From the Ruins of Colonialism: History as Social MemoryFrom the Ruins of Colonialism throws new light on history, social memory and colonialism. The book charts how films, books and storytelling, public commemoration and instruction have, in a strange ensemble, created something we call Australian history. It considers key moments of historical imagination, including Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal histories of Captain Cook, school-histories and museum exhibitions, and the gendering of events such as the Eureka Stockade and the shipwreck of Eliza Fraser. Chris Healy argues that the way in which the past is constructed in the public imagination raises pressing questions. He describes the predicament of European Australians who imagined a continent 'without history' while themselves being obsessed with history. He asks: what can history mean in a postcolonial society? This book seeks a new sense of remembering. Rather than being content with a culture of amnesia or facile nostalgia, it makes the case for learning to belong in the ruins of colonial histories. Chris Healy's investigation of historical cultures and narratives is innovative and stimulating; it is a powerful statement for historical imagination in our times. |
What people are saying - Write a review
We haven't found any reviews in the usual places.
Contents
Sydney Invasion Day 1988 | 1 |
White Histories of Cook | 16 |
The Apotheosis of Captain Cook | 18 |
The front cover of the current guide book to Cooks Cottage | 24 |
Flyer advertising the sale of Cooks Cottage in Great Ayton | 34 |
Black Histories of Cook | 42 |
Cook Who Cookoo Invasion Day Rally Sydney 26 January 1988 | 43 |
Hobbles Danaiyairi | 59 |
School interior Beechworth | 108 |
IN THE EVENT | 130 |
The Eureka Flag | 134 |
The graves | 143 |
Still from The Eureka Stockade | 156 |
Eliza Fraser and the Impossibility of Postcolonial History | 160 |
Still from The Rollicking Adventures of Eliza Fraser | 162 |
Untitled image of Eliza Fraser | 174 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
Aboriginal Aboriginal histories accounts acts already appear association Australian history Australian Museum Ballarat became become begins blacks called Captain Cook Carboni celebrations century chapter claim collection colonial concerned consider constituted Cook's cottage culture death described discussed display early Education effect Eliza Fraser Eureka Eureka Stockade European event example exhibition existing explorers forms Grimwade historians historical imagination imagination important institutions interest knowledge land later Library lived mark material means Melbourne monuments museums myth narrative natural nineteenth-century non-Aboriginal notes objects particular past perhaps possible present produced question quoted records refers relation Rembarrnga remembering reports rescue sense social memory Society South Wales space status story suggest Sydney teaching texts things thought tion town tradition University Victoria woman women writing written
References to this book
Post-colonial Studies: The Key Concepts Bill Ashcroft,Gareth Griffiths,Helen Tiffin No preview available - 2007 |
Unsettling the City: Urban Land and the Politics of Property Nicholas K. Blomley No preview available - 2004 |