Category Archives: North

John Stanley Martin – Australia as an Iceland of the south

By KDSMurray | January 21, 2010

One way of reading an antipodean country like Australia is through the lens of its symmetrical opposites. For many, Australia has been compared to Nordic countries. One of Australia’s leading Nordicists, John Stanley Martin, unfortunately passed away this week. Here he talking about the commonality between Australia and Iceland.
John Stanley Martin, descendent of [...]

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Why ‘Up in the Air’ should be grounded

By KDSMurray | January 16, 2010

New critique or old myth?
You could be forgiven for thinking that the recently released Up in the Air heralds a new wave of American films that reflect the real social realities of America exposed by the Global Financial Crisis.
‘ target=_blank>Rolling Stone claims that ‘Up in the Air is a defining movie for these [...]

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Go down Moses

By admin | April 18, 2008

How was the world oriented north? We take it for granted that north is up because you place the more important things on top. But does this mean that people in the South must feel forever inferior? To counter this psychological disadvantage, it is important to understand the historical processes that led to this arrangement. [...]

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Is Canada south?

By admin | February 12, 2008

In 1964, the Canadian pianist Glenn Gould took the Muskeg Express, a train that travels north more than 1,000 kilometres from Winnipeg to Churchill, in the upper reaches of Manitoba. At breakfast, he struck up a conversation with a surveyor Wally McLean and was impressed to learn about his ‘craft’ which was ‘to find [...]

Also posted in Canada, Periphery, journey | 3 Comments

The South has no idea, really

By admin | February 11, 2008

It can be useful to consider the doubts that beset the South. In a way, it’s repeating conventional wisdom to claim that the North is more significant than the South, but it’s important to acknowledge it at some point in this journey. At least we know what we are up against. Treat it as a [...]

Also posted in provocation | 2 Comments