Indigenous Australian Studies aim to provide students with a greater awareness and understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and perspectives.
18 junior credit points are required to enrol in: Introduction to Indigenous Australia (KOCR 2600). This unit of study is also a prerequisite for most other KOCR units of study. Please see unit of study details for prerequisite and corequisite details.
For an Indigenous Australian Studies major, students must complete 36 credit points of Indigenous Australian Studies. This can include up to 18 credit points of cross-listed units of study.
Indigenous Australian Elders, community members, and state and federal government representatives are invited to speak on particular themes through a guest lecture program in each of the units of study below.
Excursions to Indigenous Australian organisations and communities are also incorporated into study programs. These allow Indigenous and non-Indigenous students to understand the realities of lived experiences and their implications for the broader issues of race relations in this country.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff ensure that Koori Centre courses contain culturally appropriate curriculum.
As of 2008 the Koori Centre will be offering most of the Indigenous Australian Studies major units of study in alternating years. The pre-requisite unit of study, KOCR2600 Introduction to Indigenous Australia, will be offered in both semesters but other units may only be offered in alternative years. (Please see below for details).
SEMESTER TWO 2009
Prerequisite: 18 junior credit points
This unit of study explores the historical, social and political contexts of the survival and growth of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and philosophies. The unit is structured around the themes of representation and identities; the colonisation of land and people; and resistance and agency. It will provide students with an introduction to Indigenous philosophies and theories by examining “contact history” and resistance within a critical framework.
In the second half of the 20th Century Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples began to culturally and politically recover from the effects of colonisation and assimilation. Having had fundamental human rights severely limited by state and federal legislation, and having experienced years of disempowerment, dislocation and social disruption, Indigenous peoples have sought to reclaim independent social and political power. This unit of study explores national and international developments in this history, addressing issues of political and social representation, and examining contemporary analyses of Indigenous rights to self-determination in legal, political and community spheres.
Prerequisite: 18 junior credit points
The concept of 'traditional' versus 'contemporary' is very much at the forefront of defining meanings for art works created by Indigenous artists. Typically works created by Indigenous artists are delegated to either one of these categories. This unit will examine the theoretical frameworks which position Indigenous artists, through the study of Indigenous artistic expression across a range of genres. It will provide students with the opportunity to engage with Indigenous artists on a formal and informal basis and to discuss complex issues pertaining to Indigenous works, in performance, literature (writing), music, dance and film.
Torres Strait Islanders are often talked about as Australia’s other indigenous minority and many Australians know little about the region and its people. This Unit of Study will introduce students to Torres Strait societies through the themes of governance, migration and resource management. Students will learn about the diversity within Torres Strait communities and how Torres Strait Islander experiences of colonisation and responses to colonisation were and are as complex as those of Aboriginal people.
SEMESTER ONE 2010
This unit of study explores the historical, social and political contexts of the survival and growth of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and philosophies. The unit is structured around the themes of representation and identities; the colonisation of land and people; and resistance and agency. It will provide students with an introduction to Indigenous philosophies and theories by examining “contact history” and resistance within a critical framework.
Gamilaraay is an Indigenous Australian language from the mid northwest of NSW that is currently undergoing revitalisation. This Unit of Study will provide students with a basic competence in speaking, understanding, reading and writing Gamilaraay sufficient to recognise and construct simple utterances in the language, and to understand its relationships with other languages. Classes will take the form of three hour intensive oral workshops which progressively develop each student's abilities in the language. Assessment will be by short written assignments based on lesson content and an appraisal of individual oral/aural performance together with a short essay on Gamilaraay culture or a related topic.
Co-requisite : KOCR 2600
Indigenous identity has been coupled with the colour of the body. In this unit students explore the multi layered facets of identity that are held in and on the Indigenous body. Indigenous perspectives on identity and non-Indigenous writings on the subject will be examined, as will, the Indigenous body and its representation both historically and contemporarily. The imposition of identity on the Indigenous body and current theories on Indigenous identity will be critiqued.
Prerequisite: 18 junior credit points
The concept of 'traditional' versus 'contemporary' is very much at the forefront of defining meanings for art works created by Indigenous artists. Typically works created by Indigenous artists are delegated to either one of these categories. This unit will examine the theoretical frameworks which position Indigenous artists, through the study of Indigenous artistic expression across a range of genres. It will provide students with the opportunity to engage with Indigenous artists on a formal and informal basis and to discuss complex issues pertaining to Indigenous works, in performance, literature (writing), music, dance and film.
For further information regarding Indigenous Australian Studies and other courses offered by the Koori Centre, please visit our Online Handbook
Noeleen Smith
Phone: (02) 9351 6113
Toll Free: 1800 622 742
Fax: (02) 9351 6924
Email: nsmith@koori.usyd.edu.au
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