Esta dissertação consiste em uma leitura da Trilogia Wildcat, de Mudrooroo. O foco da leitura recai sobre as Relações de Poder e seu impacto sobre os jovens aborígines urbanos australianos. O corpus de pesquisa é formado pelos romances Wild Cat Falling (1965), Wildcat Screaming (1992) e Doin Wildcat (1988). O objetivo é analisar os efeitos das estratégias de poder em indivíduos pós-coloniais que são sujeitos a e fazem uso de mecanismos de poder ao estabelecerem relacionamentos tanto com seus pares quanto com pessoas que representam autoridade. A discussão das relações de poder, de seus mecanismos e efeitos se dá no terreno do discurso literário, através da análise das escolhas e estratégias do autor quanto à formatação dos três romances que operam, simultaneamente, como obras de arte, como estratégias políticas de sobrevivência e como estudos reflexivos sobre o processo da escrita literária. Wildcat é o protagonista, bem como autor e narrador nos textos da Trilogia. Ele é também um representante do povo aborígine australiano urbano e jovem na luta pela sobrevivência em uma sociedade na qual eles foram assimilados, mas não realmente aceitos. O texto de Mudrooroo versa sobre história, cultura, luta pela sobrevivência, mas trata principalmente sobre a escrita do texto literário e o papel da literatura aborígine. Para contemplar um construto tão complexo, minha leitura busca a combinação de literatura, cultura e pensamento pós-colonial. O suporte teórico do trabalho está apoiado nas idéias de Michel Foucault sobre poder e discurso, bem como na visão de Mudrooroo sobre a escrita literária aborígine, e também sobre a noção do exótico pós-colonial de Graham Huggan. Minha análise pretende alcançar a compreensão dos mecanismos de poder que povos e indivíduos assujeitados podem colocar em uso quando têm como objetivo serem ouvidos e respeitados pelas pessoas que os vêem como “outros” e que são maioria nas sociedades nas quais vivem. A conclusão indica que relações de poder firmemente estabelecidas são de crucial importância para a sobrevivência dos povos aborígines, e que a literatura é um dos melhores meios para alcançar esta finalidade, não só para garantir sobrevivência, mas também para representá-la. / This thesis consists of a reading of Mudrooroo’s Wildcat Trilogy, focusing on the issue of Power Relations and their impact on Young Urban Australian Aborigines. The corpus of the research comprises the novels Wild Cat Falling (1965), Wildcat Screaming (1992) and Doin Wildcat (1988). The purpose is to examine the effects of power strategies on postcolonial individuals who are subjected to and make use of mechanisms of power when establishing relationships with both their peers and other people representing authority. This discussion is carried out from within the realm of literary discourse, through the analysis of Mudrooroo’s choices and strategies in the shaping of these three novels that operate, simultaneously, as pieces of art, as political strategies of survival, and as self-reflexive studies about the process of writing. Wildcat is protagonist, author and narrator in the Trilogy. He is also a representative of the young urban Australian Aboriginal people’s struggle to survive within a society into which they have been assimilated, but not actually accepted. Mudrooroo’s text is about history, culture, struggle for survival, but it is mainly about writing and the role of Aboriginal Literature. In order to contemplate such a complex construct, my reading aims at combining postcolonial, cultural and literary concerns. The theoretical support of the work rests upon Michel Foucault’s ideas about Power and Discourse, as well as upon Mudrooroo’s views on Aboriginal Writing, and Graham Huggan’s notion of the Post-Colonial Exotic. My analysis intends to reach the understanding of the mechanisms of power that subjected peoples and individuals may put to use in order to be heard and respected by the people who see them as “Others” and are now majority in the societies they live within. Therefore, the conclusion indicates that firmly established Power Relations are central to Aboriginal people’s survival, and that Literature is one of the best means to achieve – as well as represent – it.

Esta dissertação consiste em uma leitura da Trilogia Wildcat, de Mudrooroo. O foco da leitura recai sobre as Relações de Poder e seu impacto sobre os jovens aborígines urbanos australianos. O corpus de pesquisa é formado pelos romances Wild Cat Falling (1965), Wildcat Screaming (1992) e Doin Wildcat (1988). O objetivo é analisar os efeitos das estratégias de poder em indivíduos pós-coloniais que são sujeitos a e fazem uso de mecanismos de poder ao estabelecerem relacionamentos tanto com seus pares quanto com pessoas que representam autoridade. A discussão das relações de poder, de seus mecanismos e efeitos se dá no terreno do discurso literário, através da análise das escolhas e estratégias do autor quanto à formatação dos três romances que operam, simultaneamente, como obras de arte, como estratégias políticas de sobrevivência e como estudos reflexivos sobre o processo da escrita literária. Wildcat é o protagonista, bem como autor e narrador nos textos da Trilogia. Ele é também um representante do povo aborígine australiano urbano e jovem na luta pela sobrevivência em uma sociedade na qual eles foram assimilados, mas não realmente aceitos. O texto de Mudrooroo versa sobre história, cultura, luta pela sobrevivência, mas trata principalmente sobre a escrita do texto literário e o papel da literatura aborígine. Para contemplar um construto tão complexo, minha leitura busca a combinação de literatura, cultura e pensamento pós-colonial. O suporte teórico do trabalho está apoiado nas idéias de Michel Foucault sobre poder e discurso, bem como na visão de Mudrooroo sobre a escrita literária aborígine, e também sobre a noção do exótico pós-colonial de Graham Huggan. Minha análise pretende alcançar a compreensão dos mecanismos de poder que povos e indivíduos assujeitados podem colocar em uso quando têm como objetivo serem ouvidos e respeitados pelas pessoas que os vêem como “outros” e que são maioria nas sociedades nas quais vivem. A conclusão indica que relações de poder firmemente estabelecidas são de crucial importância para a sobrevivência dos povos aborígines, e que a literatura é um dos melhores meios para alcançar esta finalidade, não só para garantir sobrevivência, mas também para representá-la. / This thesis consists of a reading of Mudrooroo’s Wildcat Trilogy, focusing on the issue of Power Relations and their impact on Young Urban Australian Aborigines. The corpus of the research comprises the novels Wild Cat Falling (1965), Wildcat Screaming (1992) and Doin Wildcat (1988). The purpose is to examine the effects of power strategies on postcolonial individuals who are subjected to and make use of mechanisms of power when establishing relationships with both their peers and other people representing authority. This discussion is carried out from within the realm of literary discourse, through the analysis of Mudrooroo’s choices and strategies in the shaping of these three novels that operate, simultaneously, as pieces of art, as political strategies of survival, and as self-reflexive studies about the process of writing. Wildcat is protagonist, author and narrator in the Trilogy. He is also a representative of the young urban Australian Aboriginal people’s struggle to survive within a society into which they have been assimilated, but not actually accepted. Mudrooroo’s text is about history, culture, struggle for survival, but it is mainly about writing and the role of Aboriginal Literature. In order to contemplate such a complex construct, my reading aims at combining postcolonial, cultural and literary concerns. The theoretical support of the work rests upon Michel Foucault’s ideas about Power and Discourse, as well as upon Mudrooroo’s views on Aboriginal Writing, and Graham Huggan’s notion of the Post-Colonial Exotic. My analysis intends to reach the understanding of the mechanisms of power that subjected peoples and individuals may put to use in order to be heard and respected by the people who see them as “Others” and are now majority in the societies they live within. Therefore, the conclusion indicates that firmly established Power Relations are central to Aboriginal people’s survival, and that Literature is one of the best means to achieve – as well as represent – it.

liv, 775 p. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (D.Litt)--University of Adelaide, 1971

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Geography, 1964. / "Thesis submittede October 30th, 1963." Includes bibliographical references.

Aboriginal arts practices in the southeast of Australia have, since the early years of colonisation, been rarely considered within the realm of authentic Aboriginal arts practices. Such attitudes were a reflection of the colonial encounter and associated attempts to assimilate the Aboriginal population with the White. This thesis explores Aboriginal arts practices and asserts that there has always been Aboriginal art in the southeast and that, despite the overwhelming effects of colonisation, the work of Aboriginal artists provides a distinct and definite counter-history to that endorsed by the dominant culture. Using published historical and contemporary accounts and recent interviews from Aboriginal artists and arts workers, this thesis investigates the continuation of the knowledge and practice of southeast Australian Aboriginal art and its connection to culture, identity and wellbeing. It explores the corresponding adaptations and changes to these practices as Aboriginal people contended with the ever-expanding European occupation of the region from 1834 onwards. / This project adopted a collaborative research methodology, where members of the Aboriginal arts community were consulted throughout the project in order to develop a study which had meaning and value for them. The collaborative approach combined an analysis of historical data along with the stories collected from participants. By privileging the Aboriginal voice as legitimate primary source material, alternative ways of exploring the history of Aboriginal art were possible. Although the story of Aboriginal art in the southeast is also one of tensions and paradoxes, where changes in arts practices frequently positioned art, like the people themselves, outside the domain of the ‘real’, the findings of this project emphasise that arts practices assist people with connecting and in some cases reconnecting with their communities. Aboriginal art in the southeast is an assertion of identity and wellbeing and reflects the dynamic nature of Aboriginal culture in southeast Australia.

Thesis (D.Litt.)--University of Adelaide, 1976. / Collective title supplied by cataloguer. Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- La Trobe University, 2006. / Research. "A thesis submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, La Trobe Law, Faculty of Law and Management, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria". Includes bibliographical references (leaves 318-338). Also available via the World Wide Web.