indigenous-cultures-and-histories/ug-arts-indigenous-cultures-and-histories

aos

18 September 2017 18 April 2024
Monash University

Undergraduate - Area of study

Students who commenced study in 2015 should refer to this area of study entry for direction on the requirements; to check which units are currently available for enrolment, refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your area of study.

print version

This area of study entry applies to students commencing this course in 2015 and should be read in conjunction with the relevant course entry in the Handbook. Any units listed for this area of study relate only to the 'Requirements' outlined in the Faculty of Arts component of any bachelors double degrees.

Managing facultyFaculty of Arts
Offered byMonash Indigenous Centre
Campus(es)Clayton
CoordinatorDr Rachel Standfield

Notes

  • Unit codes that are not linked to their entry in the Handbook are not available for study in the current year.

Description

The Monash Indigenous Centre offers units that aim to encourage students to understand the past and contemporary experiences of Indigenous peoples in Australia and internationally. Students will acquire a general knowledge of many different aspects of Indigenous cultures and how these have undergone change and adaptation. Such understanding will require students to construct critical arguments and analyse topics studied in their historical and contemporary contexts. Units in Indigenous cultures and histories will assist students to develop a good knowledge base about key issues in Indigenous societies, including the ongoing relationship between Indigenous and settler Australians, points of contestation and how this has shaped the position of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians in contemporary society, and understanding Indigenous relationships to each other and to the land.

Teaching in the centre includes lectures, small tutorials 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 units offered in anthropology, Indigenous archaeology, art history and theory, geography, history, politics, linguistics, environmental science, sociology, and women's and gender studies complement units offered in Indigenous cultures and histories. Honours can be undertaken in Indigenous cultures and histories, and combined honours may also be taken with other disciplines provided that all honours requirements have been met in both disciplines and subject to the approval of the honours coordinators or heads of the relevant schools.

Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the major, students will be able to:

  • critically examine constructions of Indigeneity and discourses of 'Aboriginalism' using sound theoretical concepts
  • analyse and compare the theories, methods and discourses involved in working with Indigenous communities at the national and international level in the context of colonialism, decolonialisation and social justice
  • recognise and critically assess current intellectual traditions in Indigenous studies in national and international contexts and apply these traditions to real-world problems
  • critically evaluate theoretical debates regarding the construction of knowledge, western epistemologies and Indigenous ontology in Indigenous cultures and histories
  • work independently and in teams to research and create innovative solutions to issues surrounding Indigenous knowledge and heritage in local, regional and national contexts.

Units

Minor in Indigenous cultures and histories

Students completing a minorminor (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2015handbooks/undergrad/arts-07.html) in Indigenous cultures and histories must complete four units (24 points), including:

(a.) two first-year gateway unitsgateway units (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2015handbooks/undergrad/arts-08.html) (12 points):

(i.) students must complete:

  • ATS1254 Culture, power and difference: Indigeneity and Australian identity*

(ii.) plus one of:

  • ATS1250 Cross cultural interactions on the colonial frontier
  • ATS1255 Cultures and difference: An introduction to anthropology

(b.) additional electives from the list below (12 points)

Note: Students can take the second-year cornerstone units from the major as electives.

* This unit is also a gateway unit for anthropologyanthropology (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/handbooks/aos/anthropology/ug-arts-anthropology.html). Students completing a minor or major in Indigenous cultures and histories and anthropology need to choose a different gateway unit. A unit cannot be counted twice towards different minors or majors.

Major in Indigenous cultures and histories

Students completing a majormajor (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2015handbooks/undergrad/arts-07.html) in Indigenous cultures and histories must complete eight units (48 points), including:

(a.) two first-year gateway unitsgateway units (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2015handbooks/undergrad/arts-08.html) (12 points):

(i.) students must complete:

  • ATS1254 Culture, power and difference: Indigeneity and Australian identity*

(ii.) plus one of:

  • ATS1250 Cross cultural interactions on the colonial frontier
  • ATS1255 Cultures and difference: An introduction to anthropology

(b.) at least one second-year cornerstone unitcornerstone unit (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2015handbooks/undergrad/arts-08.html) (6 points), chosen from:

  • ATS2355 Race and power: Imagining Indigenous Australia
  • ATS2358 Contesting laws: Heritage, culture and land

(c.) at least one third-year capstone unitcapstone unit (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2015handbooks/undergrad/arts-08.html) (6 points), chosen from:

  • ATS3543 Australia's ancient Indigenous past: A 50,000 year archaeological odyssey
  • ATS3958 Practice and praxis: Research in contemporary Indigenous studies

(d.) additional electives from the list below (24 points)

A minimum of three units (18 points) must be completed at third-year level.

Note: Students can take additional cornerstone and capstone units as electives.

* This unit is also a gateway unit for anthropologyanthropology (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/handbooks/aos/anthropology/ug-arts-anthropology.html). Students completing a minor or major in Indigenous cultures and histories and anthropology need to choose a different gateway unit. A unit cannot be counted twice towards different minors or majors.

Elective units

  • ATS2019 Perspectives on Indigenous art: Production, meaning and symbolism
  • ATS2020/ATS3020 Colonialism in comparison: Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific
  • ATS2104 The ethnographic endeavour: Capturing the Indigenous past to understand the Indigenous present
  • ATS2354/ATS3354 Interrogating racism: Indigenous Australians and the state
  • ATS2359/ATS3359 Hearing the country: Studies in Indigenous Australian ethnoecology
  • ATS2371 Magic, science and religion
  • ATS2373/ATS3373 Visualising cultures: Film and ethnography
  • ATS3634 Indigenous peoples globally
  • ATS3677 Aboriginal languages of Australia
  • ATS3129 Arts internship
  • ATS3361 Museums, galleries, theatres: Intentionality, authenticity and reception
  • ATS3372 Great debates in anthropology
  • ATS3544 On a dig: Practical archaeology in the field and lab*
  • ATS3852 Contemporary issues in social science research

Note: Other electives may be taken with approval from the Indigenous cultures and histories coordinator.

* This unit will require payment of an additional fee that may cover items such as accommodation, entry fees, coaches, transfers, flights and university administration.

Relevant courses

Diplomas

  • 2327 Diploma in Liberal Arts

Bachelors

Single degrees

  • 0002 Bachelor of Arts
  • 1638 Bachelor of Arts Scholars Program
  • 0202 Bachelor of Letters

Double degrees

  • 4640 Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering (Honours) and Bachelor of Arts
  • 4098 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Business
  • 0550 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Business (Accounting)
  • 0553 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Business (Banking and Finance)
  • 0556 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Business (Marketing)
  • 0542 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Commerce
  • 0170 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Economics
  • 3054 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Music
  • 0530 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science
  • 3426 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Social Work
  • 3779 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Visual Arts
  • 4097 Bachelor of Arts Scholars Program and Bachelor of Commerce Scholars Program
  • D3002 Bachelor of Education (Honours) and Bachelor of Arts
  • 4634 Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) and Bachelor of Arts
  • 4644 Bachelor of Environmental Engineering (Honours) and Bachelor of Arts
  • L3003 Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and Bachelor of Arts