The cultural interface: an exploration of the intersection of Western knowledge systems and Torres Strait Islanders positions and experiences

Abstract

This thesis is a study of the intersection of Western knowledge systems and Islander positions and experiences as they are inscribed in the literature on Torres Strait Islanders. By exploring and charting processes in the production of knowledges on Torres Strait Islanders over the last Century, this thesis has sought to understand what conditions the possibilities for Islanders in a Western order of things and to learn about whether historical relations between us, as formed discursively in the literature between Islanders and non-Islanders, constrain educational possibilities for Islanders.