Storied Communities: Narratives of Contact and Arrival in Constituting Political Community - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0774818794 ISBN 13: 9780774818797

Publisher: UBC Press, 2010

Synopsis

Political communities are defined, and often contested, through stories. Scholars have long recognized that two foundational sets of stories – narratives of contact and narratives of arrival – helped to define settler societies. We are only beginning to understand how ongoing issues of migration and settlement are linked to issues of indigenous-settler contact.

Storied Communities disrupts the assumption in many works that indigenous and immigrant identities fall into two separate streams of analysis. The authors do not attempt to build a new master narrative – they instead juxtapose narratives of contact and arrival as they explore key themes: narrative and narrative form, the nature and hazards of storytelling in the political realm, and the institutional and theoretical implications of foundation narratives and storytelling. By bringing to light the links between narratives of contact and narratives of arrival, this volume opens up new ways to imagine, sustain, and transform political communities.

About this title

About the Author

Hester Lessard is a professor of law at the University of Victoria. Rebecca Johnson is a professor of law at the University of Victoria. Jeremy Webber holds the Canada Research Chair in Law and Society at the University of Victoria and is also a Trudeau Fellow.

Contributors: Kim Anderson, Bain Attwood, Michael Asch, Brenna Bhandar, J. Edward Chamberlin, Susan Bibler Coutin, Donald Galloway, Anne Godlewska, Sneja Gunew, Johnny Mack, Audrey Macklin, Martha Nandorfy, Jacinta Ruru, Blanca Schorcht, S. Ronald Stevenson, Patricia Tuitt, Richard Van Camp

From the Back Cover

Political communities are defined, and often contested, through stories. Scholars have long recognized that two foundational sets of stories - narratives of contact and narratives of arrival - helped to define settler societies. Storied Communities disrupts the assumption that indigenous and immigrant identities fall into two separate streams of analysis. The authors juxtapose narratives of contact and narratives of arrival as they explore key themes such as narrative form, the nature of storytelling in the political realm, and the institutional and theoretical implications of foundation narratives. By doing so, they open up new ways to imagine, sustain, and transform political communities.

From the Inside Flap

Political communities are defined, and often contested, through stories. Scholars have long recognized that two foundational sets of stories - narratives of contact and narratives of arrival - helped to define settler societies. Storied Communities disrupts the assumption that indigenous and immigrant identities fall into two separate streams of analysis. The authors juxtapose narratives of contact and narratives of arrival as they explore key themes such as narrative form, the nature of storytelling in the political realm, and the institutional and theoretical implications of foundation narratives. By doing so, they open up new ways to imagine, sustain, and transform political communities.

Edition details

• Publisher: UBC Press
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0774818794
• ISBN 13: 9780774818797
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 384
• Editor: Lessard Hester, Johnson Rebecca, Webber Jeremy