HIST3620

Maps & Dreams: Aboriginal-Colonial Relationships in Australian History

20 Units 3000 Level Course

Available in 2014

Callaghan Campus Semester 2

Previously offered in 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2008, 2007

The focus of this topic is on encounters and interactions between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. Key aspects for this discussion are the intersections between gender and class, and such interactions; questions of degrees of agency and power; and an ongoing examination of the tensions between pressures keeping Indigenous and non-Indigenous people separate from each other and those that have brought them together.

Objectives Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. demonstrate an understanding and knowledge of relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Australian history;
2. demonstrate an understanding and knowledge of the major themes and issues in Australian race relations history;
3. demonstrate an awareness of the forces shaping our perception of the Australian past with regard to relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, and how this history is used in the present, by recognising and critically evaluating the various arguments;
Content Topics covered are, broadly, encounters between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Australian history, including between:
- Macassans and Aboriginal people in northern Australia;
- British convicts and Aboriginal people in NSW and Qld;
- British pastoralists and Aboriginal people;
- Chinese and Aboriginal people;
- Afghans and Aboriginal people
- Japanese and Aboriginal people;
- missionaries (German, Anglo-Australian) and Aboriginal people;
- state/federal governments and Aboriginal people;
- labour movement and Aboriginal people;
- feminist movement and Aboriginal people.
This course draws upon postcolonial theoretical constructs about cross-cultural colonialist relationships, gender and class, and the representations of such relationships in popular culture; and utilizes a wide range of source material, including artwork and performance, as well as written sources.
Wherever possible, guest lecturers from a variety of backgrounds - both Indigenous and non-Indigenous - will provide students with an insight into the range and diversity of experiences and histories embedded in the colonial encounter.
Replacing Course(s) Not applicable.
Transition NA
Industrial Experience 0
Assumed Knowledge 20 units of HIST or ABOR courses at 1000 level.
Modes of Delivery Internal Mode
Teaching Methods Lecture
Tutorial
Assessment Items
Examination: Class Class test, worth 15%
Essays / Written Assignments 4000 word assignment, worth 35%

2000 word assignment, worth 30%
Group/tutorial participation and contribution Class participation demonstrating preparation and involvement, worth 20%
Contact Hours Lecture: for 2 hour(s) per Week for Full Term
Tutorial: for 2 hour(s) per Week for Full Term
Timetables 2014 Course Timetables for HIST3620