AustLit

Australian children's literature has a history of excluding Indigenous child readers and positioning non-Indigenous readers as the subject. Rather then portray such literature, particularly before the 1950s, as simply racist or stereotypical, it argues that it is important for teachers, of all students, to help readers understand how nationalist or white Australian myths were constructed on Indigenous land and knowledges. (Author's Abstract). This article includes discussion of English works depicting Australian life and themes.