Program Overview

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Introduction to IKC103 Indigenous Australian Histories

This subject draws upon primary and secondary sources, including historical records and findings of national inquiries, to examine the nature of the invasion and subsequent colonization of Australia and the impact of colonial and post-federation policies and practices on Indigenous Australian peoples and cultures.

Subject Overview

The subject begins with an overview of political, economic, and social life in Great Britain during the 18th century, the history of transportation of British and Irish prisoners to offshore penal colonies, including Australia, and the ideologies which supported the expansion of the British Empire.

Availability

The subject is available in Session 2, with 60 students enrolled, and is offered online and at the Dubbo Campus.

Subject Information

Grading System

The subject uses an HD/FL grading system.

Duration

The subject is one session in duration.

School

The subject is offered by the School of Indigenous Australian Studies.

Assumed Knowledge

Students are assumed to have completed IKC102 Indigenous Australian Cultures or have equivalent knowledge and understanding.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this subject, students should be able to:

• Identify the primary factors which led to the transportation of convicts to Australia by the British
• Explain the theories of race which supported the colonization, dispossession, and subjugation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
• Analyse the impact of colonization and missionary endeavour on the lives and cultures of Indigenous Australian peoples
• Interpret the major provisions of the Aborigines Protection Acts and Assimilation Policy
• Discuss the history and impact of the policy and practice of forcibly removing Indigenous children from their families
• Outline the nature and history of Indigenous Australian political activism

Syllabus

The subject will cover the following topics:

• Political, economic, and social life in 18th Century Great Britain and history of convict transportation
• Theories of 'race': from Great Chain of Being to Social Darwinism
• Terra Nullius and the arrival of the First Fleet: Early impacts and cross-cultural encounters
• Colonial frontier
• Missionary Endeavour
• Aborigines Protection Acts
• Protection or Segregation?: Life on Reserves and Missions
• Employment, health, and education
• The forcible removal of Indigenous children from their families
• The Assimilation policy
• The struggle for rights: the history of Indigenous Australian political activism