Focusing on the evolving geographies of Southeast Asia, this informative text delves into the complexities of development in the region. It highlights the ongoing challenges that arise from these processes, offering an engaging perspective that goes beyond mere description. Readers will gain insights into the dynamic changes shaping Southeast Asia and the implications for its future.
From the Ottoman Conquest to the Ramadan War
Focusing on the often-overlooked Egyptian perspective, this narrative explores the experiences of Egyptian soldiers over the past 500 years, highlighting their significant contributions to both Middle Eastern and global history. It challenges the traditional portrayal of Egypt as merely a battleground for foreign powers, instead showcasing the profound impact of its military leaders and soldiers on the transformations within the Muslim world, particularly during the last two centuries.
Set against the backdrop of post-September 11th America, a man with a troubled past seeks adventure and identity in New York City. His journey becomes a series of imposed quests that take him from urban landscapes to a Walmart in Atlanta, where he grapples with themes of damnation and salvation while navigating the complexities of his new life. The narrative explores the contrast between his desires and the harsh realities he faces, revealing the darker aspects of the American experience.
The Perpetual French Discovery of Australian Cinema
This book presents an unprecedented analysis of the dynamics of cultural representation and interpretation in film criticism. It examines how French critical reception of Australian cinema since the revival period of the 1970s has evolved as a narrative of perpetual discovery, and how a clear parallel can be drawn between French critics’ reading of Australian film and their interpretation of an exotic Australian national identity. In French critical writing on Australian cinema, Australian identity is frequently defined in terms of extremes of cultural specificity and cultural anonymity. On the one hand, French critics construct a Euro-centric orientalist fantasy of Australia as not only a European Antipodes, but the antithesis of Europe. At the same time, French critics have tended to subordinate Australian cultural identity within the framework of a resented Anglo-American filmic and cultural hegemony. The book further explores this marginalisation by examining the influence of the French auteur paradigm, particularly in reference to the work of Jane Campion, as well as by discussing the increasingly problematic notion of national identity, and indeed national cinemas, within the universal framework of international film culture.