Volume II Special Issue I January 2022

Name of Author : Lisa Pavithran

Title of the paper : Challenging the Cartesian Nature/Culture Dichotomy: A Postcolonial Ecocritical Reading of Oodgeroo Noonuccals Selected Poems

Abstract: During the pre-colonial period, nature and culture were not separate entities. There existed a strong bond between people and nature. The Colonisers exploited and abused not only people but also nature. Colonial occupation in Australia robbed the aboriginals of their land and culture. The paper explores the intimate relation that existed between nature and the aboriginals. In Western thought, nature has tended to be understood as dualistically opposed to culture or humanity. In contrast, the native people believed that culture and nature together form a unified whole. This challenges the Cartesian view of culture and nature as opposites in a dualism. Among other effects, colonisation also resulted in environmental exploitation and the colonisers ignored the aboriginal concept of sustainable development and ecological balance. Through the study of selected poems of Oodgerro Noonuccal, the paper explores the physical and emotional importance of nature in the life of the aboriginals thereby breaking the Western philosophy of the binary opposition.

Keywords : Nature, Culture, Dichotomy, Aboriginals, Cartesian

DOI :

Page Number : 31-34