Year No. Offer Mode Description Cred. Pts 98 80146 S1 D AUST INDIGENOUS STUDIES 1.00
Education involves, in part, the transmission of the culture of a society. Australian society is fortunate in that it supports a variety of cultural groups, each with its own system of beliefs, ways of doing things and ways of communicating. (Department of Education, Queensland, 1:94) Furthermore, Australia has two cultural groups which can claim Indigenous status - the Australian Aboriginal and Australian Torres Strait Islander peoples. In order that all Australians receive a balanced education, the curriculum for all Australian schools should reflect, therefore, the existence of many cultures and societies living together on this continent. All teachers need to have an understanding and appreciation of the diversity of cultures within Australia and how they interact. A study of Australian Indigenous cultures and societies, because of their uniqueness and complexity, provides an avenue for the development and consolidation of an understanding and appreciation of all peoples, their cultures and societies. It is through a study of Australian Indigenous cultures and societies that attitudes can be challenged and a foundation set to address issues of cultural arrogance (i.e., belief in the superiority of ones own culture), ethnocentrism and ignorance facilitating progression towards mutual understanding and respect for each others' culture and society. The unit is built around themes with a central core running throughout them. The central core is the presentation of knowledge and experiences through Australian Indigenous perspectives and viewpoints. In so doing concepts may be presented in a manner that differs from the learner's understanding. You may consequently conclude that the viewpoints expressed are political and are designed to cast blame on the learner as the oppressor. However the aim of presenting an Indigenous Australian perspective is to correct the imbalance in knowledge and understanding of Australia's history which has predominated since invasion. In the first half of the unit, consideration is given to the concepts of culture, society and group and individual identity. An Australian Indigenous perspective on issues created by ignorance and misunderstandings about the sociological, technological and ideological aspects as they relate to Indigenous cultures of the world, especially Australia, is presented. The rights of people from Indigenous cultures internationally, are also explored. Without a knowledge of the past one cannot appreciate the present or predict the future. The second half of the unit investigates particular aspects of Australian Indigenous cultures including, kinship, languages, land affiliation, occupation and the Native Title debate. Government policies and projections for the future will also be presented. The third context will be an educational one presented during tutorials. Each tutorial session will consider the implication of a study of Australian Indigenous peoples for the classroom teacher. Tutorial activities will be undertaken to assist in making the unit as pragmatic as possible. The Queensland Department of Education in 1996, trialed the P - 12 Guidelines for Teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies and a Board subject entitled Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander studies, in Year 11 and 12. With the emphasis currently placed on having an understanding and appreciation of Australian Indigenous studies, comes the need for teachers to be skilled and to have an understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and societies and ways of introducing them in the classroom.
The content and structure of this unit is such that it is more than an historical/anthropological account of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia. The content of the unit will emphasise the need for teachers to adopt an educational stance which reflects a sound theoretical and philosophical understanding in the area of cultural education and difference in pedagogy and learning. The unit seeks to confront the stereotypes that have been constructed around Australia's indigenous populations, and to reconstruct those images on a basis of knowledge and understanding of, and empathy towards, those people who are the original inhabitants of this country. Throughout the unit, four major constructs will be explored. 1. Contested views of contemporary Australian Indigenous cultures, societies and identity; 2. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social and political structures; 3. Policies and practices in relation to education and schooling for Aborigines and Torres Strait Islander peoples; 4. Racism as a construct in policy and curriculum development.
On successful completion of this unit students will be able
to:
Description Weighting(%)
- Introduction 13.00
- Society, culture and identity 14.00
- Impact of colonisation, cultural understanding and 13.00 misunderstanding of Australian Indigenous cultures and society.
- World Indigenous societies and cultures 13.00
- Australian Indigenous cultures. Australian Aborigines and 13.00 Australian Torres Strait Islanders
- Kinship and social organisation 13.00
- The occupation of Australia 13.00
- Terra Nullius and Native Title 13.00
- Australian Indigenous languages and forms of 13.00 communication
- Indigenous Australians and the law 13.00
- Education for Australian Indigenous peoples 13.00
- Government policies and practices 13.00
- Reconciliation: A New Partnership. 13.00
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ACTIVITY HOURS Lectures 28 Tutorials/Workshops 14 Field Trips 40 Private Study 85
No *F/S Marks Due Description Wtg(%) LBL WWW 1 S WK 4 PROJECT PROPOSAL 10.00 N N 2 S WK 12 PROJECT 50.00 N N 3 S END S1 EXAMINATION TAKE HOME 2 HOURS 40.00 N N
1 Penalties will apply as per the University regulations.
2 Attendances at tutorials will be recorded and this will be taken
into consideration in the awarding of IM's.
3 All items of assessment must be passed for a student to be
awarded a passing grade or better for this unit.