131-109 Australian Colonial: Claiming a Land

Formerly available as 131-003. Students who have completed 131-003 are not eligible to enrol in this subject. It is recommended that this subject be undertaken in conjunction with 131-190 Australian Modern: Making Histories. This subject is recommended for students wishing to complete a major in Australian studies.

This subject examines Australian society and culture from early European exploration and occupation through to the Federation era. A vibrant syllabus makes Australian history accessible through hands-on research into actual 19th century records, specialist guest lectures (from novelists, archaeologists and archivists), opportunities for practical field trips in Melbourne and on the Victorian goldfields, and workshops on history and fiction, multimedia and information literacy skills. The subject challenges students both new to the subject, or with some background knowledge of Australian history, to discover new ways of understanding key historical developments of the period (convictism, race relations, landscape perception, gender and class identity, political rights, nationalist traditions). The subject will focus on the impact of peoples, ideas and institutions on the land, on each other, and on the society that would emerge by the early 20th century. It will touch on the structures of social organisation, political rights and power, economic activity and everyday life, and incorporate understandings of such concepts as colonialism, race, gender, class, modernity, the frontier, home and nation. The narrative of Australian history is revealed to be a contested one, made up of stories of progress and survival, as well as of loss and decline.

Class participation and written work totalling 4000 words.

A subject reader will be available.