Year
1991
Degree Name
Master of Arts (Hons.)
Department
Department of English
Recommended Citation
Stella, Regis Tove, "Tempers unchained": politics and meaning of pre-independence Papua New Guinea drama, Master of Arts (Hons.) thesis, Department of English, University of Wollongong, 1991. https://ro.uow.edu.au/theses/2187
Abstract
Colonialism has always had a dramatic impact upon traditional societies. Not only does it alienate and dispossess indigenous peoples from their cultural provenance but arrests their intellectual/ so that they view their own cultures as necessarily inferior to Western cultures. It was essentially in response to colonialism that preindependence Papua New Guinea drama and writing in general emerged. The introduction of Western education (especially tertiary education) made Papua New Guineans aware of their exploitation and subjugation by a foreign power and at the same time raised their conscioijhess that it was not right for them to be oppressed by a foreign power. Generally the anti-colonial reaction manifested itself in various themes. For example, cultural nationalism, the quest for self-determination and political independence, culture clash, search for identity and so on. They addressed the reaffirmation of traditional social, cultural and political institutions which colonial discourse had denigrated and rejected.
Unless otherwise indicated, the views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the University of Wollongong.