Nomad's home : a pilgrimage to translation

Abstract

This thesis, 'Nomad's Home: A Pilgrimage to Translation' uses fragments of a translation of a thirteenth century Japanese text, the Hojoki, to write fictocritically about issues arising for the author as an architect in designing and building housing and in particular, Aboriginal housing. Aboriginal housing has attracted much attention since the beginning of the twenty-first century, most notably since the Apology to the Stolen Generation of Aboriginal people with which the Rudd Government began its term in government in February, 2008, yet very few architects have the opportunity to have worked within this field. As a writer and an architect, I have had the opportunity to be involved in the field of Aboriginal housing for over 20 years. I have used a mix of literary and scholarly methods to write my thesis. It has been written as a fictocritical piece. I have translated fragments of the Japanese text of the Hojoki, using this process as a vehicle to discuss the issues associated with designing and constructing Aboriginal housing within Aboriginal communities. In doing so, I have also been able to discuss more generally 'house and home' and the meaning of these two words. The translation I have done of the Hojoki discovers and attempts to demonstrate that the error in undertaking any housing project, and particularly housing within an Aboriginal community, lies in the assumption that this can ever be done in a generalised way, as in 'one size fits all'. It seems to me that every house must be done on an individual basis. It is the same with writing, and this thesis takes the unique form necessary for my particular project.

Date of Award	2013
Original language	English