AustLit

'In reference to the recent awareness of “the growing use of the idea of ‘entanglement’ as a key theoretical term in the humanities and social sciences” this issue reflects the increasing challenge “to move away from narrowly defined ‘national’ histories towards an understanding of [Australian] History [and presence] as an interlinked whole where identities and places are the products of mobilities and connections”. 1 We take up this flexible approach to gain a deeper understanding of a spectacular experiment which ended in a clash of cultures but also led to transcultural collaboration. It was the result of European ‘entanglement’ overseas, that is, Europe’s presence among Indigenous populations and its invasive influence on these societies. Like elsewhere, the colonial past is still present today in Australia and former colonial power relations continue to have an impact in the present. This causes never-ending intricate debates on the historical, political, social, cultural and legal circumstances of European settlement in Australia. Today’s coexistence of Indigenous people and new Australians of diverse backgrounds is determined by hidden implications, outspoken arguments, and concessions not yet achieved within the fragmentary context of these debates. As a result, the colonial legacy remains in the widest sense a controversial issue for politicians and academics, and this in all her facets. Academic research, therefore, will always reflect contested views on the colonial era of intercultural encounter. This also applies to the perception of the Indigenous peoples’ joint efforts to save their culture in a postcolonial context. Most notably, as this issue of the Australian Studies Journal – Zeitschrift für Australienstudien mainly will show, academic research on a global scale, i.e. across national, ethnic, social, religious, gender-related and disciplinary boundaries, but also across divided attitudes, might raise public awareness for shared values in an interlinked world.' (Editorial introduction)