| Title | : | The Unknown Nation: Australia After Empire |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0522856454 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780522856453 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 336 |
| Publication | : | First published May 1, 2010 |
James Curran and Stuart Ward document how the receding ties of empire and Britishness posed an unprecedented dilemma as Australians lost their traditional ways of defining themselves as a people.
With the sudden disappearance in the 1960s and 1970s of the familiar coordinates of the British world, Australians were cast into the realm of the unknown. The task of remodelling the national image touched every aspect of Australian life where identifiably British ideas, habits and symbols—from foreign relations to the national anthem—had grown obsolete. But how to celebrate Australia's past achievements and present aspirations became a source of public controversy as community leaders struggled to find the appropriate language and rhetoric to invoke a new era.
The Unknown Nation: Australia After Empire Reviews
-
Unknown Nation explores the political and social tensions behind the question of 'national identity' during the pivotal decades of the 1960's and 1970's in Australia. Written with attention to the role of corporate symbols, policies and speeches, this work carefully traces both the large scale (e.g. foreign policy and the search for a 'new' national anthem) and more nuanced shifts (e.g. the use of particular 'nationalism' language by Prime Ministers, journalists and researchers) in a post-Empire Australia.
The result is a work that reveals how explorations of 'national character' and symbolic reference help shape the way a people understand their past, receive the present and anticipate their corporate future. -
A useful resource for undergraduate Australian History students.
I also feel that most chapters would be a pretty good read for any person interested in the history that forms the backdrop for today's political and cultural debate in Australia.
I enjoy Curran's books, but he is also a fantastic lecturer !
