Published: 2010
ISBN: 978-1-921214-61-5
Pages: 154
Imprint: Post Pressed
National identity and the search for its defining features has been the focus of continuing debate throughout Australian history. From ideals of mateship to celebration of sporting prowess, from multiculturalism to homogeneity and social cohesion, Australian national identity has been discussed and debated for more than a century, in later years mainly by politicians and the media. At the same time, there have been many attempts to define 'rural identity' as something at the heart of Australian nationalism.
Charles Sturt University, with its spread of campuses across regional New South Wales, is intellectually and geographically well positioned to ponder notions of regional and rural identity. Its staff and students live various forms of rural lifestyle so, in formulating this collection, it was a valid step to seek their ideas on what represents regional and rural identity. Within the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, there are a range of disciplines which bring different perspectives to the vexed question of a unique rural identity. The aim of this collection is not to provide a definitive answer to the question of what constitutes rural identity but to illustrate the many ways and forms it can be seen.