John Hobson - Lecturer

John joined the staff of the Koori Centre in 1995 as the coordinator of student support services after spending 10 years working with Aboriginal languages in Central Australia. During that time he held a range of positions including linguist at the Institute for Aboriginal Development, linguist/literature production coordinator for Yipirinya School and coordinator of the Centre for Australian Languages and Linguistics of Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education in Alice Springs.

Since 2002 he has been a lecturer for the Koori Centre teaching in a broad range of courses including the Diploma and Bachelor of Education (Aboriginal), the Bachelor of Education and the Bachelor of Arts. John’s teaching subjects include Indigenous Australian studies, languages and linguistics, academic literacies, computer-based presentation skills and research skills. In 2006 he established the Master of Indigenous Languages Education program, which he now coordinates.

John’s principal expertise is in Aboriginal languages and linguistics, particularly the languages of Central Australia, including analysis of language use, Aboriginal English, and dialect distribution and variation. He speaks Luritja and Arrernte and has spent many years directly supporting community education and publication in these and other languages, as well as developing the first computer-based interactive dictionary in an Aboriginal language. John has mapped the contemporary distribution of Aboriginal dialects in Central Australia and has published on its languages and tourism geography. Over recent years he has co-authored two units of study in the Gamilaraay language of northwest NSW for delivery in the University’s Bachelor of Arts program.

John has a special interest in the application of computer-mediated communication in Aboriginal education. He has researched the representation of Indigenous Australians on the internet and provided technical support to numerous community groups in developing their own internet presence. John was instrumental in establishing the KooriNet site and now provides editorial services and technical support to the IndigOz Indigenous Australian internet portal.

His research and community development experience includes literature production in on-campus and remote community situations; training and support for Aboriginal language teachers, interpreters and translators, and the publication of literature in Aboriginal languages. He has presented at conferences and international symposia in these areas and has had extensive experience across Australia in liaison with government, community organisations, schools, and community education centres. He has substantial experience in administrative and financial management gained in government, community and private sector organisations having been the founding president of the AIDS Council of Central Australia and, for a brief period, executive officer of the NT AIDS Council.

In recent years John has established the Queers of the Desert website, a community-based project to record the gay and lesbian history of Central Australia online which has been supported by a small grant from the NT Archives Service.

John holds a first class Honours degree from Macquarie University and a Diploma of Education in Adult Education from the Northern Territory University. He is currently on leave from a Doctor of Education program at Sydney examining computer-mediated communication in Indigenous education.

Key Publications

• Hobson, J. & B. Laurie. (2009). An Australian trial of the Master-Apprentice method. Paper presented at the 1st International Conference on Language Documentation and Conservation (ICLDC): Supporting Small Language Together. University of Hawai’i at Manoa, March 12-14, 2009. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/10125/4985
• Hobson, J. (2008). Training Teachers for Indigenous Languages Education: What’s Happening Overseas? In R. Amery & J. Nash (Eds.) Warra wiltaniappendi Strengthening languages: Proceedings of the inaugural Indigenous languages conference (ILC) 2007, University of Adelaide, South Australia, 25-27 September 2007. Adelaide: University of Adelaide, 97-105. Available from: http://www.geocities.com/john.hobson58/HobsonILC2007.pdf
• Hobson, J. (2008). Towards a Model for Training Indigenous Languages Educators in Australia. Koori Centre Lecture, 11th April 2008, University of Sydney. Available from http://hdl.handle.net/2123/2323
• Hobson, J. (2007). [Review] Information technology & indigenous people. Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 36, 117-8. Available from: http://www.geocities.com/john.hobson58/HobsonAJIEReview.pdf
• Hobson J. (2006). Who will teach our languages? In N. Parbury & R. Craven (Eds.), Aboriginal studies: Making the connections. Collected Papers of the 12th national ASA conference, Bankstown, 2-3 November 2006. Sydney: Aboriginal Studies Association, 166-174. Available from: http://www.geocities.com/john.hobson58/HobsonASA2006.pdf
• Hobson, J. (Ed.) (2004 [ongoing]). [website] Queers of the Desert: The Central Australian gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex community history project. Available from: http://www.geocities.com/queersofthedesert/
• Hobson, J. (2004). Learning to speak again: Towards the provision of appropriate training for the revitalisation of Indigenous Australian languages in New South Wales. In J.A. Argenter, & R. McKenna Brown (Eds.), On the margins of nations: Endangered languages and linguistic rights. Proceedings of the eighth FEL conference, Barcelona, 1-3 October 2004. Bath, UK: Foundation for Endangered Languages, 53-57. Available from: http://www.geocities.com/john.hobson58/FELarticleHobson.pdf
• Hobson, J. (Ed.) (2002 [ongoing]). [website] IndigOz Web Directory, Available from: http://www.indigoz.com.au/catlib.html
• Hobson, J. (2001) Growing the Indigenous Australian Internet, InCite: News magazine of the Australian Library & Information Association, 22, June. Available from: http://alia.org.au/publishing/incite/2001/06/koorinet.html
• Hobson, J. (1997b) Where are all the Aboriginal Home Pages? The Current Indigenous Australian Presence on the WWW. Paper presented at the Fifth International Literacy and Education Research Network Conference, 1-4 October 1997, Alice Springs. Available from: http://www.indigoz.com.au/lern/
• Hobson, J (1997a) Strategies for Building an Indigenous Australian Cybercommunity. Paper presented at the 1997 Fulbright Symposium: Indigenous Cultures in an Interconnected World, July 24-27, Darwin. Available from: http://www.indigoz.com.au/fulbright.html
• Hobson, J.R. (1990), The current distribution of Central Australian languages. (1990 revision). Map and accompanying notes. Institute for Aboriginal Development, Alice Springs, NT.

Contact Details

Phone: (02) 9351 6994
Toll Free: 1800 622 742
Fax: (02) 9351 6924
Location: Room 214 Old Teachers College
Email: john@koori.usyd.edu.au