Long a topic of intricate political and social debate, Canadianidentity has come to be understood as fragmented, amorphous, andunstable, a multifaceted and contested space only tenuously linked totraditional concepts of the nation. As Canadians, we are endlesslydefining ourselves, seeking to locate our sense of self in relation tosome Other. By examining how writers and performers have conceptualizedand negotiated issues of personal identity in their work, the essayscollected in Selves and Subjectivities investigate emergingrepresentations of self and other in contemporary Canadian arts andculture. Included are essays on iconic poet and musician Leonard Cohen,Governor General award - winning playwright Colleen Wagner,feminist poet and novelist Daphne Marlatt, film director DavidCronenberg, poet and writer Hedi Bouraoui, author and media scholarMarusya Bociurkiw, puppeteer Ronnie Burkett, and the Aboriginal rapgroup War Party.

As critic Diana Brydon has argued, contemporary Canadian writers are"not transcending nation but resituating it." Drawingtogether themes of gender and sexuality, trauma and displacement,performativity, and linguistic diversity, Selves andSubjectivities offers an exciting new contribution to themultivocal dialogue surrounding the Canadian sense of identity.

The self and the other in the works of Canadian contemporary artists.

About the Author
Manijeh Mannani is associate professor of English andcomparative literature in the Centre for Humanities at AthabascaUniversity and adjunct professor in the Comparative Literature Programat the University of Alberta. Veronica Thompson isdean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at AthabascaUniversity.


Book Information
ISBN 9781926836492
Author Manijeh Mannani
Format Paperback
Page Count 276
Imprint AU Press
Publisher AU Press
Weight(grams) 360g