Product DescriptionThis collection of thematically interrelated essays examines Australian studies within the larger framework of contemporary humanities and social sciences, and more specifically, as a "national" field of study. Considering the nature of "new" societies to produce vernacular literatures, Walter analyzes Australian constructions of literature, politics, and history and the problem of reconciling a parent culture (metropolis) and its offshoot (periphery). He argues that the persistent motif of a "national" literature is always posed in parallel to broader literary and cultural debates.Review'a useful book, a handy reference for any Australianist to keep on her shelves' Chris Wallace-Crabbe, Australia Centre at Melbourne University, Australian Society'ranges widely over cultural, political, and historical topics, reflecting recent waves of research on Aborigines, gender, nationalism in literature, among other areas' The Pacific Review, Vol. 5, No. 1'a useful book, a handy reference for any Australianist to keep on her shelves' Chris Wallace-Crabbe, Australia Centre at Melbourne University, Australian Society 'ranges widely over cultural, political, and historical topics, reflecting recent waves of research on Aborigines, gender, nationalism in literature, among other areas' The Pacific Review, Vol. 5, No. 1About the AuthorJames Walter is a Professor of Australian Studies at Griffith University, Queensland.