Australian Indigenous Studies

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2008:

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

This subject will provide students with an introduction to the complexity, challenges and richness of Australian Indigenous life and cultures. Social and political issues will be considered at both local and national levels. Students will have the opportunity to understand Indigenous histories and apply various disciplinary perspectives through the experience of Indigenous cultural forms including sport, fine arts, museum exhibitions and performances. Perspectives from disciplines such as Art History, History, Politics, Criminology, Anthropology, Health Sciences, Literary Studies, and Cultural Studies will provide students with a multi-faceted introduction to Indigenous studies and Indigenous society. Subject matter will sometimes be reframed so that students will have the opportunity to appreciate a larger context, and to understand the linkages and correspondences between Australian Indigenous Studies and related fields.

Subject Objectives

Students who complete this subject should:

• have an awareness of the extent of the Indigenous presence in Australia and an understanding of the diverse histories of Aboriginal communities;

• have an appreciation of the range of Aboriginal political, cultural and intellectual responses to colonisation;

• have an ability to analyse and critique popular discourses and representations of Aboriginals;

• have an informed awareness of political, social, economic, cultural and health issues as they relate to Aboriginal communities

This subject potentially can be taken as a breadth subject component for the following courses:

• Bachelor of Biomedicine
• Bachelor of Commerce
• Bachelor of Environments
• Bachelor of Music
• Bachelor of Science
• Bachelor of Engineering

You should visit learn more about breadth subjects and read the breadth requirements for your degree, and should discuss your choice with your student adviser, before deciding on your subjects.

• understand a range of disciplines and methodologies appropriate to the texts, artefacts, theoretical structures and social practices with which they are concerned;

• have developed a capacity for critical thought and analysis through the construction and articulation of lucid, logical arguments;

• have developed oral and written skills through essay writing and tutorial participation;

• have acquired the tools for independent and targeted research, using library and other information services;

• have the ability to organise and manage their time through the planning of class assessments and the meeting of set due dates.