Issue Details: First known date: 2008... 2008 David Unaipon's Style of Subversion: Performativity and Becoming in 'Gool Lun Naga (Green Frog)'
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'This paper theorises Aboriginal author David Unaipon's style of subversion. Firstly, Unaipon's manner of dress is investigated as an embodied, performative Aboriginal resistance strategy that fits within a worldwide history of dandyism. Secondly, a close reading of one of Unaipon's short stories ('Gool Lun Naga (Green Frog)') reveals how his performative method of resistance is apparent not only in his dress, but in his writings as well. Such an analysis seeks to intervene in a history of criticism on Unaipon's life and writing that fails to account for the many contradictions within his life and writing. Ultimately, the failure to account for the many contradictions in Unaipon's life is seen as contributing to the colonial present (Gregory), where colonial discourses still operate to define and limit Aboriginality. Unaipon's constant struggle against such discourses is read as a "becoming-imperceptible" (Deleuze and Guattari); a style of subversion that has paved the way for many Aboriginal artists since.' (Author's abstract)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon JASAL Journal of the Association for the Study of Australian Literature; The Colonial Present : Australian Writing for the 21st Century Special Issue Gillian Whitlock (editor), Victoria Kuttainen (editor), 2008 Z1499541 2008 periodical issue 2008 pg. 77-93
    Note: Includes end notes and list of works cited.
Last amended 8 Jan 2015 15:55:09
77-93 http://nla.gov.au/nla.arc-63067-20090910-1633-www.nla.gov.au/openpublish/index.php/jasal/article/view/677/990.html David Unaipon's Style of Subversion: Performativity and Becoming in 'Gool Lun Naga (Green Frog)'small AustLit logo JASAL
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