
Islands, Identity and the Literary Imagination
Elizabeth McMahon(Author)
Anthem Press
Published on 9. July 2016
Book
Hardback
312 pages
978-1-78308-534-7 (ISBN)
Description
Australia is the planet's sole island continent. This book argues that the uniqueness of this geography has shaped Australian history and culture, including its literature. Further, it shows how the fluctuating definition of the island continent throws new light on the relationship between islands and continents in the mapping of modernity. The book links the historical and geographical conditions of islands with their potent role in the imaginary of European colonisation. It prises apart the tangled web of geography, fantasy, desire and writing that has framed the Western understanding of islands: their real and material conditions and their symbolic resonance from antiquity into globalised modernity. The book also traces how this spatial imaginary has shaped the modern 'man' who is imagined as being the island's natural inhabitant or mirror. Importantly, the book challenges these habits of thought by their relocation within larger topological and imaginary visions from islanders themsleves.
Reviews / Votes
Island Studies Australian University Heads of English (AUHE)More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
US School Grade: College Graduate Student
Illustrations
9 figures
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
659 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78308-534-7 (9781783085347)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Elizabeth McMahon
Islands, Identity and the Literary Imagination
E-Book
07/2016
1st Edition
Anthem Press
€29.49
Available for download

Elizabeth McMahon
Islands, Identity and the Literary Imagination
E-Book
07/2016
1st Edition
Anthem Press
€29.49
Available for download
Person
Elizabeth McMahon is Associate Professor in the School of the Arts and Media at the University of New South Wales.
Content
Section 1. Islands Real and Imaginary; Introduction; Chapter One. What's in a Metaphor: 'No Man is an Island'; Section 2. Islands: Making the Planet, World, Globe; Chapter Two: The First and Last Of New Worlds: The Caribbean and Australia; Chapter Three: Insular and Continental Interiors: The Shifting Map of Literary Universalism after the War; Section 3. Dreams and Nightmares; Chapter Four: Accidents of Empire: Shipwrecks and Castaways; Chapter Five: The Best and Worst of Times: Utopias, Dystopias, Archipelagos.