Historicising the Colonial Past (AIND30008 (106-316))
School of Culture and Communication - University of Melbourne
Semester 1 / 2011

Texts

form y separately published work icon We of the Never Never Peter Schreck , ( dir. Igor Auzins ) Australia : Adams Packer Film Productions , 1982 Z901254 1982 single work film/TV (taught in 6 units)

Based on Jeannie Gunn's fictionalised autobiography of the same name, the story begins in 1902 with the arrival of Mrs Gunn and her new husband Aeneas in the Northern Territory. They have come to take over management of Elsey Station, a huge cattle and horse property. She is subsequently forced to battle isolation, disease, and the white stockmen who believe the station is no place for a woman. She befriends the local Aboriginal women, but is mystified by their culture. Her affection for the place and the people is tested by frequent tragedy.

(Source: Australian Screen.)
y separately published work icon Shadow Lines Stephen Kinnane , Fremantle : Fremantle Press , 2003 Z1051216 2003 single work biography (taught in 5 units) 'The story of Jessie Argyle, born in the remote East Kimberley and taken from her Aboriginal family at the age of five, and Edward Smith, a young Englishman escaping the rigid structures of London. In a society deeply divided on racial lines, Edward and Jessie met, fell in love and, against strong opposition, eventually married. Despite unrelenting surveillance and harassment the Smith home was a centre for Aboriginal cultural and social life for over thirty years.' (Source: back cover, 2003 edition)

Degrees

Bachelor of Arts

Description

This subject will commence with an explication of new historicist methods and approaches. It will then move on to an application of these methods to selected key events in Aboriginal Australia's colonial history. Students will be introduced to reading and research methods that will enable them to effectively use historical, archival and cultural materials and documents in engaging with these key events and historical periods. Key events will include: colonial narratives and Aboriginal and Settler contact and conflict in the 18th Century; Ellen Draper's Old Cobraboor and The Myall Creek Massacre of 1868; William Ferguson's short story Nanya and the 1938 Sesquicentenary; and, pastoral narratives and the age of the cattle empires.

Assessment

Tutorial participation and a 10-minute paper presentation done in class, 10%, an essay of 1500 words 30% (due mid-semester), and an essay of 2500 words 60% (due at the end of semester). This subject has a minimum hurdle requirement of 75%, regular participation in tutorials are required. Assessment submitted late without an approved extension will be penalised at 10% per day. In-class tasks missed without approval will not be marked. All pieces of written work must be submitted to pass this subject.

Other Details

Offered in: 2010
Current Campus: Parkville
Levels: Undergraduate
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