Australia: A Cultural History (Third Edition)

by John Rickard

Overview

"A perceptive, balanced, wide-ranging interpretation of the evolution of modern Australia which is both erudite and well-written."—Duncan Bythell ***John Rickard's Australia: A Cultural History, first published in 1988, is still the only short history of Australia from a cultural perspective. It has also acquired a unique reputation as an introduction to the development of Australian society and was listed by the historian and public intellectual John Hirst in his First XI: The Best Australian History Books. Although arranged chronologically, this book is not a chronicle; rather, it focuses on the transmission of values, beliefs, and customs amongst the diverse mix of peoples who are today's Australians. The story begins with the sixty thousand years of the Aboriginal presence and their continuing material and spiritual relationship with the land. The reader is led through the turbulent years of British colonisation and the emergence-through prosperity, war, and depression-of the cultural accommodations which have been distinctively Australian. The third edition concludes with a critical review of the challenges facing contemporary Australia and warns that 'we may get the future we deserve.' (Series: Australian History) [Subject: History, Sociology]

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781921867606
Publisher:	Monash University Publishing
Publication date:	12/01/2017
Series:	Australian History
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.25(h) x 1.00(d)

Table of Contents

About the author vi

List of illustrations viii

Acknowledgements x

Preface xi

Part 1 Sources 1

Chapter 1 Aboriginal Australians 3

Chapter 2 Immigrants 20

Part 2 Interactions: 1788-1901 39

Chapter 3 The environment 41

Chapter 4 Society 67

Part 3 The culture: 1901-1939 101

Chapter 5 Loyalties 103

Chapter 6 Political institutions 133

Chapter 7 Relationships and pursuits 162

Part 4 The culture questioned: 1939-2016 187

Chapter 8 Dependence 1939-1988 189

Chapter 9 Diversity 1939-1988 209

Chapter 10 Vision 232

Chapter 11 The view from the twenty-first century 252

Further reading 285

Index 294