1982–1991
The eighties signalled a period of unprecedented change as social and geographical barriers broke down and the world became an increasingly more connected place. At the 1989 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, the Langkawi Declaration was issued committing Commonwealth members to environmental sustainability. The following meeting in 1991 resulted in the Harare Declaration, re-establishing the core principles of the Commonwealth, and detailing its membership criteria. In this period, the Maldives, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Brunei and Namibia all joined the Commonwealth as independent states.
Questions for your reading group
- As the world witnessed major events in this decade, such as the end of the Cold War and the start of the negotiations to end apartheid in South Africa, why do you think some of the texts in this decade focus on settings where humanity is at its cruellest?
- How does your text(s) examine the idea of family?
- There was a rapid rise in women’s employment in this period across the world. How is a woman’s role in society presented in the text(s), and what message is the author trying to convey in it?
- Two of the texts in this decade are collections of poetry. What poetic techniques does the writer use and how do they impact your reading?
- How does your text(s) examine the continuing effects of imperialism?
- What role does faith play in your text(s)?
- How are characters impacted by their heritage? In what ways does it make their life more challenging and how do they confront it?
- What other books published between 1982-91 would you recommend?