Dr Jesse Hodgetts
Senior Lecturer - Global Indigenous Studies
Indigenous Education and Research
Career Summary
Biography
I am a Wangaaypuwan Ngiyampaa and Wiradjuri man. My ancestral Country is amongst the Bunggan (Bogan) and Wambuul (Macquarie) rivers of Central and Western NSW and I was born on Darkinyung Country on the Central Coast, NSW.
My research focuses on First Nations Cultural revitalisation and the continuation of our Knowledge Systems and ways of being in today's world, particularly through the practice of Songlines, Language, and Kinship. I have recently completed my PhD titled “Guthi Girrmara (Old Songs Waking Up): Reawakening Archived Wangaaypuwan and Wiradjuri songs to inform our Culture, Language and Identity”. I am a singer of Ngiyampaa and Wiradjuri Songs, have been taught by my Elders, my Kin, my Country and learned through the voices of our old people archived in song recordings that were not passed on.
I am also a singer and guitarist, performing and composing contemporary songs in professional settings as well as singing traditional cultural songs for Country and Community.
As a trained secondary teacher, I have taught for a number of years in Secondary and Juvenile Justice schools as well as teaching in Aboriginal communities, running song, language and cultural camps, sharing the songs and dances passed onto me to the next generation of our youth.
As an experienced educator, singer, musician, and cultural practitioner, I carry these skills and experiences into academia to share our Cultural ways of being with non-Indigenous scholars and teachers, as well as repatriate Indigenous Knowledges to our Communities to support Cultural revitalisation and continuation today.
Qualifications
- Aboriginal Sudies, University of Newcastle
- Master of Teaching, University of Newcastle
Keywords
- Aboriginal Education
- Aboriginal Language
- Aboriginal Song
- Aboriginal Studies
- Indigenous Knowledge
Fields of Research
| Code | Description | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 450111 | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander music and performing arts | 50 |
| 450108 | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander linguistics and languages | 30 |
| 450213 | Embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledges, histories, culture, country, perspectives and ethics in education | 20 |
Professional Experience
UON Appointment
| Title | Organisation / Department |
|---|---|
| Senior Lecturer - Global Indigenous Studies | University of Newcastle Indigenous Education and Research Australia |
Awards
Prize
| Year | Award |
|---|---|
| 2021 |
3rd Place 3MT Competition University of Newcastle |
| 2019 |
2019 Musicology Society Indigenous Postgraduate Prize Musicology Australia (MA) |
Teaching
| Code | Course | Role | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| ABOR6001 |
Aboriginal Ways of Knowing, Being and Doing The Wollotuka Institute, University of Newcastle Explores Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledges and practices of from pre-colonial history to contemporary Australia and how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities have survived and continue to live today. |
Course Coordinator | 1/1/2025 - 31/12/2025 |
| ABOR3500 |
Aboriginal Education Policies and Issues The Wollotuka Institute, University of Newcastle This course is primarily designed for students wishing to undertake a teaching career. The course addresses Aboriginal education and social policies that have impacted on Aboriginal communities, particularly in NSW; cultural differences and related pedagogy; teaching strategies, including anti racism strategies; and the inclusion of the Aboriginal community in the delivery of knowledge within the schooling system. |
Course Coordinator | 1/7/2019 - 29/11/2024 |
| ABOR3500 |
Aboriginal Education Policies and Issues the Wollotuka institute This course is primarily designed for students wishing to undertake a teaching career. The course addresses Aboriginal education and social policies that have impacted on Aboriginal communities, particularly in NSW; cultural differences and related pedagogues; teaching strategies, including anti racism strategies; and the inclusion of the Aboriginal community in the delivery of knowledge within the schooling system. |
Lecturer | 25/2/2019 - 3/6/2019 |
| ABOR3251 |
International Indigenous Comparative Studies The Wollotuka Institute, University of Newcastle Allows students to explore an Indigenous culture outside Australia. Through comparative analysis students will examine distinctions and similarities between Indigenous people and communities throughout the world. Gives students the opportunity to develop a greater understanding of Aboriginal, Native American and other Indigenous cultures and history in both the traditional and contemporary setting. The course promotes and extends the understanding of knowledge of Aboriginal, and other Indigenous peoples experience. Students will utilise the growing network of Indigenous internet communities and sites. This will enable students to have access to documentation with the peoples of other Indigenous cultures. |
Course Coordinator | 24/2/2025 - 31/12/2025 |
| ABOR2022 |
Aboriginal Cultural Immersion The Wollotuka Institute, University of Newcastle This course provides an immersive cultural experience where students are welcomed into Aboriginal spaces to engage with cultural knowledge on our terms. Through direct participation in a range of practices such as storytelling, art, weaving, dance, food, language, and music, students will gain a deeper understanding of Aboriginal ways of knowing and being. This applied program emphasises learning through engagement with Aboriginal practitioners from local communities, ensuring the experience is grounded in respect for Aboriginal sovereignty and perspectives. |
Lecturer | 27/2/2023 - 29/11/2024 |
| ABOR2330 |
Aboriginal Knowledges and Practices the Wollotuka institute Explores Aboriginal knowledges from pre-colonial history to contemporary Australia, through such areas as Country, kinship, law, lore, governance, education, economic systems, environmental sustainability, skills and living practices. |
Lecturer | 24/2/2025 - 31/12/2025 |
Publications
For publications that are currently unpublished or in-press, details are shown in italics.
Chapter (2 outputs)
| Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Gordon P, Hodgetts J, 'Ngurrampaa, Dhiirrbalthii Country, My Teacher.', Indigenous Knowledge: Australian Perspectives, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, VIC 115-123 (2024) [B1] | Open Research Newcastle | |
| 2024 | Hodgetts J, Callaghan P, 'Spaces of Australian Indigenous Song and Dance', Routledge Handbook on Spaces of Mental Health and Wellbeing., Routledge, London (2024) |
Conference (8 outputs)
| Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Hodgetts J, Kitchener-Waters J, 'Reconnecting to our old songs to reclaim Language and Culture Wangaaypuwan, Gomeroi', Macquarie University (2023) | ||
| 2023 | Hodgetts J, Kelly R, 'What Do My Country's Songs Sound Like? A Method to Revitalising Aboriginal Songs in New South Wales', The University of Melbourne (2023) | ||
| 2022 | Hodgetts J, 'Engineering and aquaculture in Indigenous knowledge practice', The University of Melbourne (2022) | ||
| Show 5 more conferences | |||
Creative Work (1 outputs)
| Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 |
Brooker C, Price L, Hope-Hodgetts J, Kelly R, Harkins J, 'Kala-Mani (Making Colour)' (2022)
|
Journal article (4 outputs)
| Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 |
Hodgetts J, 'A Review of Indigenous Song Publications to Guide and Think About Language and Song Revitalization in New South Wales', Musicology Australia, 47, 90-102 (2025) [C1]
This article reviews three books on Indigenous musicology from the perspective of a Mayi, Indigenous person from Central New South Wales, Australia. Through the author&... [more] This article reviews three books on Indigenous musicology from the perspective of a Mayi, Indigenous person from Central New South Wales, Australia. Through the author's position as a Ngiyampaa Songman, the article reviews the books' content on Song and Culture from various Indigenous Country and Communities, and compares this content to the author's own knowledge of Song and Culture from his Country and Community, referring to topics of Song and Language reclamation and revitalization.
|
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| 2024 |
Hodgetts J, 'Ngiyampaa ngiya guthigu ngiyali (Ngiyampaa Words for Talking About Songs): Creating Mayi (Aboriginal) Language for Musicology in a Language Revitalization Context', Musicology Australia, 46 47-66 (2024) [C1]
Mayi (Aboriginal) songs of central-western New South Wales hold power from Country and are connected to a line of Ancestors that can be felt when listened to. However, ... [more] Mayi (Aboriginal) songs of central-western New South Wales hold power from Country and are connected to a line of Ancestors that can be felt when listened to. However, Aboriginal songs of Australia are often analysed through Western musicology and Western musical notation systems, which may not be appropriate to the contexts for Mayi Language, Country, and Culture in which the songs originate. Mayi in New South Wales are revitalizing their Languages after surviving cultural and Language genocide. In this situation, how can Mayi analyse songs within our own cultural understanding and our own Language while relearning and revitalizing our Language? How can analysing our songs support this Language revitalization? As a Mayi singer researching historical singers and speakers of Ngiyampaa and neighbouring Languages, I suggest a more suitable form of notating and analysing songs to represent them in their cultural context and attempt to revitalize specialist Mayi musicology terms and Language for discussing and passing on Mayi songs.
|
Open Research Newcastle | ||||||
| 2020 |
Hodgetts J, '
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Open Research Newcastle | ||||||
| Show 1 more journal article | ||||||||
Presentation (1 outputs)
| Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Hodgetts J, 'Guthi Mali To Make a Song', (2022) |
Thesis / Dissertation (1 outputs)
| Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Hodgetts J, Guthi Girrmara 'Stirring Up Songs' Reawakening Archived Wangaaypuwan and Wiradjuri songs to inform our Culture, Language and Identity, The University of Newcastle (2023) |
Research Supervision
Number of supervisions
Current Supervision
| Commenced | Level of Study | Research Title | Program | Supervisor Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | PhD | From Songlines to Spotify: The Polyphonic Story of Aboriginal Music and Song in the Twenty-First Century | PhD (Music), College of Human and Social Futures, The University of Newcastle | Co-Supervisor |
| 2025 | PhD | Speak This Country: The Connection Between the Revitalisation of Aboriginal Languages and Traditional Land and Sea Management Practices in New South Wales. | PhD (Aboriginal Studies), The Wollotuka Institute, The University of Newcastle | Principal Supervisor |
| 2025 | PhD | Cultural Awareness by Stealth: Gamifying Cultural Education | PhD (Aboriginal Studies), The Wollotuka Institute, The University of Newcastle | Co-Supervisor |
| 2022 | PhD | Challenges Of Aboriginal Language Teaching And Learning On The East Coast Of NSW | PhD (Aboriginal Studies), The Wollotuka Institute, The University of Newcastle | Co-Supervisor |
| 2018 | PhD | Indigenous Art and Wellbeing: How visual storytelling impacts spiritual and emotional wellbeing in urban First Nations communities | PhD (Sociology & Anthropology), College of Human and Social Futures, The University of Newcastle | Co-Supervisor |
Past Supervision
| Year | Level of Study | Research Title | Program | Supervisor Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Honours | What are key determinants of continued study for students in the Wollotuka Men’s Group? | Education, the Wollotuka institute | Principal Supervisor |
Dr Jesse Hodgetts
Position
Senior Lecturer - Global Indigenous Studies
Indigenous Education and Research
Engagement and Equity Division
Contact Details
| jesse.hodgetts@newcastle.edu.au |