HAB204/304 Cape Barren Island 1850-1950
This unit is concerned with the history of the Aboriginal Islander peoples on several Bass Strait islands, especially Cape Barren Island. The unit overviews the economic, social and political experience of the Aboriginal Islanders during the period. The unit explores attempts by governments and their agents to control the Islanders' lifestyle, it traces the evolution of Islander activism and historical demands for land rights, it considers relations between European missionaries and the Islanders, and it examines the usefulness of an eco-feminist analysis of British colonialism.
Semester 1
This unit can be included in a History major.
HAB241/341 Indigenous Identity & Place
This unit will offer a comparative investigation into Indigenous concepts of identity and relationships to land. Four peoples to be studied will be drawn from Australian Aborigines; First Nations of North America; the Saami people of the Arctic; and the Karen people of Southeast Asia. This selection spans major racial groups and a diverse range of antiquity in order to compare and contrast the manner in which Indigenes have struggled to maintain their concepts of place and identity in the face of burgeoning post-modernism. Indigenous relationships to the land, with a particular emphasis on politico-legal factors and responses to environmental change and economic development, are also considered.
Semester 1
This unit can be included in a Sociology major
HAB252/352 Indigenous Life Histories
This unit pursues two related streams: an historical evidence stream, in which the focus is on historical and thematic analysis of selected twentieth century personal and community histories, mostly text based but some film too, produced by Aboriginal writers; and an issues stream, in which several issues related to the production of Aboriginal history will be examined. The selected texts focus on Western Australia and New South Wales and will involve comparison and contrast of male and female Aboriginal experience. The unit themes include living on the fringe, living place, growing up, gender, identity, and family and community.
Semester 1
HAB253/353 Dynamics of Indigenous Cultures
This unit provides an ethno-linguistic focus on the cultures of four contemporary Indigenous peoples: the Cree, Saami, Tiwi and Karen. This selection spans major racial groups and a diverse range of antiquity in order to examine origins and to compare and contrast the manner in which each group has experienced modernisation.
Semester 1
This unit may be used in a Sociology major or as an elective in Natural Environment and Wilderness Area Management.
HAB254/354 History of the Indigenous Peoples of North America
Semester 1
This unit is cross-listed from the History major and can be taken as part of the Aboriginal Studies major. See the School of History and Classics for further details.
HAB255/355 Indigenous Tasmania to 1803
This unit covers the period from the earliest times of Indigenous occupation of Tasmania until the British invasion in 1803. Issues considered include: the history of Aboriginal interactions with nature; the debate about the cultural status of Aboriginal society during the 10,000 year, post-ice age period of geographic isolation; British ideologies about colonisation and race; and relations between Aborigines and pre-invasion European sailors.
Semester 1
HAB 206/306 Contemporary Indigenous Tasmania
This unit explores Tasmanian Aboriginal identity, activism, and socio-economic experience since the 1970s. The influence of Indigenous activism in other Australian states and elsewhere in the world is explored; and the unit makes extensive use of materials generated by Tasmanian Aborigines, including visiting lecturers.
Semester 2
This unit can be included in a Sociology major.
HAB208/308 Indigenous Justice Issues
The major aim of this unit is to engage students in a detailed study of Indigenous experience of Australian legal and justice systems, and of the historical interaction between Indigenous and Australian law. Contexts in which these themes are explored include the criminal justice system, Indigenous dispute settlement, child welfare and the stolen generations, land rights and native title, and Indigenous ownership of intellectual and cultural property. Where appropriate, comparisons will be drawn with the experience of Indigenous people in other places.
Semester 2
HAB232/332 Aboriginal Women
This unit aims to provide students with an understanding of the roles, functions and status of women in past and present Aboriginal societies from Aboriginal women's perspectives. Particular areas of study incorporate feminism and racism, gender politics, Aboriginal women and power, and Aboriginal women and social issues.
Semester 2
May be used in a Womens' Studies major.
HAB240/340 Aboriginal Arts
This unit provides a comprehensive exploration of Aboriginal art forms. Students develop an understanding and appreciation of Aboriginal creative expression. They learn of the significance of Aboriginal visual and aural expression to 'traditional' and contemporary Aboriginal cultures and identity. This includes learning about the 'traditional' and contemporary roles and functions of this expression. Apparent changes in Aboriginal creative expression are also examined, including those brought about by the influence of market forces. These are considered in the context of how any such changes have affected the meaning, purpose and significance of artistic forms to Aboriginal peoples and their cultures. The unit closely examines key issues relating to the production and marketing of Aboriginal art forms, including the issues of copyright, reproduction, appropriation, and the postmodern and Post Conceptualist's practice of 'quotation' and 'translation'.
Semester 2
The unit may be taken as an elective.
HAB256/356 Indigenous Tasmania and Colonial Dispossession This unit examines Aboriginal experience from the time of the British invasion until the 1870s. Issues explored include the British invasion of Aboriginal Tasmania; Aboriginal responses to British occupation, especially the nature of Aboriginal resistance; changing historical interpretations of the Black War; the role of G.A. Robinson and the conciliation process in the Aboriginal dispossession; and portrayals of Aborigines encountered by the colonists. The unit is based in the discipline of history, and so particular emphasis is given to the practice of historical research and writing.
Semester 2
Special Project
HAB201/301 Aboriginal Studies Special Project AHAB202/302 Aboriginal Studies Special Project B
The Aboriginal Studies Special Project units can be taken only with the approval of the Director. Approved students can enrol in both units to form a 25% unit. Each unit consists of a research project involving structured reading and writing on a topic agreed between the individual student and a supervisor.
Semester 1&2
Unit information for Aboriginal Arts
Unit information for Identity and Place
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