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<meta content="Abstract: A literary genre is emerging in which
Aborigines are cast as the spiritual saviours of the
supposedly alienated Western self One of the most prolific
authors writing in this field is the Australian, James
Cowan. Through a series of books Cowan moves further
andfurther into the Aboriginal metaphysical realm until at
last, he would have his readers believe, he actually enters
the Dreaming and becomes an intrinsic part of it. In this
article I critically examine these books, focusing on
Cowan's construction of Aborigines and the sorts of claims
he makes. I also consider somepossible consequences of his
particular portrayal of Aborigines. Despite his prominence
in this field, and publishers' claims that he is 'an internationally
respected authority on Australian Aborigines and
other indigenous peoples', his worksofar hasreceived little
critical analysis." name="eprints.abstract" />
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<meta content="Abstract: A literary genre is emerging in which
Aborigines are cast as the spiritual saviours of the
supposedly alienated Western self One of the most prolific
authors writing in this field is the Australian, James
Cowan. Through a series of books Cowan moves further
andfurther into the Aboriginal metaphysical realm until at
last, he would have his readers believe, he actually enters
the Dreaming and becomes an intrinsic part of it. In this
article I critically examine these books, focusing on
Cowan's construction of Aborigines and the sorts of claims
he makes. I also consider somepossible consequences of his
particular portrayal of Aborigines. Despite his prominence
in this field, and publishers' claims that he is 'an internationally
respected authority on Australian Aborigines and
other indigenous peoples', his worksofar hasreceived little
critical analysis." name="DC.description" />
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<h1 class="ep_tm_pagetitle">James Cowan and the white quest for the black self</h1>
<p style="margin-bottom: 1em" class="not_ep_block"><span class="person_name">Rolls, Mitchell</span> (2001) <xhtml:em>James Cowan and the white quest for the black self.</xhtml:em> Australian Aboriginal Studies, 1 . pp. 2-20. ISSN 0729-4352.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 1em" class="not_ep_block"></p><table style="margin-bottom: 1em" class="not_ep_block"><tr><td valign="top" style="text-align:center"><a href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/2380/1/MitchellRolls1.pdf"><img alt="[img]" src="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/style/images/fileicons/application_pdf.png" class="ep_doc_icon" border="0" /></a></td><td valign="top"><a href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/2380/1/MitchellRolls1.pdf"><span class="ep_document_citation">PDF</span></a> - Full text restricted - Requires a PDF viewer<br />1133Kb</td><td><form method="get" accept-charset="utf-8" action="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/cgi/request_doc"><input accept-charset="utf-8" value="3066" name="docid" type="hidden" /><div class=""><input value="Request a copy" name="_action_null" class="ep_form_action_button" onclick="return EPJS_button_pushed( '_action_null' )" type="submit" /> </div></form></td></tr></table><p style="margin-bottom: 1em" class="not_ep_block">Official URL: <a href="http://search.informit.com.au/fullText;dn=200112343;res=APAFT">http://search.informit.com.au/fullText;dn=200112343;res=APAFT</a></p><div class="not_ep_block"><h2>Abstract</h2><p style="padding-bottom: 16px; text-align: left; margin: 1em auto 0em auto">Abstract: A literary genre is emerging in which
Aborigines are cast as the spiritual saviours of the
supposedly alienated Western self One of the most prolific
authors writing in this field is the Australian, James
Cowan. Through a series of books Cowan moves further
andfurther into the Aboriginal metaphysical realm until at
last, he would have his readers believe, he actually enters
the Dreaming and becomes an intrinsic part of it. In this
article I critically examine these books, focusing on
Cowan's construction of Aborigines and the sorts of claims
he makes. I also consider somepossible consequences of his
particular portrayal of Aborigines. Despite his prominence
in this field, and publishers' claims that he is 'an internationally
respected authority on Australian Aborigines and
other indigenous peoples', his worksofar hasreceived little
critical analysis.</p></div><table style="margin-bottom: 1em" cellpadding="3" class="not_ep_block" border="0"><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">Item Type:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row">Article</td></tr><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">Keywords:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row">Aboriginality,Precolonial authenticity,Identity,Cultural interpretation</td></tr><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">Subjects:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row"><a href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/view/subjects/420300.html">420000 Language and Culture > 420300 Cultural Studies</a><br /><a href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/view/subjects/420305.html">420000 Language and Culture > 420300 Cultural Studies > 420305 Aboriginal Cultural Studies</a><br /><a href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/view/subjects/429900.html">420000 Language and Culture > 429900 Other Language and Culture</a><br /><a href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/view/subjects/420000.html">420000 Language and Culture</a></td></tr><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">ID Code:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row">2380</td></tr><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">Deposited By:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row"><span class="ep_name_citation"><span class="person_name">Scholarly Publications Librarian</span></span></td></tr><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">Deposited On:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row">01 Nov 2007 11:01</td></tr><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">Last Modified:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row">09 Jan 2008 02:30</td></tr><tr><th valign="top" class="ep_row">ePrint Statistics:</th><td valign="top" class="ep_row"><a target="ePrintStats" href="/es/index.php?action=show_detail_eprint;id=2380;">View statistics for this ePrint</a></td></tr></table><p align="right">Repository Staff Only: <a href="http://eprints.utas.edu.au/cgi/users/home?screen=EPrint::View&eprintid=2380">item control page</a></p>
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