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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'The late 1990s and early 2000s witnessed a surge in the publication and popularity of autobiographical writings about childhood. Linking literary and cultural studies, Contesting Childhood draws on a varied selection of works from a diverse range of authors - from first-time to experienced writers. Kate Douglas explores Australian accounts of the Stolen Generation, contemporary American and British narratives of abuse, the bestselling memoirs of Andrea Ashworth, Augusten Burroughs, Robert Drewe, Mary Karr, Frank McCourt, Dave Pelzer, and Lorna Sage, among many others." "Drawing on trauma and memory studies and theories of authorship and readership, Contesting Childhood offers commentary on the triumphs, trials, and tribulations that have shaped this genre. Douglas examines the content of the narratives and the limits of their representations, as well as some of the ways in which autobiographies of youth have become politically important and influential. This study enables readers to discover how stories configure childhood within cultural memory and the public sphere.' (Publisher's blurb)
Contents
* Contents derived from the
New Brunswick,
New Jersey,
c
United States of America (USA),c
Americas,:Rutgers University Press
, 2010 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.-
Stolen Childhoods : Rosalie Fraser's Shadow Child and Donna Mehan's It Is No Secret,
single work
criticism
'Fraser's Shadow Child, a Stolen Generations autobiography, relates her experiences living with a foster family in the 1960s and 1970s after being removed from her parents' care. Though the narrator recounts the abuse she suffered at the hands of her foster mother, Mrs Kelly, Shadow Child links the direct forms of (physical, sexual, and emotional) abuse that she suffered to the cultural abuse and neglect levelled at her and her siblings by the welfare institutions that were responsible for them. Fraser endures horrific physical and sexual abuse from her foster mother. The narrator uses term 'the Welfare' to describe the various systems that, while claiming to have her interests and protection in mind, offered no protection and seemingly had no interest in her.' (Author's introduction)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
[Untitled]
2013
single work
review
— Appears in: Life Writing , June vol. 10 no. 2 2013; (p. 237-240)
— Review of Contesting Childhood : Autobiography, Trauma, and Memory 2010 single work criticism -
Untitled
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: Biography , Fall vol. 33 no. 4 2010; (p. 853-855)
— Review of Contesting Childhood : Autobiography, Trauma, and Memory 2010 single work criticism
-
[Untitled]
2013
single work
review
— Appears in: Life Writing , June vol. 10 no. 2 2013; (p. 237-240)
— Review of Contesting Childhood : Autobiography, Trauma, and Memory 2010 single work criticism -
Untitled
2010
single work
review
— Appears in: Biography , Fall vol. 33 no. 4 2010; (p. 853-855)
— Review of Contesting Childhood : Autobiography, Trauma, and Memory 2010 single work criticism
Last amended 28 Oct 2013 09:40:04
Subjects:
- Amirah: An Un-Australian Childhood 1983 single work autobiography
- Auntie Rita 1994 single work biography
- Australian Autobiographies of Childhood : Beginning and Myth 1995 single work criticism
- Forbidden Love : A Harrowing True Story of Love and Revenge in Jordan 2003 single work novel
- The Hand that Signed the Paper 1994 single work novel
- Homebush Boy : A Memoir 1995 single work autobiography
- Inside Outside : Life Between Two Worlds 1992 single work autobiography
- It is No Secret 2000 single work autobiography
- The Long Way Home : The Story of a Homes Kid 1999 single work autobiography
- Out of Darkness : Growing up with the Christian Brothers 1998 single work autobiography
- The Road from Coorain 1989 single work autobiography
- Shadow Child : A Memoir of the Stolen Generation 1998 single work autobiography
- Shameful Autobiographies : Shame in Contemporary Australian Autobiographies and Culture 1999 single work criticism biography
- The Shark Net : Memories and Murder 2000 single work autobiography
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