Australian literature is not widely known outside of Australia, with the exception of the occasional film, international prize-winning book or television series. For this organizer, Comparative Literature is about bringing together unusual literary/cultural objects and seeing where we can go, what we can learn. The only criteria for this seminar is that the proposed paper compare a work of Australian literature (broadly conceived as literary, oral and performative) and a work from a different nation or region. Possibilities include but are not limited to settler colonialism; Indigenous voices in policy, government, protest, culture; the outlaw especially in the genre of "the western"; immigration; white nationalism; identity. The goal of the seminar is to foster a wide-ranging engagement with Australian literature in all its forms and to share ways of increasing the presence and purpose of Australian literature in non-Australian academic settings. The organizer plans to develop "Australia and..." as a featured topic in an upcoming issue of Antipodes: A Global Journal of Australia and New Zealand Literature, emerging from this seminar.
Inquiries to machosky@hawaii.edu
Proposals of 300 word abstracts by 9/30/23 to machosky@hawaii.edu