Irruptions of the Dreamings in Post‐Colonial Australia | AustLit: Discover Australian Stories

Irruptions of the Dreamings in Post‐Colonial Australia single work criticism

Author:agent Basil Sansom

Issue Details: First known date: 2001... 2001 Irruptions of the Dreamings in Post‐Colonial Australia

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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'This essay is written round four ‘funny stories’ from Northern Australia. Metamorphosis instigated by a Dreaming is central to all four stories and this is why the stories are counted as ‘funny,’ and received with glee. The analysis illuminates a topic that has been attracting attention in recent contributions to Aboriginal ethnography: how Dreamings irrupt into contemporary histories and act in ways that have political significance, contesting whitefella paradigms and re‐asserting the world‐view of the original Australians.' (Publication abstract)

Notes

Epigraph: The brutal and swift transformations Ovid paints so well in his Metamorphoses show the uncanny presence of the gods in our world (Jean-Michel Rabate, 1986:66)