Abstract:
This thesis takes a novel approach to Pakeha spiritual identities. Drawing on
representations of landscape and spirituality in eighty-seven works of Pakeha literary
fiction published between 1975 and 2009, it identifies complex and contested
spiritualities of landscape as manifestations of the problems of Pakeha belonging. Key
themes of belonging and desecration give voice to identity concerns that are submerged
in popular avowals of a shared “love of the land”. This thesis identifies Pakeha writers
as an important voice for the articulation and construction of Pakeha spiritual identities.
It illuminates the spiritual possibilities that are obscured by narrow conceptions of
religion, spirituality and secularity, which allows a new exploration of the dynamic and
developing nature of our landscapes, spiritualities and identities.
