ZINC : perspectives of identity in Asian-Australian literature
- Publication Type:
- Thesis
- Issue Date:
- 2007
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ZINC: Perspectives of Asian-Australian Literature is made up of two parts. The first,
called "ZINC: A Novel in Six Acts" is a collection of stories concerned with the cultural
and political landscapes produced by migration and multiculturalism. The collection
explores how contemporary processes of social, historical and political change
dramatically impact on the identities of first and second-generational Australians of Hong
Kong Chinese descent and records the ways certain characters lead their lives and how
each character understands home as a place or a form of belonging in Hong Kong and
Australia. What has resulted is a collection of stories that attempts to describe a series of
interlinking journeys, or 'acts'. Each story takes the reader through both real and
imagined terrains which are contemporary and historical; Imperial China, colonial Hong
Kong, the city of Melbourne and suburban and metropolitan Sydney; simultaneously
engaging with the cultural changes and social relations that are reconfigured by larger
experiences and patterns in the characters' lives.
The second part, an exegesis called "ZINC: Perspectives of Asian-Australian Literature',
explores the impact of selected authors on the creative pieces and contextualises the
literary landscape and subjectivities of the author within the framework of Asian Australian
literature. This exegesis aims to identify thematic references within the chosen
literary works and explore issues within the uniqueness albeit categorisation of what is
termed' Asian-Australian writing.' Keeping this in mind, this exegesis will also examine
if or how Asian-Australian writers represent their racial differences and whether or not
these representations appear to 'imitate' a non-minority English-writing author.
Importantly, this dissertation hopes to offer the reader a way of understanding and
redefining the fluid multiplicities that are Asian-Australian identities living in Australia
today and how they are envisioned and experienced, showing the diverse and distinct
cultures that are scattered over as many places as there are people. This dissertation is
about breaking, altering and rewriting dominant myths and narratives about Asian Australian
sensibilities by calling attention to the continuities and discontinuities of
people's lives.
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