Aboriginal Land, Law and Philosophy

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2010:

Aboriginal Land, Law and Philosophy will provide students who have completed the first year introductory Australian Indigenous Studies 100-181 subject with a more detailed and complex understanding of some of the key themes in this study area. It will utilise the physical, symbolic and metaphysical role of land and country in Australian Indigenous society as a starting point for the consideration of critical issues in Indigenous and Settler relations in contemporary Australia. Aboriginal Land, Law and Philosophy will enable the development of a deep and nuanced engagement with a selection of major issues. These may include land tenure, crime and punishment, political representation, social policy, cultural production, governance and economics. Using land and country as a base, these issues will be explored from Indigenous and non-Indigenous perspectives and from the interdsciplinary perspective of Literary Studies, Philosophy and Law. The interdisciplinary fusion of Literary Studies with Philosophy and Law will create a divergent interrogation of how land, possession and dispossession has influenced materially, legally and theoretically the experience of Indigenous Australians.

• develop appropriate skills in reading literary, legal and philosophical texts;
• appreciate the diversity of disciplinary content, forms and discourses and engage in critical analyses of interdisciplinary intersections on major issues in this subject;
• develop an informed position capable of critique yet sensitive to the politics of the Australian Indigenous experience of land. posession and dispossesion.

Tutorial participation and a 10-minute class presentation, 10%, an essay of 1500 words 30% (due mid-semester), and an essay of 2500 words 60% (due at the end of semester). Students are required to attend a minimum of nine tutorials in order to qualify to have their written work assessed. Students are advised to consult the following web address for details of assessment penalties which apply to this subject http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/policy/assessment/policy/penalties.html.

• Neidjie, B. Story About Feeling. Magabala. 1989
• Benterrak, Krim, Stephen Mueke and Paddy Roe. Reading the Country: introduction to nomadology. Fremantle Arts Centre Press. 1996.

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.

Students who successfully complete this subject will:

• have developed understanding of relevant critical theories and methods;
• be able to work effectively as an individual and member of class;
• be competent in the use of a wide range of research applications and resources;
• communicate complex ideas clearly and comprehensively;
• produce high quality written material in a timely manner.