Aboriginal Women and Coloniality (AIND20008 (106-252))
School of Culture and Communication - University of Melbourne
Semester 1 / 2010

Texts

y separately published work icon Coonardoo : The Well in the Shadow Katharine Susannah Prichard , 1928 Z1081769 1928 single work novel (taught in 39 units) Set in North-West of Western Australia, it describes life on cattle stations and the relationship between the white owner of the station and Coonardoo, an Aboriginal woman.
form y separately published work icon Nice Coloured Girls Tracey Moffatt , ( dir. Tracey Moffatt ) Canberra : Women's Film Fund of the Australian Film Commission Creative Development Branch of the Australian Film Commission , 1987 Z1462203 1987 single work film/TV (taught in 9 units)

An experimental narrative which departs from realist conventions by suggesting connections and differences in the relationship between Aboriginal women and European men in the early years of settlement and in contemporary Sydney, Nice Coloured Girls is also 'a ground-breaking film stylistically and thematically. The audience is left to question history, in particular the reliability of primary sources. The absence of the Aboriginal point of view in Australia's "history" becomes glaringly obvious as we are left to question the nature of traditional representations of Aborigines. As Australians, Aboriginal people have been marginalized and stereotyped but Moffatt who is a young, contemporary Aboriginal Australian offers an Aboriginal perspective through her work and questions dominant representations which have excluded Aborigines (or offered unrealistic images of them)' (French, 'An Analysis of Nice Coloured Girls', q.v.).

Degrees

Bachelor of Arts
Diploma in Arts (Australian Studies)

Description

Aboriginal Women and Coloniality is a multidisciplinary subject looking at the various roles Aboriginal women have played in Aboriginal and Settler society. It examines stereotypical representations of Aboriginal women in colonial art and culture, the depiction of Aboriginal women in literature, cinema and fine arts, the role Aboriginal women have played in the economy as workers, as well as their roles as nurturers and carers, activists and community leaders. Theories and approaches from gender and post-colonial studies and new historicism will be utilised to provide the intellectual framework for this subject. The subject will conclude with consideration of the critique that female Aboriginal artists and writers have made of these representations, and the forms of self-representation produced in their work

Assessment

Tutorial participation and a 10-minute paper presentation, 10%; an essay of 1500 words 30% (due mid-semester); and an essay of 2500 words 60% (due at the end of semester). Students are required to attend a minimum of nine tutorials in order to qualify to have their written work assessed.

Other Details

Levels: Undergraduate
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