Bøger i Australian Studies: Interdisciplinary Perspectives serien

This book explores the ways in which Australian Indigenous filmmakers, performers and writers work within their Indigenous communities to tell the stories of early Indigenous resistance leaders who fought against British invaders and settlers, thus keeping their legacies alive and connected to community in the present.

Winner of the Association for the Study of Australian Literature¿s Alvie Egan Award 2019!Winner of the Association for Anglophone Postcolonial Studies (GAPS) Dissertation Award 2018This is the first in-depth, broad-based study of the impact of the Australian High Court¿s landmark Mabo decision of 1992 on Australian fiction. More than any other event in Australiäs legal, political and cultural history, the Mabo judgement ¿ which recognised indigenous Australians¿ customary «native title» to land ¿ challenged previous ways of thinking about land and space, settlement and belonging, race and relationships, and nation and history, both historically and contemporaneously. While Mabo¿s impact on history, law, politics and film has been the focus of scholarly attention, the study of its influence on literature has been sporadic and largely limited to examinations of non-Aboriginal novels.Now, a quarter of a century after Mabo, this book takes a closer look at nineteen contemporary novels ¿ including works by David Malouf, Alex Miller, Kate Grenville, Thea Astley, Tim Winton, Michelle de Kretser, Richard Flanagan, Alexis Wright and Kim Scott ¿ in order to define and describe Australiäs literary imaginary as it reflects and articulates post-Mabo discourse today. Indeed, literature¿s substantial engagement with Mabo¿s cultural legacy ¿ the acknowledgement of indigenous people¿s presence in the land, in history, and in public affairs, as opposed to their absence ¿ demands a re-writing of literary history to account for a ¿Mabo turn¿ in Australian fiction.

«Just like Prisoner and Wentworth, this book is an instant cult classic. Written with love by a collective of expert aca-fans, TV Transformations & Transgressive Women takes us on a fascinating journey through the cultural legacies of Australiäs favourite prison TV dramas. Contributors use a rich palette of methods, from genre analysis to production research, to unpack the significance of these shows. An exemplary textual study, this richly multi-perspectival collection is essential reading for anyone interested in television genres.» (Ramon Lobato, Associate Professor, RMIT University)«This collection is a wonderful example of how certain TV shows can have tremendous impact, not only in the time of their making, but for several decades, when suddenly there¿s the opportunity to travel even further in an on-demand age and meet new audiences, academics and analytical approaches. The chapters offer a wide range of interesting interpretations and discussions, not the least on the way women have been represented on screen then and now. A good read for academics, fans and aca-fans.» (Eva Novrup Redvall, Associate Professor, University of Copenhagen)¿A deep dive into iconic 1980s Australian women-in-prison TV drama Prisoner (aka Cell Block H), its contemporary reimagining as Wentworth, and its broader, global industry significance and influence, this book brings together a range of scholarly and industry perspectives, including an interview with actor Shareena Clanton (Wentworth¿s Doreen Anderson). Its chapters draw on talks with producers, screenwriters and casting; fan voices from the Wentworth twitterverse; comparisons with Netflix¿s Orange is the New Black; queer and LGBTQ approaches; and international production histories and contexts. By charting a path from Prisoner to Wentworth, the book offers a new mapping of TV shifts and transformations through the lens of female transgression, ruminating on the history, currency, industry position and cultural value of women-in-prison series.

«This fantastic book investigates the proliferation, power and changing nature of online feminist activism. The book critically focuses on the challenges and risks of online feminist activism, as well as the capacity of activist campaigns to achieve real, transformative change. Casey and Watson argue that although feminists should harness the power of hashtag and celebrity feminism, there are tensions, inequalities and power imbalances within feminism which must be navigated.This book is a must-read, especially for activists, academics, victim-survivors and policymakers. It makes an important contribution to contemporary debates about the role of feminist digital activism across three key areas: raising public awareness of gender-based violence, contributing to cultural change, including changing norms, attitudes and behaviours, and shaping understandings of how gender, race, sexuality and other markers of difference intersect to shape experience. The book is a timely reminder that feminist activism is an important piece of the puzzle to preventing gender-based violence.»(Professor Nicola Henry, RMIT University) «Hashtag Feminisms is powerful. It is potent. It is engaging. This book offers momentum and transformation. It provides a pathway to our future, through courage, reflection, kindness and compassion.»(Professor Tara Brabazon, Professor of Cultural Studies (Flinders University) / Professor of Higher Education (Massey University)) Broad-scale feminist consciousness continues to gain ground globally, as witnessed by the Women¿s March, #MeToo, and #EnoughIsEnough in Australia. Aided by hashtag activism and media feminists, feminist campaigns have highlighted the need for change in cultural attitudes to issues such as gender-based violence. This book focuses on feminist campaigning in the Australian context over the last decade, contending the increased velocity of feminist discourse in the Australian mediascape represents a critical opportunity for larger scale, feminist-led mass awareness campaigns. The authors ask: what is it about hashtag activism and celebrity feminisms that may be most useful to (some) Australian feminists, and what are the challenges and potential risks of these forms of activism? Does such activism have substantive political or material effects? Or is this type of activism just echo chamber activism, which does little to address structural inequalities and, if so, might anything be salvaged?