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Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Country and Lives : Australian Biography and Its History
2015
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Cercles , no. 35 2015; 'There have been attempts to relate national characteristics “by reference to climate, habitat and soil and investing the collective subject with psychological attributes” for over two millennia. More recently historians of modern nationalism developed elaborate typologies often citing Martin Heidegger’s arguments that “the being of the human finds its essence in the being of place — the belonging together of being and topos” [MALPAS 2012 : 5-6]. And yet the challenge to the ontological connection between self and place, what Jeff Malpas describes as the “topological analysis of self and identity”, has a long philosophical tradition, too. This debate over experience, biography and nation has implications for historians who have raised empirical questions about the development of collective sensibilities over time among recent emigrant peoples, their physical peculiarities, behaviourial quirks and emergent national character. In this paper I consider the role that biography writing played in the construction of an Australian national identity geared to what Pierre Nora famously termed as the “roman national”, or the collective discourse on the history of the nation and its place in the world. I argue that Australian historians played a significant role in the history of biograpy writing and, related to it, the debate over collective Australian identity.' (Introduction) -
Cop-killer Hero : Recent Words on Ned Kelly
2003
single work
review
— Appears in: Overland , Autumn no. 170 2003; (p. 57-60)
— Review of I Am Ned Kelly 1980 single work biography ; The Jerilderie Letter 1879 single work correspondence -
[Review] I Am Ned Kelly
2002
single work
review
— Appears in: Journal of Australian Studies , no. 73 2002; (p. 186-188) JAS Review of Books , August no. 8 2002;
— Review of I Am Ned Kelly 1980 single work biography -
Ned Kelly Died for Our Sins
1994
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Oceania , December vol. 65 no. 2 1994; (p. 175-186)'From time to time scholars have posed the question: why have Australian Aborigines not developed cargo cults with the same intensity and flamboyance as their Melanesian neighbours? This discussion evades the implications that Aborigines may have been negligent in their cultural production of responses to colonisation, and seeks to engage with some of the responses some Aboriginal people actually have made to colonisation. Focussing on stories of Ned Kelly, and contrasting them with stories of Captain Cook, the suggestion here is that Aboriginal people's search for a moral European communicates the challenging and provocative possibility that coloniser and colonised can share a moral history and thus can fashion a just society. ' (Publication abstract)
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Ned Lives!
1989
single work
essay
— Appears in: Australian Aboriginal Studies , no. 2 1989; (p. 51-59)'My friend Hobbles Danayari and I once camped together in a brokendown vehicle on a night when it was difficult to sleep. It was just after Christmas; the rains were sporadic, and the heat was intense. We, along with many other people, were visiting a small community north of Yarralin in the Victoria River District of the Northern Territory. Hobbles apparently felt lively that night, and his vitality often sought outlet in stories. During that one night he told me stories which set the agenda for much of the research in which I was then engaged. His stories so expanded my sense of the possible that nine years later I continue to consider the issues of time, space, and narrative which they raised for me.' (Publication abstract)
-
[Review] I Am Ned Kelly
2002
single work
review
— Appears in: Journal of Australian Studies , no. 73 2002; (p. 186-188) JAS Review of Books , August no. 8 2002;
— Review of I Am Ned Kelly 1980 single work biography -
Cop-killer Hero : Recent Words on Ned Kelly
2003
single work
review
— Appears in: Overland , Autumn no. 170 2003; (p. 57-60)
— Review of I Am Ned Kelly 1980 single work biography ; The Jerilderie Letter 1879 single work correspondence -
Country and Lives : Australian Biography and Its History
2015
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Cercles , no. 35 2015; 'There have been attempts to relate national characteristics “by reference to climate, habitat and soil and investing the collective subject with psychological attributes” for over two millennia. More recently historians of modern nationalism developed elaborate typologies often citing Martin Heidegger’s arguments that “the being of the human finds its essence in the being of place — the belonging together of being and topos” [MALPAS 2012 : 5-6]. And yet the challenge to the ontological connection between self and place, what Jeff Malpas describes as the “topological analysis of self and identity”, has a long philosophical tradition, too. This debate over experience, biography and nation has implications for historians who have raised empirical questions about the development of collective sensibilities over time among recent emigrant peoples, their physical peculiarities, behaviourial quirks and emergent national character. In this paper I consider the role that biography writing played in the construction of an Australian national identity geared to what Pierre Nora famously termed as the “roman national”, or the collective discourse on the history of the nation and its place in the world. I argue that Australian historians played a significant role in the history of biograpy writing and, related to it, the debate over collective Australian identity.' (Introduction) -
Ned Lives!
1989
single work
essay
— Appears in: Australian Aboriginal Studies , no. 2 1989; (p. 51-59)'My friend Hobbles Danayari and I once camped together in a brokendown vehicle on a night when it was difficult to sleep. It was just after Christmas; the rains were sporadic, and the heat was intense. We, along with many other people, were visiting a small community north of Yarralin in the Victoria River District of the Northern Territory. Hobbles apparently felt lively that night, and his vitality often sought outlet in stories. During that one night he told me stories which set the agenda for much of the research in which I was then engaged. His stories so expanded my sense of the possible that nine years later I continue to consider the issues of time, space, and narrative which they raised for me.' (Publication abstract)
-
Ned Kelly Died for Our Sins
1994
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Oceania , December vol. 65 no. 2 1994; (p. 175-186)'From time to time scholars have posed the question: why have Australian Aborigines not developed cargo cults with the same intensity and flamboyance as their Melanesian neighbours? This discussion evades the implications that Aborigines may have been negligent in their cultural production of responses to colonisation, and seeks to engage with some of the responses some Aboriginal people actually have made to colonisation. Focussing on stories of Ned Kelly, and contrasting them with stories of Captain Cook, the suggestion here is that Aboriginal people's search for a moral European communicates the challenging and provocative possibility that coloniser and colonised can share a moral history and thus can fashion a just society. ' (Publication abstract)
