Land, people and power: contemporary Australian history
6 points * 2 lectures and 1 tutorial per week * Second semester * Clayton
A study of the historical background of selected issues in present-day Australian society. The subject is constructed around three interrelated themes. `Land' examines the changing relationship between people and the Australian environment and considers such issues as Aboriginal and European attitudes towards the natural world; the uses of land, rivers and forests; the history of energy, technology and pollution; and the historical roots of the conservation movement. `People' focuses on the historical debate about the peopling of the continent and considers such questions as the desirable size of the Australian population; whether we must `populate or perish'; and debates about the ethnic composition of the immigration intake and its economic value. `Nation' poses the question of Australia's national identity in its local and global contexts. What does it mean to be an Australian? What forces promoted Australia's development into a federated nation-state? How has the sense of Australian identity been shaped by relations with Britain, the USA, Japan and Southeast Asia? Should Australia become a republic?
Assessment
Written (3500 words): 75% * Examination (1 hour): 25%
Recommended texts
Bolton G Spoils and spoilers Allen and Unwin, 1981
Dingle T The Victorians: Settling Fairfax, Syme and Weldon, 1985
Rickard J Australia: A cultural history Longman, 1988
White R Inventing Australia Allen and Unwin, 1982