This unit provides a detailed introduction to contemporary Aboriginal socio-economic experience on mainland Australia during the final decades of the twentieth century. Issues addressed include the extent of Aboriginal disadvantage; the experience of racism; some key aspects of contemporary Aboriginal cultures; the policy of self-determination; child welfare issues, including the experience of the stolen generations; and health and education issues. The unit highlights both Aboriginal disadvantage and Aboriginal achievement.

HAB103 Indigenous Australia to the 1950s

Teaching pattern: Semester 2

This unit offers a general survey of Indigenous history, society and culture from the earliest times until the 1950s. The unit is divided into two sections. The first section provides an introduction to Aboriginal societies before the British invasion. Archaeological methods and anthropological sources are employed to make a study of indigenous cultures, mores economies and technologies. The second section examines the dispossession of the Aboriginal peoples from 1788 until the 1950s. Topics include Aboriginal-explorer relations, colonial violence, Aboriginal resistance, and government policies including segregation and protection.