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The Theatre of Regret

The Theatre of Regret

Literature, Art, and the Politics of Reconciliation in Canada

by David Gaertner

Published by: UBC Press

Imprint: UBC Press

Digital download
9780774865371
Published: November 2020

Digital download
9780774865388
Published: November 2020

Description
Contents
Authors
Praise

Scholars and students of Indigenous studies, cultural studies, Canadian studies, literature, law, and political science will find this book challenging and necessary, as will thoughtful Canadian readers.

Introduction: Bearing Witness to the TRC

1 The Theatre of Regret: The Politics of Reconciliation after the Second World War

2 Listen to the Bones: Colonial Static and the Call for Reconciliation

3 To Acknowledge, but Not to Accept: Critical Reflections on Settler State Apologies

4 Redress as a Gift: Historical Reparations and the Logic of the Gift

5 An Exercise in Forgiveness: Confronting the Risk of Forgiveness and Empathy

Conclusion: “Shallow Reconciliation” and the Indigenous Future Imaginary

Notes, Selected Bibliography, Index

David Gaertner is an assistant professor in the Institute of Critical Indigenous Studies at the University of British Columbia. His articles have appeared in Canadian Literature, American Indian Cultural and Research Journal, and Bioethical Inquiry, among other publications. He is the editor of Sôhkêyihta: The Poetry of Sky Dancer Louise Bernice Halfe and co-editor, with Sophie McCall, Deanna Reder, and Gabrielle L’Hirondelle Hill, of Read, Listen, Tell: Indigenous Stories from Turtle Island.

Theatre of Regret is a significant contribution to the studies of transitional justice and reconciliation literature. ~Jonathan Nash, Department of English, University of Victoria, University of Toronto Quarterly

The Theatre of Regret offers a thought-provoking critique of "reconciliation" as it has been captured by settler colonialism.
~Melanie Braith, University of Winnipeg., Native American and Indigenous Studies. Volume 10. Issue 1. Spring 2023.

The Theatre of Regret is a timely book that implores Canadian settlers to look at the uncomfortable truth of the narratives we tell ourselves: the truth of residential schools and the truth of ongoing settler colonialism and violence.
~Christine Anonuevo, University of Northern British Columbia, BC Studies

…Gaertner argues that it is imperative reconciliation centres Indigenous perspective and creates space for Indigenous voices. The Theatre of Regret does just this with depth and flair…
~Alice Higgs, doctoral graduate, University of Sheffield, Journal of Australian, Canadian, and New Zealand Studies