AustLit
Latest Issues
Contents
- Cultural Diversity and Colonialism : Some Aspects of Migrant Fiction in Australia, extract criticism
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Poppy : A Post-“Radical Feminist” Life-writing,
single work
criticism
'Poppy by Australian writer Drusilla Modjeska is a typical life-writing which is based on the life experiences of an ordinary woman—the author’s own mother. In this work, Modjeska made great efforts to interpret three sets of relationships, i.e., that between “mother” and “daughter”, that between “father tongue” and “mother tongue”, and that between form experiments and feminist political tasks. Through examining these sets of relationships, this essay aims to disclose that this work is actually a serious theoretical revision of radical feminism in an unfavorable social context of Australia in the late 1980s and 1990s.' (Publication abstract)
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Boundless Love - Winton’s Eco-ethical Vision in Shallows,
single work
criticism
'Tim Winton is one of the most remarkable writers in the contemporary Australian literary arena. Shallows is a representative work of his early fiction about anti-whaling and environmental protection. This paper, from the perspective of eco-ethics, aims to interpret Winton’s eco-ethical vision with the analysis of ecological crises at the natural, social and spiritual level in Shallows, arguing that the root of ecological crises is “anthropocentricism”, and only after getting out of the spiritual crisis and learning to care and love everything in nature can human beings solve other ecological crises and achieve a harmonious state with nature.' (Publication abstract)
- The Personal and the Political : A Study of Contemporary Australian Feminist Novels, single work criticism
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Joan Makes History : A Bicentennial Novel,
single work
criticism
'In 1988, Australia celebrated the Bicentenary of European settlement in the Australian continent. Once inaugurated, this event was soon endowed with great historical and political importance. This “national celebration” became a discursive field in which different political forces carried out their struggle against each other. Joan Makes History (1988) by Australian woman writer Kate Grenville is a typical Bicentennial novel, reflecting a distinct climate of expectations, values and interests of that period; it is also a consequence of a feminist writer’s active involvement in this highly influential national debate and her endeavor to occupy a position in the Bicentenary nationalist discursive system.' (Publication abstract)
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Studies on Kate Jennings in the Process of Internationalization of Australian Literature,
single work
criticism
'As a new branch of world literature, Australian literature originated from Anglo-Saxon literature, flourishing with the infiltration of Euro-American literature, economy, politics and culture. From the very beginning of British settlement in Australia in 1788, the settlers from Britain has begun their own literary histroy in the new continent. Compared with her counterparts of British and American literature, unfortunately, the process of Australian literary development was quite slow and lagged behind, and it was not until 1890s that Australian literature began to form its own peculiar characteristics. By 1960s, Australian literature has caught up with the development of world literature, and has been on its way to the internationalization. During the process of the internationalization of Australian literature, there arise many famous writers in Australian literary world, who have accelerated this process.
'Kate Jennings, grew up on a farm near Griffith, New South Wales, attended the University of Sydney in the late 1960s. She is firstly famous for an incendiary speech given before a Vietnam Moratorium march in 1970 — a speech that is credited as signaling the beginning of the second wave of feminism in Australia. With distinguished gifts for writing, she has created some famous literary works. Later in 1979, Kate Jennings moved to New York City, continuing her literary career in the melting pot of America, which has publicized Australian literature in the international world. This paper aims at undertaking a little deeper study about this Australian pioneer of feminism, and probing her great contributions to the internationalization of Australian literature.' (Publication abstract)
