Trapped in the Gap

Doing Good in Indigenous Australia

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Discrimination & Race Relations, Anthropology, Cultural Studies
Cover of the book Trapped in the Gap by Emma Kowal, Berghahn Books
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Author: Emma Kowal ISBN: 9781782386001
Publisher: Berghahn Books Publication: February 1, 2015
Imprint: Berghahn Books Language: English
Author: Emma Kowal
ISBN: 9781782386001
Publisher: Berghahn Books
Publication: February 1, 2015
Imprint: Berghahn Books
Language: English

In Australia, a ‘tribe’ of white, middle-class, progressive professionals is actively working to improve the lives of Indigenous people. This book explores what happens when well-meaning people, supported by the state, attempt to help without harming. ‘White anti-racists’ find themselves trapped by endless ambiguities, contradictions, and double binds — a microcosm of the broader dilemmas of postcolonial societies. These dilemmas are fueled by tension between the twin desires of equality and difference: to make Indigenous people statistically the same as non-Indigenous people (to 'close the gap') while simultaneously maintaining their ‘cultural’ distinctiveness. This tension lies at the heart of failed development efforts in Indigenous communities, ethnic minority populations and the global South. This book explains why doing good is so hard, and how it could be done differently. 

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In Australia, a ‘tribe’ of white, middle-class, progressive professionals is actively working to improve the lives of Indigenous people. This book explores what happens when well-meaning people, supported by the state, attempt to help without harming. ‘White anti-racists’ find themselves trapped by endless ambiguities, contradictions, and double binds — a microcosm of the broader dilemmas of postcolonial societies. These dilemmas are fueled by tension between the twin desires of equality and difference: to make Indigenous people statistically the same as non-Indigenous people (to 'close the gap') while simultaneously maintaining their ‘cultural’ distinctiveness. This tension lies at the heart of failed development efforts in Indigenous communities, ethnic minority populations and the global South. This book explains why doing good is so hard, and how it could be done differently. 

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