AJL28084 Indigenous Australia

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2024
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 6 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Taught in person.
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Martina Horáková, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Martina Horáková, Ph.D.
Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Tomáš Hanzálek
Supplier department: Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 20 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/20, only registered: 0/20
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 18 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
This course explores various issues that Indigenous peoples in Australia have grappled with since colonial times. They include complex socio-historical and cultural encounters with settler populations, the history of (mis)representations in public and artistic discourses, the struggle for equality and recognition, the contemporary position of Aboriginal communities in Australia, land claims, urbanization, and cultural production. To analyze some of the most contested debates, examples from literature, film, historiography, journalism and social documents will be used to illustrate the complexity of representations of Indigenous Australians. Students will be required to read assigned texts and watch the films, give presentations, participate in class discussions, write regular response papers during the course and a final essay, incorporating critical analyses and theoretical vocabulary into their work.
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course, students will be able to:
gain deeper knowledge of the position of Indigenous peoples in Australia;
appreciate the diversity of various Indigenous groups and communities;
have a better understanding of the history of Aboriginal-settler relationships;
be able to interpret various kind of textual/visual representations of Indigenous peoples in literature and film.
Syllabus
  • Week 1: Introduction to the course, assignments and policies
  • Week 2: First Encounters (documentary First Australians, Bennelong's Letter)
  • Week 3: Representation, Authenticity, Collaboration (film Ten Canoes)
  • Week 4: Life Writing and Stolen Generations (novel Sally Morgan, My Place)
  • Week 5: Land Ownership and Indigenous Claims (film One night the Moon)
  • Week 6: Singing the Country (novel Kim Scott True Country)
  • Week 7: Australian Sport and Racism (documentary Australian Dream)
  • Week 8: Indigenous Arts and Aesthetics
  • Week 9: reaing week, no class
  • Week 10: Indigenous Humour, Gender and Race (novel Vivienne Cleven, Bitin’ Back)
  • Week 11: Assimilation Policies, Value of Cultural Difference (Visit to the Roma Museum in Brno)
  • Week 12: guest lecture, TBA
  • Week 13: conlcusion, student presentations/projects
Literature
  • Bourke, Colin, et al., eds. Aboriginal Australia. St. Lucia: U of Queensland P, 2nd ed. 1998.
  • Australian Humanities Review (www.australianhumanitiesreview.org)
  • First Australians – SBS television documentary, http://www.sbs.com.au/firstaustralians/
Teaching methods
Methodology:
mini-lectures, class and group discussions, text/film analyses, student presentations;
Assessment methods
Assesment: class discussions, presentations, response papers, final essay.
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: every week.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2020, Autumn 2023.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2024, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/autumn2024/AJL28084