Australian Indigenous studies
http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/schools/cais/
Room 219B, level 2, Monash University Museum of Arts (building 55), Clayton campus
Clayton: (03) 9905 4200
The Centre for Australian Indigenous Studies (CAIS) offers units that aim to
encourage students to understand the past and contemporary experiences of
Australian Indigenous peoples. Students will acquire a general knowledge of
many different aspects of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and of
how these cultures have undergone change and adaptation. Such understanding
will require students to construct critical arguments and analyse topics
studied in their historical and contemporary contexts. Courses in Australian
Indigenous studies aim to assist students to develop a good knowledge base
about key issues in Indigenous societies.
Units offered by the centre take an interdisciplinary approach to the
contemporary experiences of Australian Aborigines by including the study of
kinship and political systems in urban and remote societies, and the contrasts
between Indigenous and non-Indigenous societies. Introductory units examine
Indigenous lifestyles and kinship systems, pre and post-invasion, and the
concept of continuity, which provides a focus on understanding the importance
of land. Study of the post-invasion period examines the effects of colonisation
on Indigenous societies and economies, past and present governmental policies,
and their effects on organisations and communities.
Teaching in the centre includes lectures and small tutorial and seminar groups,
which encourage debate and inquiry. Presentations, written summaries and essays
incorporate reflective, analytical and oral skills specific to Indigenous
studies as well as to the arts degree. A number of Arts faculty units offered
in anthropology, Australian studies, geography, history, politics, linguistics,
environmental science, sociology, visual culture and women's studies complement
units offered in Indigenous studies.
The academic staff are Professor Lynette Russell (director of Monash Aboriginal
Programs), Dr Liz Reed, Mr Barry Judd, Dr Stephen Pritchard, Dr Jane Lydon and
Mr Sam Wickman. A major aim of the centre is to provide excellent and
culturally appropriate undergraduate, honours and postgraduate courses.
(HUMCASS offers Australian Indigenous studies units at the Gippsland campus -
for details, refer to the entry for HUMCASS.)
The centre is located on the second floor of the Monash University Gallery
building (building 55) on Clayton campus. Inquiries about courses and unit
information are welcomed. Inquiries may be directed to CAIS at email
cais@arts.monash.edu.au.
For details of the following courses, see `Outline of undergraduate studies' earlier in this section.
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