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 100-005 Exploring Australia's Centre

Note

Students are not permitted to undertake more than two subjects offered by The Australian Centre. Students who have completed both 100-002 Australia Now and 100-003 Australia and America are not eligible to enrol in this subject. This subject includes fieldwork in central Australia. An outline of the fieldwork program is available from the Australian Centre. A quota of 30 students applies.

Credit Points

12.5

HECS Band

1

Coordinator

Dr K Darian-Smith & M Cathcart

Semester

1, repeat 2 (view timetable)

Contact

Fieldwork of 6 days/5 nights in central Australia (at additional cost), plus 6 hours of lectures and 4 hours of tutorials at the University. The fieldwork will be held over the mid-semester break

Subject Description

This interdisciplinary subject introduces students to the Aboriginal and white settler cultures living in the extraordinary environments of central Australia. It examines how Aboriginal and non-indigenous Australians have imagined and creatively responded to the landscapes of the 'outback' in various artistic, literary and cultural forms, including fiction, visual art and film. The subject will cover issues of race relations, racism and national identity on the 'frontier', including the nationalist myths of the explorer and the pioneer. It also investigates the politics of land ownership and Aboriginal land rights, environmental issues, and indigenous and non-indigenous tourism in central Australia. Alternative and competing visions and histories of the outback will be examined in past and present contexts, so that students gain an understanding of the complex meanings of 'place' and 'culture' in Australia.

Assessment

Assessment will consist of tutorial participation, a reflective journal written during the fieldwork, and a research essay handed in at the end of the semester, all totalling 4000 words.

Prescribed Texts

A subject reader is available from The Australian Centre.

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Prev 100-003 Australia and America
 
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