Authorised by Academic Registrar, April 1996
Synopsis This subject will investigate the relationships between the indigenous peoples of Australia and Europeans since 1788. Its primary objective will be to explore the ways in which the Aboriginal peoples have come to have a common identity as Aborigines. It will consider precontact Aboriginal societies, the legal status of European settlement, Aboriginal reactions to Europeans, patterns of conflict and accommodation, the economic role of Aborigines, changes in racial thought, government policy and practice, Aborigines' cultural adaptation, and the growth of Aboriginal consciousness and protest. We will examine both European and Aboriginal perceptions of this collective past, and will consider the ways in which these different histories are constructed. This will involve a consideration of a wide range of source material. The emphasis of the subject will be primarily historical, but other disciplines will also be drawn upon. Students who feel they have insufficient background should read Richard Broome, Aboriginal Australians: Black response to white dominance 1788-1980 (Sydney, 1982). The most useful collection of primary sources is Henry Reynolds (ed.), Aborigines and settlers (Melbourne, 1972), but see also his Dispossession (Sydney, 1989).
Assessment (8 points) One seminar paper (2000 words): 30% + Essay (4000 words): 70%
Assessment (12 points) Two seminar papers (2000 words each): 40% + Essay (5000 words): 60%