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This unique book is the only fully interdisciplinary and comprehensive study of the Australian desert and its pivotal role in the cultural history of Australia.
List of contents
INTRODUCTION. PART I: THE GIVEN 1. Two Creation Stories 2. The Diversity of Australian Deserts
PART II: THE FIRST AUSTRALIANS 3. The Mystery of the Gwion/Bradshaws 4. Arriving and Surviving 5. Dreaming the Land 6. Narrating the Land in Song and Dance 7. Traditional Aboriginal Art of the Desert
PART III: ENCOUNTER: EXPECTATION,
EXPLORATION 8. A Clash of Cultures 9. European Myths of the Desert 10. 'Footprints on the Sands of Time': Imperatives for Exploration 11. Geography is never Innocent: How the Explorers created a Landscape 12. The Art of Exploration: Visualising the Desert 13. Heroes for the Nation: Mythologising the Explorers 14. Boys' Own Adventures at the Edge of Empire
Part IV: ENGAGEMENT 15. From Dead Heart to Red Centre: Tales of Travel and Reefs of Gold 16. Getting over the Colour Green: Western Artists Discover the Desert 17. The Gothic Desert: Psychodrama in Fiction and Film 18. Figures of the Subconscious: Re-visioning the Explorers 19. Transforming Myths: Re-telling the Stories of Exploration 20. The Language of Landscape: Nature's Self-Portrait 21. The Lure of the Desert: Self-Discovery and Renewal 22. Hidden in Full Sight: Indigenous Desert Art 23. Selling the Centre: Desert Tourism 24. What can we Learn from Aboriginal Culture in the Anthropocene?
About the author
Roslynn Haynes is Adjunct Associate Professor of Arts and the Media at UNSW and has published ten books on deserts, literature, art, science, and Aboriginal astronomy. As a graduate of both science and literature, and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities, Roslynn Haynes is fascinated by the intersection of disciplines.
Summary
This unique book is the only fully interdisciplinary and comprehensive study of the Australian desert and its pivotal role in the cultural history of Australia.
