AustLit

This creative works thesis comprises an exegesis and a novel. Both explore the ways that a postnatural perspective can shape the reading and writing of young adult dystopian fiction. Approaching literature from a postnatural perspective can highlight a connection between shifts in a novel's key terms and the development of the protagonist towards understanding their world as an interconnected ecosystem. Through its grounding in ecocriticism and children's literature criticism, this research investigates the contributions a postnatural perspective offers young adult dystopian fiction generally, and specifically, in the development of the novel When the Cloud Hit the Kellys.

Indigenous people lived through the end of the world, but we did not end, We survived by holding on to our cultures, our kin, and our sense of what was right in a world gone terribly wrong (Kwaymullina, 'Edges' 29)

'Young Adult Australian post-apocalyptic speculative fiction carries with it a number of expectations and tropes : that characters will exist in a dystopian, ruined landscape, that a lone teenager will rise up and rebel against institutionalised structures of repressive power; and that these youths will carry hope for the future in a destroyed world.' (Introduction)

'Mircea Eliade (1907-86) co-existed in two worlds, the one of fantasy stories, the other of research into spirituality. In terms of fantasy fiction, Peter Lowentrout recognises the modern day relevance and need for Eliade's creative work with the sacred. In regard to his religious work, Eliade is regarded as 'one of the twentieth century's outstanding religious scholars.' and his Shamanism : Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy was considered a classic of its time. For Eliade, documenting the journey of metaphysical discovery was where his two worlds met. The documenting of the spiritual journey in fiction is neither new or unique to Eliade. Henry James documents the spiritual journey of his character Lewis Lambert Strether in The Ambassadors and references  Honore de Balzac's Louis Lambert (1832-33) which concerns a mystical thinker who ''while trying to write a treatise on the spiritual nature of the will falls in love with one Mll. De Villenois and then, just before his marriage, into a cataleptic fit. When Louis Lambert awakens he has transcended both reality and sanity.' Additionally, as the above example demonstrates, following a spiritual journey of a character does not necessarily mean a story will be considered speculative fiction or fantasy, for traditionally neither James nor Balzac are  catergorised as this type of writer. However, recognising the placement of a character on such a journey within the context of a science fiction/ fantasy can offer insight to the significance of the story. Furthermore, understanding the role of the shaman, as Eliade's dual life reveals, may also offer insight in the interpretation of fiction such as Ambelin Kwaymullina's The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf.' (Introduction)

'This paper examines the role of literature in the English classroom in Australia and its part in shaping national identity. We contend that it is important to consider the possible roles of national literatures in contemporary school contexts, where students are becoming local and global citizens and argue that reading Australian literature as a part of the field of ‘world literature’ can support a pedagogical approach which enables dynamic reading practices. Drawing on a 2016 research project titled Teaching Australia, which sought to explore English teachers’ engagement with Australian texts, this paper examines current and future uses of Australian literature in both the globalised world and in the Australian secondary English classroom.' (Publication abstract)