Australian Indigenous Studies

This subject is not offered in 2011.

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 through engagement with specific issues both local and national. Students will have the opportunity to understand Indigenous histories and apply disciplinary perspectives through the experience of Indigenous cultural forms which may include sport, fine arts and performances. Perspectives from disciplines and fields such as Art History, Politics, Criminology, Health Sciences, Cultural Studies and Linguistics will provide students with a multi-faceted introduction to Indigenous studies and Indigenous society. While maintaining focus on Australian Indigenous issues subject matter will sometimes be reframed so that students will have the opportunity to appreciate a larger context, and linkages and correspondences with related fields indicated. (For instance the colonisation of Australia might be considered in relation to processes of colonisation affecting other Indigenous peoples.)

• have an awareness of the extent of the Indigenous presence in Australia and an understanding of the diverse histories of Aboriginal communities as well as commonalities.
• 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.

A subject reader will be available at the beginning of the semester. Students may have the opportunity to make site visits including sporting events, exhibitions or performances.

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

• Bachelor of Arts
• 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.

• be able to critically analyse and discuss a wide range of research materials through participation in class discussions, the reading of critical essays and the writing of class papers and essays.
• acquire the capacity for independent and targeted research as a result of preparing a class presentation and writing of essays.
• have the confidence to present and defend ideas and propositions as a result of seminar participation and presentation.
• have the capacity for creative thinking through participation in discussions and the writing of essays that apply critical and theoretical ideas to the reading and interpretation of cultural signs and social formations.
• have the capacity for lucid and logical argument as a result of careful essay planning and writing.
• be competent in the use of library and other information sources such as on line websites and search engines through the researching and writing of essays that require the use of these resources.
• have the ability to organise oneself and manage one's time efficiently and effectively through the successful completion of a class paper and a written essay by the due date.