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[Review Essay] Stars of Tagai single work   essay  
Issue Details: First known date: 1994... 1994 [Review Essay] Stars of Tagai
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'Stars of Tagai: The Torres Strait Islanders contains an excellent coverage of Torres Strait Island responses and initiatives to various moments and phases of the colonial process, yet it is also a particularly difficult book which in its initial stages resists the reader. It is uneven in its construction and analysis, and this may be partly what Sharp is referring to when she speaks of the 'written project' as being 'asymmetrical' (p 15). Because Parts II—IV easily stand alone from Part I, a reader who wants ready access to the beautifully grounded Torres Strait Island narratives can skip Part I without losing access to Torres Strait Island people's own senses of themselves. The inclusion of large extracts of uninterrupted Torres Strait Island narratives, especially in Part III, is the highlight of the book. It is here that selected Torres Strait Island speakers eloquently elaborate their world views, and this works well (Chapters 4 to 6). Her linking of 'two circles of understanding' (hers and that of the 'stars'—creative Torres Strait individuals) is achieved only when she sufficiently situates her discussion in 'thick description' (Geertz 1973). At other times, the text (particularly in Part I) reads like a private flight of fancy, unconvincing and often unreadable.' (Introduction)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Australian Aboriginal Studies no. 1 1994 11962738 1994 periodical issue

    'Readers may notice the higher profile of book reviews in this and the last issue of Australian Aboriginal Studies. They have approximately doubled in comparison with previous issues, reflecting in part the ever-increasing range as well as number of publications relevant to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander studies. It also reflects the hard work of the book review editors, Dr Tamsin Donaldson and Dr Graeme Ward . To assist readers, the titles reviewed are listed and classified by subject at the beginning of the Book Reviews section. Reinstated is the listing of books received and not yet reviewed. Inevitably, some books are never reviewed, either because a reviewer cannot be found for them, their content is not centrally Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander studies, or too much time has elapsed since they were published. In the current issue, we have initiated Book Notes in which the contents of books not reviewed are summarised.'  (Editorial introduction)

    1994
    pg. 53
Last amended 29 Sep 2017 06:37:04
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