ATS2359 - Hearing the country: Studies in Indigenous Australian ethnoecology - 2019

Australia is the site of a remarkable diversity of systems of knowledge. Indigenous knowledge systems and systems based on western scientific tradition have often been seen as the most distant poles on a continuum that ranges from myth to science. Continuing research in Australia shows that Indigenous ecological knowledge on this continent is detailed, localised and grounded in empirical observations. In addition, Indigenous knowledge is embedded within a system of ethics that is oriented toward long-term productivity. It is usual to contrast Indigenous knowledge with non-Indigenous systems of knowledge and care in order to show their divergence or even, in many instances, their oppositions.

1. To explore in depth the way in which people describe their relationship with country.
2. To explore the way in which environmental and biological knowledge is encoded.
3. To study ecological and scientific systems within the context of a culture.
4. To explore how language, history, tradition, material culture, spirituality, kinship, emotion and politics are all ways in which people negotiate a relationship with the environment.
5. To study the anthropological discourse with landscape and how knowledge about landscapes are encoded. This will involve issues such as kinship and ceremony, language and understanding ethnobiological zoological/botanical taxonomy in comparison to western Linnaean zoological and botanical taxonomy. The course will use actual case studies and will involve manipulating original material collected by the lecturer and other researchers.
6. Address the academic debates in relation to ethnoecology from the school of thought which places cognition at the forefront of this discipline to those that believe other issues such as culture, time and concepts such as tradition and religion also influence people and their relationship to the environment.

Within semester assessment: 100%

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. A unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

See also Unit timetable information

Indigenous cultures and histories

Anthropology

Religious studies