Australian Digital Theses Program

Thesis Details
Title	Regenerative Voices: Narrative Strategies and Textual Authority in Three Post-colonial Novels and The Wheel Pin
Author	McCrea, Michele
Institution	Flinders University
Date	2012
Abstract	Michele McCrea's thesis turns on the notion of narrative authority in post-colonial literature. Narrative voice, like any representation of authority, may be problematic in contemporary fiction that endeavours to document the dislocation of colonial and post-colonial experience and give authority to previously unheard voices. Since traditional modes of narration tend to mimic existing power constructs and reinforce hegemonic master narratives, alternative strategies are needed in order to reconfigure textual authority. Using critical perspectives from feminist narratology and post-colonial studies, the exegesis demonstrates the use of innovative narrative strategies to create textual authority in novels by Terri Janke, Gail Jones and Kelly Ana Morey. Critical theory is applied to creative practice in Michele McCrea's novel The Wheel Pin, where the narrative strategies of nonunitary narration, textuality and assemblage are used to reveal one family's history, establishing a polyphonic textual authority that endorses ambiguity, cultural diversity and multiple interpretations.
Thesis	01front.pdf 117.1 Kb 02exegesis.pdf 1189.5 Kb 03novel.pdf 966.8 Kb 04Appendix3.pdf 7962.7 Kb