Issue Details: First known date: 2007... 2007 The Modernist Sacred : Randolph Stow and Patrick White
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'In this essay, the radical potentialities of modernism's dialogue with notions of the sacred will be analysed, with a particular focus on the active construction of a transcendental spirituality that functions as a rejection of hegemonic forces. I will argue that Randolph Stow constructs a place in which hegemonic symbolisation–the alienating forms of language that separate subjects from the real–can be challenged or subverted. I will also argue that Patrick White's fiction develops further the anti-hegemonic exploration of the sacred. In particular, I will explore the ways in which White's novel Voss engages with concepts of the sacred, only to challenge direct notions of religious identification. This novel has provoked a series of interpretative gestures which privilege a Christian framework, without any political context which could help to explain the ethics of White's treatment of the sacred. Thus, the current analysis will aim to re-politicise the reading of White's novel, as a text that articulates a challenge to the hegemony of meaning in a colonial (and post-colonial) context.' (Extract from article)

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  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Australian Literary Studies ALS vol. 23 no. 2 October Leigh Dale (editor), Brigid Rooney (editor), 2007 Z1450527 2007 periodical issue New Reckonings: Australian Literature Past, Present, Future: Essays in Honour of Elizabeth Webby 2007 pg. 199-212
Last amended 23 Jan 2015 10:08:52
199-212 The Modernist Sacred : Randolph Stow and Patrick Whitesmall AustLit logo Australian Literary Studies
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