Difference Identity Makes, The: Indigenous Cultural Capital in Australian cultural fields

- Blurb -

Through the struggles of Indigenous Australians for recognitionand self-determination it has become common sense tounderstand Australia as made up of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people and things. But in what ways is the Indigenous/non-Indigenous distinction being used and understood? In The Difference Identity Makes, thirteen Indigenous and non-Indigenousacademics examine how this distinction structures the work ofcultural production and how Indigenous producers and their worksare recognised and valued. The editors introduce this innovative collection of essays with a path-finding argument that `Indigenous cultural capital' nowchallenges all Australians to re-position themselves within arevised scale of values. Each chapter looks at one of five fields of Australian cultural production: sport, television, heritage,visual arts and music, revealing that in each the Indigenous/non-Indigenous distinction has effects that are specific. This brings new depth and richness to our understanding of what`Indigeneity' can mean in contemporary Australia. In demonstratingthe variety of ways that 'the Indigenous' is made visible and valuedthe essays provide a powerful alternative to the `deficit' theme thathas continued to haunt the representation of Indigeneity.