Issue Details: First known date: 2018... 2018 Colonial “Blind Spots” : Images of Australian Frontier Conflict
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Visual representations of colonial violence constitute an overlooked source of evidence that, although shaped by contemporary visual and cultural conventions, allow us to engage with this troubling history in significant ways. The “history wars” of the turn of the millennium have been accused of focusing on disciplinary protocols with the effect of obscuring the moral implications of colonial invasion and dispossession. By contrast, images evoke empathy, creating social relationships across the British Empire that defined identities and aligned viewers with specific communities. Images also return the modern viewer to the emotional and moral intensity of 1830s and 1840s frontier violence in south-eastern Australia. They map colonial “blind spots” by demonstrating the ways that these emotions were politicised to legitimate colonial interests, for example, by directing sympathy towards white colonists, or seeking to evoke compassion for Aboriginal people. From our present-day perspective, these visual images help us to see our “reflection”, and acknowledge the truth of our history and its legacies.' (Publication abstract)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Journal of Australian Studies vol. 43 no. 4 2018 15406747 2018 periodical issue

    'This issue offers a detailed exploration of the ways in which blind spots can prevent us from seeing the different stories, experiences and representations that constitute who we are as Australians, whether we like it or not.' (Maggie NolaJames KeatingJulie Kimber and Ellen SmithHistorical Blind Spots

    2018
    pg. 409-427
Last amended 14 Jan 2019 09:16:22
409-427 Colonial “Blind Spots” : Images of Australian Frontier Conflictsmall AustLit logo Journal of Australian Studies
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