Archipelagic space and the uncertain future of national literatures.

Authors

  • Elizabeth McMahon UNSW

Keywords:

carpentaria, disciplinary futures, Wonders of a Godless World

Abstract

This essay joins in the discussion about the future of national literatures in the shifting formations of globalisation. Specifically, I want to interrogate what we mean by the future when we speak of literature and, specifically, of Australian or New Zealand literature. The essay proposes a literary cartography that overlays the alienation of this ‘no world’ with the ‘no-place’ of island utopias as they are mobilised in archipelagic chains or threads. This alternative model of spatial relationality and dynamism differs from conventional global traffic. It is a cartography derived from islands: from their history, fictions, and their theorists. This project is at least partly utopian in a strictly generic sense; that is, in its implication in the reading practices and politics of utopian texts.

Author Biography

  • Elizabeth McMahon, UNSW
    UNSW Associate professor

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Published

2013-11-10

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 2 (2013): The Colonies: Australia and New Zealand

Section

Dorothy Green Memorial Lecture

License

The copyright for articles in this journal is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. By virtue of their appearance in this open access journal, articles are free to use with proper attribution in educational and other non-commercial sectors.

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How to Cite

Archipelagic space and the uncertain future of national literatures. (2013). Journal of the Association for the Study of Australian Literature, 13(2). https://openjournals.library.sydney.edu.au/JASAL/article/view/9860