Australian Indigenous Studies

Australian Indigenous Studies is a value-driven program guided by the principles of interdisciplinarity, intellectual exchange, and social relevance. Australian Indigenous Studies offers students perspectives on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and culture. Subjects offered reflect the rich diversity of the field. Themes include contemporary Indigenous cultural production, key thinkers and concepts, Settler and Indigenous environmental ethics, Aboriginal women and coloniality, and issues relating to land, law and philosophy.

Students who complete this major will:

• understand the complexity and diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures;

• develop a detailed knowledge and critical understanding of how discourses and representations of Aboriginality function in contemporary Australian society, as well as the historical, social and cultural contexts that produce them;

• develop a deep and nuanced intellectual positioning, from which to critically engage with complex and changing social and political issues in Australian society;

• apply an independent approach to knowledge that uses rigorous methods of inquiry and appropriate methodologies that are applied with intellectual honesty, self-awareness, and ethical integrity;

• appreciate the value of an interdisciplinary approach to the study of Indigenous studies;

• communicate effectively, from their own informed intellectual positioning, in a variety of oral and written formats;

• act as informed and critically discerning participants, with a respect for ethical values, within the scholarly community, in the workforce and as citizens.

Australian Indigenous Studies is available as both a major and minor sequence of study in the Bachelor of Arts.

Major

A major in Australian Indigenous Studies comprises eight 12.5-point subjects, totalling 100 points:

Level 1 (25 points)

• MULT10001 Aboriginalities (counted towards Arts Foundation Subject)
• Any level 1 discipline-based arts subject

Level 2 (37.5 points)

• Students at second year may take a combination of recommended and optional Australian Indigenous Studies subjects to total 37.5 points (3 subjects).

Level 3 (37.5 points)

• Compulsory capstone subject Critical Debates in Indigenous Studies (12.5 points)
• The remaining 25 points must be selected from the list of level 3 recommended or optional Australian Indigenous Studies subjects (2 subjects)

Total 100 points

Minor

A minor in Australian Indigenous Studies comprises six 12.5-point subjects, totalling 75 points:

Level 1 (25 points)

• MULT10001 Aboriginalities (counted towards Arts Foundation Subject)
• Any level 1 discipline-based arts subject

Level 2/3 (50 points)

• 25 points from the list of recommended subjects (2 subjects)
• The remaining 25 points may be selected from the list of level 3 recommended or optional Australian Indigenous Studies subjects (2 subjects).

Total 75 points

Australian Indigenous Studies

Level 1 subject:

Students completing a major or minor must undertake the following subject and any level 1 discipline-based Arts subject.

Level 2 recommended subjects

Level 3 recommended subjects

Level 2 and 3 optional subjects

Students can only take a maximum of 2 optional subjects (25 points) if completing a major or minor.

Level 3 Capstone subject

This level three capstone is compulsory for students completing a major in Australian Indigenous Studies.