltd
  • :
  • : 0.2
  • : August 2004
  • : 177mm X 125mm
  • : United Kingdom
  • : 17.99
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  • : books

Special Fields

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  • : Muecke S & S
  • : New Horizons S.
  • : Paperback
  • : 1004
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  • : 994.0049915
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  • :
  • : 128
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  • : 100 colour illus; 100 b&w illus
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Barcode 9780500301142
9780500301142

Description

In the 18th century, as European colonization proceeded apace, one continent remained to be discovered, the mythical Terra Australis incognita. This, the largest island-continent, had been inhabited for over 60,000 years by the Aborigines, who were described by the first explorers as the 'miserablest people in the world'. This perception was the beginning of a deep and long-lasting misapprehension, which the authors resoundingly dispel in this lively social and cultural history. They explore how the aborigines actually came to be in Australia, their extraordinary rituals and 'Dreamings', and the importance of 'kin' to their social structures. A chapter is devoted to the aborigines' often atrocious treatment at the hands of white settlers, and the pervasive racial prejudice that remained enshrined in the Australian constitution until 1967. The final section deals with the massive indigenous cultural renaissance over the past four decades, and discusses how Aboriginal art - be it Central Desert acrylic art, batik, contemporary urban painting, sculpture or traditional bark painting - has become a flagship for Australian culture.

Author description

Stephen Muecke is Professor of Cultural Studies in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Technology, Sydney. He teaches Writing and Cultural Studies, and has a research interest in Indigenous Studies, focusing on Aboriginal Literature, and the Kimberley region of North-West Australia. Adam Shoemaker is Dean of Arts at The Australian National University and Convenor of the National Institute of the Humanities.

Table of contents

1. The Last Continent; 2. A Culture Celebrating Life; 3. An Empty Land? 4. We Have Survived!