Australian Desert

<p>This unique book is the only fully interdisciplinary and comprehensive study of the Australian desert and its pivotal role in the cultural history of Australia.</p><p>Beginning with the prehistory of the continent it engages with geology the Aboriginal Dreaming narratives of origin the arrival of the first Australians Aboriginal culture of the Dreaming anthropology colonial history and the cult of the inland explorer-hero and integration of the central deserts through the responses of writers artists and filmmakers into the national identity. Chapters explore the unique way Indigenous artists have evolved a method of expressing their spiritual relationship to Country while hiding from uninitiated eyes the secret-sacred meaning beneath the paint. It takes us on a journey through the politics of Land Rights for First Nations peoples the Uluru Statement from the Heart and an analysis of Indigenous ecological principles which may suggest a new and radical approach to navigating climate change in the Anthropocene.</p><p><em>The Australian Desert </em>is written for scholars of fine arts anthropology literature film studies cultural history Indigenous studies ecology and tourism and for anyone interested in deserts.</p>