Australia

Description

Australia: A Cultural History, first published in 1988, is still the only short history of Australia from a cultural perspective. It has acquired a unique reputation as an introduction to the development of Australian society and was listed by the historian and public intellectual John Hirst in his ?First XI: The best Australian history books?. The book focuses on the transmission of values, beliefs and customs amongst the diverse mix of peoples who are today?s Australians. The story begins with the 60,000 years of the Aboriginal presence and their continuing material and spiritual relationship with the land, and takes readers through the turbulent years of British colonisation and the emergence, through prosperity, war and depression, of the cultural accommodations which have been distinctively Australian. This 3rd Edition concludes with a critical review of the challenges facing contemporary Australia and warns that ?we may get the future we deserve?. [Some images unavailable for OA]

Description

It begins with the centuries of Aboriginal habitation before the coming of the Europeans, and takes us through to the present. However, unusually, it is strongly weighted towards the twentieth century. The diverse origins of the emergent colonial society are vividly described, from the military and penal settlements to the lonely sheepfarms and the vibrant squalor of the gold workings; but today's Australia is largely a society of cities and suburbs, and it is this modern reality which is John Rickard's prime concern. In his hands it proves as rich, and deserving, a subject for historical and cultural investigation as the popular mythology of Bush and Outback. He explores the way a distinctive national culture was built up in the period between federation in 1901 and the outbreak of the Second World War, and how that culture has been modified and challenged in the postwar era. He charts the evolution of Australia's social and political institutions against the changing imperial relationship; he examines the contribution of writers, artists and intellectuals to the country's growing sense of cultural identity; he analyzes the modern Australian home and family, and the values they embody; and he explores Australian attitudes to sexuality and emotional intimacy in their historical setting. For this welcome Second Edition, John Rickard has contributed a new chapter on the contemporary scene, which surveys the dramatic cultural shifts in Australian society as it approaches the centenary of federation in the year 2001. The entire book has been reset and redesigned in a larger, more handsome format, and has numerous new illustrations.

Subjects

Other Editions

• Australia: A Cultural History (2nd Edition)Textbook BindingLongman Publishing Group1997-01-01
• AustraliaLongman1988-01-01
• AustraliaMonash University Publishing2016-01-01
• AustraliaMonash University Publishing2016-01-01
• AustraliaReadHowYouWant.com, Limited2017-01-01
• AustraliaMonash University Publishing