Sovereignty and Indigenous Peoples

This subject is not offered 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 examines the historical underpinnings of the contemporary over-representation of Indigenous peoples in the criminal justice systems of settler states (including Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States of America). It introduces students to the history of Law's relation to Indigenous peoples and its responsiveness to colonialism from the fifteenth century. In particular, the subject explores connections between European notions of sovereignty, the idea of race and the historical experiences of Indigenous peoples, including the legal and criminological frameworks of dispossession and nation-building. This subject enables students to develop a critical appreciation of the historical, social, cultural, ethical and economic contexts of Law's relation to Indigenous peoples and to bring this knowledge to bear on current concerns, particularly in the Australian context.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

• to demonstrate the capacity to think in theoretical terms;

• to demonstrate advanced skills in critical thinking and analysis;

• to demonstrate the capacity to apply theoretical and historical thinking to the analysis of contemporary social issues.