"My name was Christian." C.K. Stead, religion, culture and national identity

"My name was Christian." C.K. Stead, religion, culture and national identity

Culminating in 'My Name is Judas' (2006), New Zealand writer C.K. Stead has wrestled and argued with religious belief as both cultural legacy and cultural constraint. This paper argues that central to Stead's modernism and post-colonial nationalism is the overcoming of religion as a c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Commonwealth (Rodez, France) France), 2010-09, Vol.32 (2), p.61-74
Main Author: Grimshaw, Mike
Format: Article
Language:eng
Subjects:
Baxter, James K
Cultural identity
Loos, Adolf
National characteristics, New Zealand
National identity
Religion
Religion and culture
Stead, C. K. (Christian), 1932- (author)
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Culminating in 'My Name is Judas' (2006), New Zealand writer C.K. Stead has wrestled and argued with religious belief as both cultural legacy and cultural constraint. This paper argues that central to Stead's modernism and post-colonial nationalism is the overcoming of religion as a constantly unfinished project of modernity, with Zen positioned as an alternative. Yet Stead's cultural modernism finds him, like Judas, increasingly isolated and dislocated in society where 'many have lost their heads'.
ISSN:0395-6989